prophetik music Posted August 5, 2024 Posted August 5, 2024 An orchestral remix of "Freya's Theme" from Final Fantasy IX by Nobuo Uematsu. I wanted to make this mix have a huge dynamic range from whisper quiet solo winds to massive and bombastic full orchestra and back. I think I succeeded in that goal, and some real dramatic storytelling happens in the music as a result. Games & Sources Final Fantasy IX - "Freya's Theme" by Nobuo Uematsu
prophetik music Posted August 5, 2024 Author Posted August 5, 2024 such an inspiring original. so much done with so little. super wide dynamic range on this one. opens with winds and rain sfx. the initial flute (?) does not sound particularly realistic initially, and sounds better when it reigns back in. whatever instrument is at 0:27 doesn't sound like much of anything either. i like the wind ensemble concept for this opening section though very much, it fits the style of the soundtrack well. the traditional percussive elements that come in at 0:50 are really nice. the motif continues to be passed around until about 1:15, when we finally get a string representation of the melody and the 3 over 2 pattern. this almost immediately turns from a light rainstorm into a mudpit at 1:27, with so many instruments competing for the space between about 60 and 250hz. way too much low mid content, mostly from the pedal bass instrument (organ? or is that a string bass?). switching the faster, rhythmic elements to a glock which can through so much is a good choice, as is moving the melodic material to brass in various ways to cut through the density. there's another terraced dynamic at 1:57, and there's the addition of choir and snare. there's some more arrangement elements through this section which is nice, but it's dense and feels repetitious as compared to the first two sections. this section loses steam as it comes to a close, and then suddenly drops off with a quick recap of the opening winds before being done. this feels incomplete with no lowering action to compliment the initial terraced crescendo. after the initial few instruments were feeling a bit exposed, i felt that the realization of the instrumentation cleaned up a lot as the track went on. notably, you avoided the tendency to just layer in sustains in every instrument, and focused more on specific elements to ensure that you didn't get the wall-of-sound mess that comes with some orchestral compositions. there's some conflicting elements in the bass at 1:27 that clear up as it goes along, and i didn't care for the arrangement's ending, but i think overall this is scored competently and realized effectively. the technical side doesn't appear to get in the way of the arrangement either, which is hard to do with orchestral samples. i think this is a solid job. nice work. YES
Flexstyle Posted October 9, 2024 Posted October 9, 2024 Clearly a sequenced orchestra, but you've done pretty well with it overall. The arrangement has purpose and direction, the source clearly shines through, the dynamic range is lovely, the mix is clean enough to make it all work together. No complaints here, let's get this one on the front page! YES
Hemophiliac Posted October 13, 2024 Posted October 13, 2024 Not the best samples here, but some careful attention has been given to the phrasing and dynamics. The dynamic range in particular is good and it's nice to show a wide range. Some woodwinds felt honky when they were exposed and had less to cover them up. As things progressed and more parts came in they got layered in and it was less of an issue. In a macro-sense the arrangement is conservative, but the personalization has come from the orchestration and the addition of layers upon layers of instruments. Would've been nice to have a new section with some melodic interpretation but not necessary. This one won't be forgotten because it's destined for the front page. YES
Recommended Posts