ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess "Heart of the Sacred Grove" 5:35

Happy International Women's Day! We've got a beautiful new age Twilight Princess collaboration between Rebecca E. Tripp & Greg Orosz, featuring soothing/playful winds and an enchanted, mystical atmosphere; Rebecca writes:

"This is my cover of "Sacred Grove" from Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess. The alto flute and piccolo parts were performed by my friend, Greg Orosz, AKA Gamer of the Winds. You should check out his channel.

There is something about these "Heart of the Forest" tracks that really move me. They speak of legend, of self-improvement, majesty, and the cyclical journey of the hero, whereupon the literal or figurative "holy knight" casts away illusion and returns to innocence, thereby rendering himself fit to complete his final trials. Nowhere (in my humble opinion) is this better expressed than in Twilight Princess (and maybe the Zelda series at large). Link has been cursed (or perhaps, inadvertently blessed) to assume the form of his "twilit" self: a noble, yet fearsome beast which lurks within him as an aspect of his consciousness/soul/identity. In order to help Link lift this "curse" and then, a little later, gain mastery over his "beast" self, he must sing a familiar, yet distant childhood melody. This illuminates a previously hidden path into primordial spirit woods, at the center of which is the sacred blade, Master Sword: a relic of truth, courage, and divine will which suffers no evil and can be wielded by none but the finest knight in the land.

Once inside the ethereal lost glade, our sense of reality is turned upside down as we traverse non-Euclidean space, pursuing one dreamy apparition after another. Here, we are harassed incessantly by an imp (aka Skull Kid). He bears a lamp, which he uses to guide us through the maze, as well as a trumpet, which he uses to summon aggressive minions, which Link, in his beast form, is forced to engage. Perhaps, left to his own devices, Link would fight off the Skull Kid's deathly puppets for an eternity -- or at the very least for as long as our tyrannical puppet master reigns supreme -- for fighting, in a sense, is all we as the player have done up until that point. But here, Link is reduced to a pathetic toy in an arena of childish cruelty and illogic. Could these puppets possibly represent an unhelpful aspect of our hero's mind as he obstinately labors on?

As I alluded, the imp has dual nature: he is our tormentor, but he is also our guide, and he eventually takes us where we need to go. At the center of the Sacred Grove, it is revealed that the Skull Kid never truly meant us any harm: that he, in fact, only ever wanted to play with us! Once he relieves Link of his fey glamours, the forest grows peaceful and the holy sword and door of time present themselves. There is a lesson in this. We cannot control our destiny all of the time, but nor should we allow ourselves to be controlled by our impulses. The moment something becomes "second nature," it can serve as a distorted "lens," and the truth of a given matter is rarely as straightforward as it seems. The imp, therefore, is both a lighthouse and a siren, and its nature, ultimately, depends on the player."

Rebecca's analysis of Zelda lore & the series' narratives and environments is always compelling, as it provides insight into her musical interpretations. Sir_NutS writes:

"Very soothing and relaxing track, the arrangement is mostly lead by the woodwinds, leaving the bells and harps as a supporting role, and it works very well IMO. The additional ambient effects give a "relaxing in the forest" feel. The interpretation follows the original pretty closely, albeit at a slower pace and with more detailed layers and variations. Also, since this is based on the Twilight princess version of this tune, it changes the original dark/mysterious mood into something different."

Chimpazilla adds:

"This is lovely, I love the combination of winds, bells and harp, and the bird sounds are a nice touch."

I agree; nature FX can be gimmicky but more often than not I feel like they add something to the mixes we feature on the site, and here they ephemerally add scale and context, moving outside the intimate grove and revealing the larger forest. Greg's wind work always adds an extra dimension to the arrangements he collaborates on, and his work here is lyrical, oscillating between playful & mysterious. Gorgeous work from Rebecca & Greg which creates an enchanted atmosphere and tells a captivating story!