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OCR00890 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night "Scriabin's Long Library"


djpretzel
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:D AT LONG LAST! THE REMIX I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! I am glad someone finally decided to re-interpret this song.

As for the recording quality, I really don't have much of a gripe with it. It sounds clean enough to me. I feel that the slight lack of recording quality adds a nice, old-feeling to the piece. I do have a gripe with the length, though. I feel that so much more could have been elaborated here, and the short two-minute piece hardly does the original justice. Still, I feel that it is a nice addition to the massive bank of ocremixes, and will please the ears of many music goers.

.....and as for the remixers name.....I am slightly confused. An email address? Is that his name, or really his email address? Anyhow........

LONG LIVE CASTLEVANIA!

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At last, A Symphony of the Night ReMix that is from the actual game play!

Well, in terms of quality, the mix is a tad quiet, but I think it's fine. The hum might've been able to be removed in CoolEdit.

As for the composition, I thought it was really good. I liked the stronger and lower notes at about 1:23. Then it ends with a quick tapping of the keys and a low note, where I felt it could've picked up and gone on a bit more.

Overall, a well composed piece of music in regards to the actual library tune. And good to show people that the music can indeed be arranged from this game.

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it had occured to me that the "DJ jimmy the leaf" sotn remix didnt sound like anything from the game (and i have the soundtrack)....

anyway about this one...very cool i though... the recording quality to me suggests a nice analog warmth... and the little bit of distortion on the piano reminds me of something kinda... maybe a midi keyboard... kinda brings me back to the days of doom.... for some reason... very talented dude.....

my group has a SOTN remix comming up semi soon (teaser teaser!)... hope it sounds as acomplished as this one.....

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Im inclined to agree with Ryan8bit. The mix really shines at 1:22/1:23, where it kicks it into high gear as in the true Library song. And yea, the only gripe thus far is the length of the piece. It could be a bit longer, but other than that its possibly the best Piano remix of any C: SotN theme I've yet heard, and I've heard "Crystal Teardrop", "Door to the Holy Spirits," and "Dance of Pales".

Good work on the Mix. Much appreciated for us hardcore Castlevania fans, those of us who have been crying and pining over the fact that there is an absurd lack of Castlevania Symphony of the Night remixes.

Yea im babbling. Good mix. I really love it.

-Doug

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I applaud Mr. Contraveos on this amazing piece of work. Though I would have loved to hear this piece of music last a lot longer, what is there is superb.

Now, this probably isn't the place to say this, but in Pretzel's description of this song, he mentions that Disco Dan Cabrera said how it is more like Chopin than Scriabin. I had never heard of Scriabin, myself, so I had to immediately go and find some of his music. I found one song, though, that this ReMix has many similarities to. Scriabin's Etude in D# Minor, Op. 8, No. 12, Patetico. Specifically, though, I would like to point out that the very ends of both songs are exactly the same.

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ArtemisJaeger:

thanks, and you're correct. I chose the very etude myself and thought that it would suit the original quite well. DiscoDan said that this sounded like Chopin, which is true--early Scriabin was *heavily* influenced by Chopin (evident especially in the waltzes and in the Sonata-Fantasy). The endings of Scriabin's etude and my remix are extremely similar but not identical.

I hope, for your own sake, that you can find the recording of Scriabin's etude Op 12 No 8 from Vladimir Horowitz's 1986 Moscow concert recording. EASILY the best interpretation of this piece, surpassing all of Horowitz-himself's earlier recordings and everyone else's. This was the recording that inspired me to fit the SotN piece to the etude, and judging from the reponse, it worked pretty well.

To cover myself, I probably should have noted in my submission notes that the ideas for the remix are heavily grounded in Scriabin's etude.

MC

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Terrific stuff - varied, interesting; and to me, educational. I've been reading up on Scriabin, and having only recently developed an interest in classical music, this is a great incentive to explore the subject.

I'd love to hear more stuff like this. My only criticism is the same as anyone else's who'll listen to this - it would've been greater, longer.

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I heard this remix back before it was done on the message boards of VGMIX.com and I'm glad to hear it's finished. It is in way better quality than it was before though. I like this guy's work. As a fellow pianist and a huge fan of video game music, I kind of look up to this guy in a way. This remix is a great representation on the Library tune from SotN. Yes, it could've been longer but still, it's a great piece.

