ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "Vision of Celes" 4:09

By Gorgonian

Arranging the music of one song...

"Celes"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2009-06-17, evaluated by the judges panel


Fun times... if you haven't already, do check out the Sega Let's Tap Twitter contest going on today AND the 8-bit Weapon/Nokia Reset Generation Remix contest - both good opportunities to win some awesome stuffs. I would have posted this mix sooner except I've been retooling our drop-down navigation lately and have made significant progress. You should expect to see the end results some time in the next week or so; I believe it will make the site more usable. Newcomer Gorgonian resubbed this ReMix of the 'Celes' theme from FF6 after the judges specifically cited numerous production/sample quality issues including some funky (in the bad way) brass patches. While some judges still had some reservations even with the revision, all agreed it was a marked improvement. Gorgonian writes:

"Vision of Celes is a full orchestra arrangement of The Celes Theme from the Final Fantasy series. It was arranged using Finale, sequenced using FL Studio, and tampered with using Audacity. The arrangement is meant to be a simple yet emotional treatment of the theme. The setting is intentionally straightforward in an attempt to capture the majesty and beauty of the melody. I hope you enjoy it. I am somewhat new to this idiom, but I have done a few projects as a hobby. I am a musician by profession, and I teach high school band in Oklahoma."

So, first of all, how cool is that? My sisters and I were all high school band geeks, and while our director was (and still is) both awesome & inspirational, I don't think he's ever even heard of Final Fantasy, much less arranged it himself. As the first real gamer generation grows up, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised to see VGM gaining more acceptance from those in traditional "authority" positions, but it still strikes me as being rather cool, not unlike some of the VGM marching band programs that have been done. But I digress; this is a very delicate piece that has strings swelling underneath woodwind solos in the intro, with brass entering in gradually for an almost slow-motion crescendo, culminating in the appearance of timpani towards the dramatic finale. The more I listen to this mix, the more it reminds me of a specific arrangement for concert band of Wagner's 'Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral' - a beautiful, beautiful piece of music that has similar dynamics, building slowly over time. I played the piece back in high school band, and though the euphonium part only really entered halfway through, nevertheless it's probably my favorite musical memory, ever. Okay, I may have digressed *again*, but Wagner was especially good at letting parts slowly develop and build over time, in my opinion, and that's also the strength of this arrangement. Larry writes:

"Not that I'd ever regret it, but I'm certainly glad I went NO last time, given the end result here. And that's really what some NO votes are about; not trying to be discouraging, but pushing artists to push themselves. Nice upgrade of the sounds. I don't recall the arrangement seeming nearly this grandiose or dynamic at all. Great use of the Works forum to solicit feedback and achieve some great results via the help of other forumgoers critiquing away. You really stepped it up on this one and made the call an easy one. Nice work."

Judges commented about lack of low end, but that does sort of seem stylistic - I would again invoke 'Elsa's,' which has a similar frequency range due simply to how the parts themselves are written. What bothered me a bit more was some clipping towards the end and some truncated cymbal crashes that Vinnie mentioned in his judgment. Again, not perfection - arrangement is stronger than production, no doubt - but also nothing really jarring or obnoxious, either. All in all, it's really not the easiest source to work with - it's melodic & memorable, sure, but also very deliberate in its pacing. Instead of fighting that, I think the artist actually slowed it down further, turning it into something that really does sound processional, emotive, and at times quite beautiful.Good job and a solid mix from Gorgonian - that's Mr. Gorgonian to any students reading!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
cheema201
on 2012-07-07 00:20:20

I was wearing a hoody while listening (quite cold atm) and around the 3 minute mark, I ripped my hood off and moved a little closer to the speakers. Not because I couldn't hear well enough... I don't really know why, I guess it was subconscious - but I think my ears wanted to get out to capture the full sound...

I really enjoyed it,

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Bahamut
on 2010-01-15 01:54:59

Ahh Celes, such a favorite amongst many with FF6.

This song evokes more of the sensitive side of the original, going more gentle approach early on and the eventual crescendo towards the end, which even then didn't ever feel very forceful.

There is also some nice interplay going on here with the woodwinds and the strings, and later with the strings and brass. The gentle atmosphere maintained means that this song doesn't seem overly complex in a casual listen, but there's more to it than what initially meets the eye, which is some of the beauty here.

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hobbified
on 2009-11-15 02:05:58

It's great to see you back, Gorgonian!

