Original Tracks: "The Stilshrine of Miriam" and "Destiny" from "Final Fantasy XII"

Still part of my solo piano series which includes "The Wiccan Lesson," the two "Spherical Aberration" pieces, and "The Mad," "To the Sword of Kings" is considerably subtler. I was listening to the "Final Fantasy XII" OST when I noticed a bass sequence somewhere in the middle of "The Stilshrine of Miriam" that was strikingly similar to "Destiny's" opening progression. Thinking it was something pretty good to work with, I started playing with the themes and this is the end product.

Composed for piano using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 7 Producer Edition. 


To the Sword of Kings

Original Track: "Sarutabaruta" from "Final Fantasy XI"

Composed for Adriaan "omegabyte" den Ouden, "Furious Prophecy" is, perhaps, the most massive remix I had ever composed with almost 70 pages of orchestral score. The piece draws upon "Sarutabaruta" (which means "the land of prophecy" in the ancient Tarutaru language) for inspiration and the new energized character drove me to name the piece as such. This piece utilizes the sonata form, making this the most classical output in quite a while.

Composed for flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, and strings using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 7 Producer Edition. 


Furious Prophecy

Original Track: "Terra" from "Final Fantasy VI"

A theme from one of my favorite RPGs of all time—"Terra" (I refuse to call it "Tina;" the name is simply too common for one of the most complex heroines in all of RPG history.) was rather easy to play around with as it has a very simple structure. I made a conscious effort not to overdo the remixing, though, as it is in that simplicity that the theme finds its beauty. The remix is an exercise in syncopation. Though not incredibly difficult, the rhythmic difference between what is played by either hand can be rather confusing.

Composed for solo piano using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 7 Producer Edition. 

Terra, Incognita

Original Track: "Serenade of Water" from "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"

This remix is based on a very short, seven-measure theme from what some would argue as the greatest RPG of all time. It is one of my favorites among the six "colored" songs, i.e. the songs on the menu represented by a colored semiquaver, tied with the "Minuet of the Forest." The challenge was in extending this very short theme into a somewhat substantial remix. I didn't want to use other themes, so as to "preserve the purity of the water." Then, an idea came to mind—why not utilize retrogrades and inversions (part of Schönberg's twelve-tone technique)? It meshed well with the idea of "reflections on water," anyway. And so, this piece came into being.

Composed for flute, horns, glockenspiel, harp, choir, and strings using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 7 Producer Edition.


Azure Reflections

Original Track: "Terra" from "Final Fantasy IX"

Composed for solo piano, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, French horns, trumpets, timpani, and strings using Sibelius 4 and rendered by Kouen with GPO samples using SONAR 7 Producer Edition. 


Cerulean Sun

Original Track: "The Moon" from "DuckTales"

Several months back, I was able to watch a video from another gaming site that featured their picks for the top video game themes of all time. When "The Moon" from "DuckTales" came on, I was spellbound. It was simple, 8-bit music—no grand orchestra or live pianist—yet it moved me in ways very few pieces have. At that moment, I just knew I had to mix it, and this is the result. I didn't do anything too fancy—just a couple of variations, albeit in a very different tempo, but I hope I did well enough.

Composed using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 8 Producer Edition. 


Lux Lunae

Original Track: "Prelude" from "Luminous Arc"

This piece was originally composed for a pediatric resident's wedding a while back. I drew inspiration from Pachelbel's famous "Canon in D." The piece was initially supposed to be a canon as well, but I found a passacaglia's structure to be much easier to work with, so I went with that. Sadly, this piece ended up being discarded.

Composed for string orchestra using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 7 Producer Edition. 

Passacaglia in A-flat

Original Track: "Awakening" from "Luminous Arc 2"

This piece was originally composed for a pediatric resident's wedding a while back. I drew inspiration from Pachelbel's famous "Canon in D." The piece was initially supposed to be a canon as well, but I found a passacaglia's structure to be much easier to work with, so I went with that. Sadly, this piece ended up being discarded.

Composed for string orchestra using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 7 Producer Edition. 


Passacaglia in A

Original Track: "Loss of Me/Rose of May" from "Final Fantasy IX"

A play on Gertrude Stein's famous words, A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose... is a set of variations to "Loss of Me/Rose of May." The compositional style seemed appropriate, considering that the essence of the quote is identity, and a theme and variations piece is basically the same thing over and over again, just in different forms. Having the word "rose" in the original piece worked quite well too. The inspiration came from a fellow staff member who pointed out that "Final Fantasy IX" has an outstanding OST and that other than "Cerulean Sun," which was based on "Terra," I haven't mixed any themes from the said game.

Composed for solo piano using Sibelius 5 and rendered by Kouen using SONAR 7 Producer Edition. 

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