ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "Fragments of a Legend" 2:53

WillRock goes orchestral with this gorgeous Zelda franchise arrangement that also employs solo piano and choral elements; he writes:

"I've not been doing as many remixes for Hyrule's sword-wielding hero of time as I used to (Mega Man took over), but I have now remedied this wrong. However, this remix isn't rock. Its not electronic. Its not chiptune. Hell, it's not even 80's. What it is, is a tribute to some of Hyrule's most beloved tunes in Zelda fandom, and I've thrown a links awakening tune in for good measure, because that game has a special place in my gaming history.

This is a very complicated Remix that utilizes a total of five different sources, being Song of Time, Zelda's Lullaby, Links Awakening House Theme, Song of Storms, and Lon Lon Ranch. This is a remix for the fans basically, a thank you for the support I've had over the years, particularly OCR, without which I wouldn't be half as good as I am right now. With all that manliness aside, on to the remix! Enjoy folks!"

REALLY creative & emotive arrangement - some of the ideas here, particularly the tonal modifications to 'Lon Lon' & 'Song of Storms', and the overlaying that this facilitates, are spectacular. In less than three minutes, the ground covered and the ingenuity shown in weaving these sources into a meaningful, narrative fabric are really impressive. From a purely compositional perspective, I'm loving everything about this, and while the production side of things doesn't quite match up, it's ultimately not prohibitive. Emunator concurs, and OA copied Wes's vote verbatim so I guess he does too ;)

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush here, this judgment basically boils down to whether or not the unrealistic sequencing/instruments (which I've discussed at great length with Will during the development and he knows my feelings on it, even if we disagree in the end) is enough to counteract a friggin STELLAR arrangement. The violin in particular is the most noticeable offender, when it makes those fast glissandos (?) in the last section, but at the same time you can tell that Will's put a lot of time into tweaking his articulations so they at least sound pleasant to the ears, even if anyone could tell it's not a real violin.

Arrangement is where this really shines for me. I can see how some might cry medley-itis here, but personally I think the clever melding of multiple sources into the one section works wonders. The way you take versatile chord progressions and modify various memorable Zelda tunes to fit them is indicative of some great writing ability on your part, Will."

The makeshift violin glissandi did stand out to me, and so did some spatial disparities in terms of the harp sounding so intimate and close, with less verb than piano or strings, but I'll also say that this isn't Will's primary genre, and while he should be DAMN proud of the arrangement, I think this is ALSO an admirably produced orchestral mix, with nothing truly objectionable. Great stuff, very brave & successful departure from the ReMixer's usual work, and a wonderful tribute to some classic Zelda themes!