ReMix:Chrono Trigger "As Blew the Winds, So Forward Marched Time" 4:48

By JohnStacy

Arranging the music of one song...

"Yearnings of the Wind"

Primary Game: Chrono Trigger (Square , 1995, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu, Noriko Matsueda, Yasunori Mitsuda

Posted 2019-05-08, evaluated by the judges panel


Enjoy the rich, sonorous tones of eight French horns as John Stacy delivers a modern classical octet take on the iconic "Yearnings of the Wind" aka "600AD," injecting new harmonies & feels into a timeless theme:

"I've never played Chrono Trigger. Last December, I participated in a secret Santa kind of thing in another community. This track was what I did for that, going off the list of likes saying SNES RPGs. I do know that Chrono Trigger is one of those. I asked her if she would mind submitting it to OCR, and she liked the idea.

As for the track itself, I have never played the game but am familiar with the music. I just don't know about context of the music at all. This is an arrangement of the 600AD Overworld theme. I arranged it in a dark, Grainger/Wagner kind of style, with lots of chromatic harmonic movement and various textures from lush to sparse. It is arranged for 8 French horns."

So French. So very, very French. And horn. And yet perhaps more German/American in its harmonic approach, walking the line between classical and what comes off to me as jazz at parts; mellow, lustrous, contemporary, and by all means an enjoyable new vision for where this melody can be taken. Liontamer writes:

"To me, this is a solid, smart, transformative arrangement concept and an easy pass, but you should at least give this a few listens to get used to the style and better recognize how the original song is used, since there's some slowing down along with some long-held notes within the melodic phrases. It gets more musical with repeated listens; again, not a slight against this, just acknowledging that it's a challenging, cerebral piece."

It's a slow, gradual burn, but if you transport Crono & crew to a fall day in Central Park, sit everyone down on a bench with a cup of joe, & have them stare meaningfully into the distance, I think you're there. Sir_NutS opines:

"Definitely getting some Wagner vibes here and there while listening to this. It's a solid and very original take on this song, and I think not being familiar with the context helped a ton with this aspect. On the performance side of things, everything is very well done."

As fan of Wagner's music, independent of his unfortunate views on Semitic peoples, this actually *didn't* strike me as all that Wagnerian. I mean, obviously it's brass and it has some of the harmonies, but the general vibe hit me more as early 20th century contemporary, w/ jazz influences, and less as 19th century Romanticism, without. Your mileage may vary, but either way listeners should keep an open mind, and ear, for the way John has recontextualized & woven in the melodic lines - they're still very much there, but serving different roles. Judges seemed a little pessimistic on anticipated reception, but we've heard Chrono Trigger done a variety of superb-but-intuitive ways, and I think something a bit more challenging, and unique, is absolutely engaging. I also think that for an octet of the same instrument, this shows off the timbral variety & emotional diversity the horn is capable of; very cool!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 4 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
CJthemusicdude
on 2024-04-26 14:34:10

I have no connection with the source, but this sounded very good. I am no expert on horns by any stretch, but I can tell musical chops when I hear them. This sounded very well played. Great job on this!

avatar
Souperion
on 2019-05-12 20:36:08

I applaud this innovative approach to the classic. It gives me Earthbound vibes at times, and the performance is surprisingly supple. The inherit warm feeling of the french horns makes it somewhat relaxing, despite the nicely done musical tension and dissonance that made it feel very organic. A triumph for Chrono Trigger, for video game music as an art median, and of course, to the mixer. Well done!

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LamanKnight
on 2019-05-08 19:09:11

I'm not really a student of music, so I can't comment on what composers this remix reminds me of. But I am a brass player, and I can say that I will never complain about a remix using so many horns! (Seriously, can we get some more of those, anybody? I would love that, if anybody is looking to try it out.)

This is radically different from any other remix of this song that I've heard, and I love that. If someone were to have said to me, "OK, picture a song from Chrono Trigger, but in an old-time cinematic style that borders between symphonic and jazz," I would have never assumed I'd find that appealing. But, now that I hear it, I enjoy it! So thanks for making and sharing this, JohnStacy.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2019-04-30 15:22:43

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Chrono Trigger (Square , 1995, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu,Noriko Matsueda,Yasunori Mitsuda
Songs:
"Yearnings of the Wind"

Tags (9)


Genre:
Classical,Experimental
Mood:
Jazzy,Mellow
Instrumentation:
Brass,French Horn,Sound FX
Additional:
Arrangement > Minimalist
Production > Live Instruments

File Information


Name:
Chrono_Trigger_As_Blew_the_Winds_So_Forward_Marched_Time_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,007,481 bytes
MD5:
57754dbb56a75507c7fa6d411baa26ab
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:48

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