I've had this tune since it was on VGMix 2, but this version is a nice improvement -- it seems a bit more carefully put together. I can only hope that you decide to stick around and give us a similar treatment of "Farewell, Terra" or some new stuff! :)

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DragonAvenger
on 2009-10-31 23:55:57

I will whole-heartedly agree with Dave that this is very reminiscent of "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral". Very slow, very dramatic, very exxagerated, and a pretty awesome arrangement. At times the harmonies and instrument balance works just right to give me shivers.

Unfortunately, this is one of those pieces that just can't be done justice without a full orchestra, which isn't the easiest thing to get. The lack of realism in any of the instruments does take this down a notch or two, sadly. Here's to hoping that someday someone pulls this off live (and gets an awesome recording of it!).

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Martin Penwald
on 2009-07-03 13:22:07

Very nice pacing and instrumentation. While most of the remix sounds just like an orchestral remix should sound, i.e. very good, I have to say that my favorite part is 3:00 onwards. The brass and the melody it's playing really remind me of 60's/70's western movies, and that is something a.) I really dig and b.) we don't get to hear very often 'round these parts.

Nice work.

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jintoreedwine
on 2009-06-28 16:19:45

I have been hoping to listen to this remix for a week or two now, and I'm glad I finally found the time to listen. I absolutely love orchestral mixes and Final Fantasy VI is one of my favorite games, so this was simply an incredible combination. I always found Celes theme, in particular, to be a beautiful piece and you drew that out perfectly. The horn entrance at 2:58 along with that dramatic build up was my favorite part and simply wonderful to listen to :) .

Fabulous work! Please keep up with any other projects you are working on. If they are anything like this, I am sure they will be instant classics!

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Loning
on 2009-06-24 21:15:48

I'm a sucker for orchestral arrangements and this one is definitely an amazing piece!! It's very inspirational and brings out the original very well! Truly magnificent, one of the few great pieces since Jeremy Soule's FFVI remix.

Keep it up. I'll be looking forward to more of your remixes that i'll hope to see in the future!

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LuigiFan
on 2009-06-22 02:43:27

Incredible. I totally have to agree with what djp said - it's awesome to see a band director loving VGM! I wish mine did. And also, he's spot on with the Elsa's Procession vibe - I definitely pick up a Wagner feel. The arrangement of this is so great that I really don't care about any sort of production issues - nothing distracted me from the piece too much. Excellent stuff - I would love to hear more.

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Gario
on 2009-06-20 15:06:56

Wow.

This arrangement just sent some chills down my spine, which I'll admit happens very rarely, nowadays. Very subtle, yet it has a certain sublime quality to it that I can't pin. The arrangement is incredibly rich, yet it doesn't sound cluttered at all.

Wonderful - Orchestral arrangement at it's finest, folks. Just download it.

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OA
on 2009-06-17 11:25:01

Lovely work- i'm very happy you stuck it out on this one- It's a very classy arrangement of an incredible theme, and I'd love to hear more of your arrangements. :-)

I really loved the ending, it was handled really well.

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A-RoN
on 2009-06-17 10:14:59

Very simple and to the point arrangement. Sometimes going that direction is the best way to remix. Very beautifully and wonderfully created. I especially love the way the strings fade in the end.

10/10

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artemisjaeger
on 2009-06-17 02:42:16

Gorgonian! I saw your name on the front page and was like, "YES!" You were easily one of the (if not the singular) most promising orchestral arranger back on VGMix2, so it is incredibly exciting to see that you've continued your great arrangements.

That said, this is an exceptional piece. I feel like it really managed to avoid a lot of the cliches that most VG orchestral arrangements are prone to, which is a huge plus in my book. I think what really does it for me is that you managed to get a very full sound here - phenomenal orchestration.

In fact, if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to see a copy of the score.

Please, don't ever stop arranging/writing music. And please, submit more stuff to OCR so that we can all enjoy it!

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audio fidelity
on 2009-06-17 00:54:20

just needed to say that i love the pacing of this - and when the trumpet comes in at the end - it feels so good and takes me to another place the original never did

good work - hope to see more in the future

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avaris
on 2009-06-17 00:38:26

Total awesomeness! I really enjoyed the subtle orchestration and attention to dynamics and pacing. This really had me glued in the whole time. Gets the nostalgia glands goin big time. :nicework:

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djpretzel
on 2009-06-17 00:31:12

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Celes"

Tags (6)


Genre:
Classical
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Brass,Orchestral,Strings,Woodwinds
Additional:
Origin > Resubmission

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_6_Vision_of_Celes_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,067,577 bytes
MD5:
ddc9192fa769b2565a618ee49c6a7744
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:09

 

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