ReMix: Seiken Densetsu 3 'Not So Ordinary People'
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- Game: Seiken Densetsu 3 (Square, 1995, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Jeremy Robson
- Composer(s): Hiroki Kikuta
- Song(s): Can You Fly, Sister?, Ordinary People
- Posted: 2006-01-10, evaluated by the judges
The ReMixer writes:
"As I am continually forced by my professors to compose original music in various modern idioms, I feel more and more drawn to arranging game music in styles I'd prefer to listen to. Next up is a take on the Ordinary People track (1-03) from Seiken Densetsu 3 that resembles the quick and colorful orchestrations of Russian composers Alexander Borodin and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. This is actually the first time I went the other way around and decided upon what style I wanted to do first, then found a track that fit the criteria. I wanted a rustic, folk-sounding dance, and I found that here.
For the B theme I used my favorite track Can You Fly, Sister? (3-01) which resembles the original much more than what I do elsewhere in the piece. Why? I guess you could say it's because much of this arrangement is based on the first four measures of the Ordinary People track, but I do manage to make other references to the original. I really hope people will listen to this and say "Yeah, that's SD3 alright!" and not "There he goes again, off on some kind of tangent."
Frankly, I just listen and say "Hey, that's dern good musics!," as Jeremy's latest is also some of his very best work to date. The underlying detail and intonation shifts here are amazing, and he's nailed his stated goal of Russian influence squarely on the head. There's bombastic exuberance, exotic intrigue, victorious fanfare, and beauty all rolled up in one. Right out of the gate you've got a wonderful clarient duet that harmonizes then splits off of the theme, and Robson maintains that high calibre throughout. JJT writes:
"Ah, I love me some Rimsky-Korsakov. I can definetly hear the influence, especially in the use of the low brass and in the percussion. Very nice work, Jeremy. You've got a great ear for arranging, and throw plenty of variations of the main themes into this piece. As you'd expect from a Robson ReMix, the samples are good and used effectively."
Perhaps it's because I like shorter-form pieces in general, but this is my favorite of Jeremy's submissions to date; I really admire the harmonic decisions to no end, the whole thing feels fresh and lively without throwing too large an arsenal at the listener, and even though the ReMixer's last couple pieces have had a Russian influence as well, I think it's standout orchestral work, conspicuous and singular. As a band geek that played a lot of Russian classical pieces (albeit adapted for concert band), I've got a predilection for such material, but I think anyone into orchestral will be able to sink their teeth into this. Great work.
Discussion: Latest 11 comments/reviews; view the Overall, a classy and ambitious remix with a really rich sound. Equal parts Brodin and Prokofiev (Wiki it, people) and great representation of a style that doesn't get much attention outside of Tetris mixes (which are still pretty awesome). Some of this seems like it could work over one of those awesome Russian propagandist movies from the 20s.
- Marmiduke on January 16, 2009
My favorite part is at 3:52, where the strings build up to a huge section...only they suddenly pull back for a gentle moment. Very tricky. Great job.
- DragonAvenger on November 23, 2008
- Rozovian on December 6, 2007
I remember this was on the front page when I first signed up for the site. :)
- OA on April 18, 2007
Robson's arrangements are really great. The samples aren't that bad either. I'd only wish he'd cut back on the reverb. Especially those fast parts sound really blurred. But that's just my opinion :)
- Uboichi2 on January 26, 2006
Seth Huber wrote: There's a bunch of sections that sound like they were directly ripped from Borodin's Polovetsian Dances. This is cool, I guess, but I wish it wasn't so jarring since they are so blatant.
Well he did mentiona Borodin as a major influence for the style...even so, the similarities are not so "jarring."
[Moderation Edit: Strong language not necessary] -Gray
- ubernym on January 12, 2006
- Anonymous on January 11, 2006
Although I don't know much of Russian orchestra, I still felt that Jeremy captured the feeling with the strings he used. They didn't always play a certain note, they played more randomly, like if you listened to a swarm of flies. This whole arrangement made me think of those huge danes the tsars used to arrange, a giant hall where the nobles did their dance on the floor with some fine classical music to dance to. It almost makes you forget that this is actually a remix. I did however recognize the happy melody of "Can you fly, sister?", it got a very beautiful feeling to it when the flutes played it.
Yeah, that's SD3 alright.
- Bummerdude on January 11, 2006
The entire track is intriguing and lively, and I can hear the 'Russian' feeling very plainly, although those lighter points at ~2:30 is very powerful, not in volume, but just in emotion.
I give a 9.5/10
- Astantia on January 10, 2006
For this ReMix, however, the brass sounds significantly better, and serve as no detriment to the fantastic arrangement here. I'm not familiar enough with Russian composers to make any statements regarding the themes used here, all I can say is that this is yet again a very lively and well-pieced orchestral ReMix from Jeremy Robson.
And given a name as familiar as his, what else could you expect?
- The Xyco on January 10, 2006
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