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Awesome...it's nice to hear a mix so far departed from the usual OCR (not that that's bad :) ).This mix puts a new light on the original theme without changing it to the point where it no longer resembles the original. That's about as good as it gets, I think.

MC: what equipment did you use to perform and record this piece?

I'd also propose that the overall volume was kept down in order to prevent clipping on the louder sections of the piece. MP3 encoding will do funny things to sound sometimes - particularly if there's a bit of noise in the music already. Also, I'm sure that any sound with transients as strong as a piano plays hell with the encoder.

But overall, yes - two thumbs up.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 5 months later...

I think I didn't review this before because I had never played the game, but after playing the game (and checking the site to see there are a mere 2 mixes on the site from the game, and only one from the actual game (for shame!)) I felt it was necessary to listen with fresh ears.

This game, SOTN, has me under the influence. I don't know what it is, but it's a soundtrack so varied, between classical, baroque, metal, techno, ambient, jazz, it's all there. I'm just ... guh.

Anyway, the arrangement. (I refuse to call a song in this style a "mix" or "remix")

Arrangement, performance, and interpretation (which I guess also falls under arrangement, since the performer is also the composer in this case) are ALL top notch. My gripe, like others would be:

1) the recording is VERY quiet. Turn it up too loud and the hiss gets loud with it. I realize mic'ing a piano is not a simple task given standard home equipment, so this can be looked past. Plus there are some pretty crappy recordings of professional performers and orchestras out there that are on CDs that you PAY for, for crying out loud.

2) the length is short, but about right for a piece of that style. But it would be nice to see the theme expanded and played upon more, but that would fall more under a theme-and-variations type of piece.

But once again, a nice interpretation and a flawless performance. Thanks for putting at least one piece from this great soundtrack up here for the masses.

D

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  • 10 months later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 10 months later...

I am absolutely horrified by the tepid reception of this piece. Yes, it's too quiet... but since when have production values replaced musicianship and originality as paramount qualifications of good music? To me, this arrangement both embodies and transcends the purpose of ocremix. It's a piece that is powerful, reminiscent of the original, yet capable on its own terms and worthy of respect. But it's also ethereal; like the most perfect ice sculpture whose beauty slips away even as you cherish it forever. The dissonance is fervent and passive, the melody jarring and enthralling. The music here is not the childish musing of an adolescent; it's the product of a mature musician spreading his wings to soar.

MC puts on display a raw talent for music that shames most professionals. I am astounded into a state of almost childlike wonder by the profundity of musically apt individuals milling around on this website. Even so, I place this piece, and MC, on the top of the pyramid. Please, Mr. Contraveos, continue to awe me. Music like this makes everything worthwhile.

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I've had this one burnt and in my car for a long time now. This is not something you chill to, but the work done to empathize with a real Scriabin etude is amazing. As for the recording quality, I myself feel as though it sounds like an old recording, perhaps being played on a phonograph. If it just had some scratchy fx, maybe the softness problem would have been overlooked in favor of authenticity. :)

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 months later...
I am absolutely horrified by the tepid reception of this piece.

Likewise. This piece is actually way too good to be so casually reviewed. Granted, it's a bit on the short side, but it's packed with complex arrangement, fantastic musicianship, and it's just an incredible piano piece to listen to.

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  • 3 months later...

I can't really say anything that hasn't been said, but I still feel I should give my compliments where they're so utterly due.

Quality aside (pft, you should hear some of my miserable recordings~) this piece is brilliantly arranged; the whole thing is practically rewritten. You've found the perfect balance for an arrangement, as it is familiar enough that I recognize it -knowing- the piece from which is is derived, but at the same time so innovative that if I wasn't told it was from Castlevania, I might just think it was an entirely new piece.

It may be lost on a lot of listeners, but thus far, this could well be the most intelligent remix I've listened to.

(Also: If anyone knows of any sheet music, kindly point me in the general direction~)

-Koji

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Like life, this remix if fleeting. Really, I think the arrangement is so great that another minute of exploration would have been lovely. Of course i'm going to say something about the recording quality, which is unfortunate that it's so muffled, but the arrangement is really good. Though they weren't especially elegant in stating their opinions, I can see why the judges were torn on this. Great dynamic contrasts, and the source is apparent throughout, but radically ornamented. Cool stuff, I really enjoyed it.

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