Posted 2015-02-24, evaluated by djpretzel


For today we've got one of the highlights of Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin, a 10+ minute symphonic journey from Jeremy Robson (arrangement) and Derek Oren (production) that magnificently melds multiple melodies from Uematsu's magnum opus. Derek writes:

"Elegy" represents over 200 arranging, composition, and production hours. It's dark and sad, but yet beautiful and joyful at times. I believe it captures the essence of Vaughn Williams and his contrasting styles of composition. My favorite progression is 6:10-7:14. Jeremy has stated to me that he believes this passage is some of the best writing he's ever done, I'd have to agree with him. It's absolutely breathtaking and I did my best to do it justice.

Made with Cakewalk Pro Audio, Cakewalk Sonar, EWQL Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass. The woodwinds are VSL Instruments and the percussion is Project SAM and EWQL.

"Breathtaking" is right; Derek & Jeremy came correct, clearly understanding that Balance and Ruin called for something larger than life, something that transcended the expected and delivered not just an arrangement but an experience. At over ten minutes, running a play-by-play on this seems unnecessary; suffice it to say that there's great solo AND ensemble writing, attention to dynamics, variety, and an intelligent & creative handling of the source material. In the absence of more elaborate analysis & pontification, I'm gonna let album director Andrew "zircon" Aversa sum things up & close us out:

"The "Dark World" theme in FF6 plays during one of the most lonely, heartbreaking parts of the game, and the original music was intentionally quite oppressive and dreary. And while this rendition of theme certainly contains elements of that despair, Derek and Jeremy have created an extended story with this piece - and have infused it with a sense of liveliness and hope that's breathtaking. The various themes and movements in this piece weave in and out of each other just beautifully. Epic."

Truly great stuff; glad it's finally getting a day to shine on its own!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 5 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-11 16:53:08

Really nice orchestral work here. This sounds a lot like a classical piece with different sections/variations. The use of all the instruments really adds something and allows to create lots of different moods in the track. It maybe could have benefited from a more strict cut (in terms of length) but this is not a problem. Very well produced and arranged. :)

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Crulex
on 2015-03-16 14:45:21

Epic as all hell. Lots of great attention to details and for it's length, it never seems to linger on any one idea or section for too long without changing anything up, which is perfect. Wonderful track from the album that I'm glad to see on the front page.

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derako
on 2015-02-26 10:19:54

It's awesome to see this posted finally. I hope everyone enjoys it. Thank you OCR.

-Derek

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nodweeb
on 2015-02-24 20:58:09

I'm so happy that this finally is posted to the site. I remember listening to it on the Balance Ruin album and loving it. Thank you Jeremy and Derek, this still gives me chills still after listening to it over and over again almost two years ago now :shock:

Laura

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djpretzel
on 2015-02-24 17:19:53

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

Sources Arranged (3 Songs)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Dancing Mad"
"Dark World"
"The Prelude"

Tags (14)


Genre:
Symphonic
Mood:
Dark,Solemn
Instrumentation:
Brass,Choir,Flute,French Horn,Harp,Oboe,Sound FX,Strings,Woodwinds
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_6_Elegy_for_a_Ruined_World_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
17,221,339 bytes
MD5:
e3a97eda9efde9e376e2769bccd8292c
Bitrate:
213Kbps
Duration:
10:43

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