Arranging the music of 4 songs...

"A Bell is Tolling", "Eternal Recurrence", "Now Flightless Wings", "The Little Sprite"

Primary Game: Secret of Mana (Square , 1993, SNES), music by Hiroki Kikuta

Posted 2019-04-16, evaluated by Gario


We're back after a bit of a break with an amazing, Secret of Mana symphonic mega-collaboration from Rebecca E. Tripp:

"This is part of my long-awaited "Secret of Mana Epic Orchestral Medley," a massive collaboration I did with about 20 people! It has been in the works for some years, but I waited until this winter to really dive into it. I am extremely glad I made this decision for one reason: around 80% of the instruments were performed live by real artists! This is the largest collaborative work I've ever produced and it was a lot of fun! THANK YOU, EVERYONE who helped me to perform this piece! :D

Special thanks to the Materia Collective for so readily and enthusiastically volunteering your services! Also, special thanks to Daniel Cortes for supplying a beautiful string section (who all worked tirelessly for days on end to get it right) and to Gregory Orosz for performing such an incredible range of instruments, styles, and parts featured in every movement. Aside from that improv, the arrangement, mixing, and composition were all done by myself. The medley is based on the incredible works of Hiroki Kikuta!

Here's the entire suite in case you're interested. I realize that this excerpt is kind of long and has a lot of movements.

Songs remixed: "Eternal Recurrence," "A Bell Is Tolling," "Now Flightless," "The Little Sprite"

Here are the names and credits for the people who performed parts for this excerpt:

Gario evaluated the mix and was sufficiently blown away:

"Why, hello there! Um... wow, this is something special. You've really outdone yourself on this one, with all of the live performers on this one (playing superbly, might I add). Listening to the rest of the suite, I can't wait to see if you're willing to submit the rest of the movements.It would be amazing if we heard the rest of it on here, even in smaller movements like this one here. ;) Amazing work, so glad you posted a piece of it for us to share."

Hearing Rebecca's work brought to life by so many talented & familiar instrumentalists is truly special, as Greg writes. Her arranging skills have always transported & impressed, but she's improved her production to match, and having so many live performances only sweetens things further. Be sure to check out the full suite for more!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 4 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
CJthemusicdude
on 2024-04-26 16:06:46

Seeing the amount of people that worked on this made my head spin a little. In fitting fashion, this remix is incredibly dense. This heavily sounds like a movie soundtrack, and every section of the remix could easily fit as a backdrop for a scene. Very good job by everyone who worked on this, excellent remix! :)

avatar
Nase
on 2019-04-18 23:30:16

so good to see there's people out there still trying to do big things with the secret of mana tracks. got a little teary eyed when i saw the whole youtube arrangement.

great treatment of individual tunes, with some good and some so-so transitions. i (partly) realize the extreme work that must go into arranging, coordinating and mixing this...it's an accomplishment in itself.

it works as a megamedley. it's pleasant to listen to for sure. but of course, it meanders and lacks a greater development over 30 minutes.

i think you could do incredible stuff if you focus a little less on cramming every tune you like in the soundtrack in there and see how you can expand the whole soundtrack with more involved, dynamic arranging (less 'next tune', more 'what does this need as a 30 minute piece'). of course, this multiplies the already staggering amount of work :)

great work, and i see you've done similar things with other OSTs. i think megamedleys are cool, but they can be so much greater when you break up the 'tune after tune' formula at some point and go wild.

avatar
lemnlime
on 2019-04-17 15:28:45

Wow! What an awesome group effort! Live instruments are definitely the best for orchestral covers. Only critique I have is that the way it ended was kind of dull. I would've preferred hearing something more climactic to close things off, like a crescendo.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2019-04-04 17:08:31

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

Sources Arranged (4 Songs)


Primary Game:
Secret of Mana (Square , 1993, SNES)
Music by Hiroki Kikuta
Songs:
"A Bell is Tolling"
"Eternal Recurrence"
"Now Flightless Wings"
"The Little Sprite"

Tags (23)


Genre:
Symphonic
Mood:
Energetic,Suspenseful
Instrumentation:
Bassoon,Bells,Cello,Chromatic Percussion,Clarinet,Flute,French Horn,Harp,Orchestral,Piano,Strings,Trombone,Trumpet,Viola,Violin,Woodwinds
Additional:
Arrangement > Medley
Origin > Collaboration
Production > Live Instruments
Time > Tempo: Variable

File Information


Name:
Secret_of_Mana_Eternal_Beginnings_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,906,081 bytes
MD5:
a5da7d64290e0cede1327d955c9a8b0e
Bitrate:
213Kbps
Duration:
5:30

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