ReMix: Super Castlevania IV 'Into the Corridor of Shadows'

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VERY cool ReMix from Nigel - takes a theme from Castlevania 4 that's seldom covered but happens to be a personal favorite and really trumps it up, evoking at times the soundtrack to Ghibli films like Spirited Away (viva la Joe Hisaishi), and bringing in bits of other tracks from the game's juggernaut soundtrack as leitmotifs. Actually, they're probably not technically leitmotifs. I just wanted to use the word "leitmotifs" in a ReMix write-up. At 0'32" he turns the very mellow melody into a fanfare of considerable pomp, using bombastic, exaggerated brass to great effect, and following that up with lighter fare. This mix has several moods - grandiose, understated, light, introspective - and is quite successful at utilizing all of them to form a compelling whole. Were I to envision an orchestral arrangement of the theme in question, it's the type of mix that, if I couldn't put together myself, I would nevertheless construct mentally. I used to play the cave stage over and over just to hear the original, and now I've got this :) Gray was perhaps the most positive judge:

"Nigel has finally done it. This is the work I knew you could do. Very fluid medley of cave and library theme. Amazing orchestration, instrumentation and production. Usage of articulations like trills are a nice touch. Great arrangement too. Easily some of the finest orchestration we've heard submitted. Extremely impressive and authentic."

I think Nigel's got a lot to be proud of as well - it's a short arrangement, but it says a lot, and most importantly it remains absolutely identifiable while taking the original and in a sense amplifying the melodies, giving them new life as more dramatic refrains in a richer variety of contexts. Great work, very expressive - a good idea, well-executed.

― djpretzel