I. Andante con moto - 0:00 II. Intermezzo - Allegro scherzando - 12:01 III. Adagio sostenuto - moderato - 17:00 IV. Finale - Presto furioso - 25:24 Here is a tribute to one of the most iconic soundtracks ever made – Final Fantasy X. It marked the first time that Nobuo Uematsu didn’t work alone on a mainline FF title – together with the music of (then) newcomers Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano, I think the result is a classic that is very different than any other Final Fantasy soundtrack to date. While FF soundtracks often predominantly feature (synthesized) orchestral music amongst several other styles, this is noticeably absent from FFX. It often has an Asian sound to it, with interestingly a heavy focus on piano music. Naturally, this resulted in a beautiful piano collections arranged by Masashi Hamauzu. Yet, I felt that the versatility of the original music always leaves room open for new interpretations. I’ve been having the idea to arrange the music in a classical form for a long time, but after the stunning 2013 FFX piano concerto by Hamauzu and Roger Wanamo showed how well this can work, I started arranging this four movement Sonata. While the piece almost never truly follows a specific narrative and is in fact sometimes quite anachronistic (for musical reasons), each movement is intended as a reflection or impression of the game and its soundtrack. Beneath is an explanation of each movement, while not revealing too many track titles – It is my intention that you experience every movement as a coherent piece rather than a collection of several tracks. ☺ I. Andante con moto This movement is loosely based on a traditional sonata form featuring some of the most important themes. The ‘first theme group’ resembles the opening sequence of the game and starts with the famous ‘To Zanarkand’. It becomes more intense as Sin floods Zanarkand until it moves on to ‘This is your story’. The second theme introduces the holy song ‘Hymn of the Fayth’ played in a rather contemplative mood, with passagework suggesting the game’s pyreflies wandering around – eventually I depict a summoning which brings the music to a climax. The ‘development section’ then follows. Traditionally, this builds upon the previous themes, but in this case I also explore various other (area) themes from the game – can you spot them all? ☺ This symbolizes the journey the party is making up to an important moment in the story – no spoilers here –, which is reflected by ‘Truth revealed’. Since this track in itself features the Zanarkand theme, this also marks the beginning of the reprise. It’s layered with ‘Hymn of the Fayth’ to emphasize the drama of this moment, which means that the first and second themes are reprised together. The abridged reprise then quietly ends this first movement. II. Intermezzo – Allegro scherzando Between two larger movements, this intermezzo features tracks heard while enjoying the gameplay and exploration, including some that have not been arranged for the piano before. I don’t think it needs much explanation, although, towards the end you might notice how the ‘Thunder Plains’ builds towards a bit of a climax, suggesting you’re actually being struck by lightning. ☺ III. Allegro sostenuto – Moderato *Spoiler alert!* The rather tragic nature of the love story is reflected here. The outer sections of the movement consist of ‘Wandering Flame’, a track that, with its ethereal sound for me symbolizes Tidus being merely a dream. From there on the love song ‘Suteki da ne’ takes a central place, played in various iterations, starting with the ‘Someday the dream will end’ version subtly layered with the Mt. Gagazet theme (the wall with the dreaming fayth is there), after which the original song is fully played, portraying the romance between Tidus and Yuna. However, after a passionate climax, the Hymn of the Fayth interrupts as Tidus’ fate becomes clear – and the movement ends with the sound of extreme desolation. A short transition between the third movement and the finale brings another statement of Hymn of the Fayth as sung by the people of Spira to subdue Sin, which launches directly into… IV. Finale – Presto Furioso Action time! Admittedly, I’m not the first one combining ‘Decisive Battle’ and ‘Assault’ in a final movement, but one cannot make a FFX arrangement without featuring these outstanding tracks. The final battle is the focus of the movement, but with ‘Assault’ there is also a throwback to the wedding crash scene. In the middle of the movement, there is a short retreat from the action and a beloved theme from the first movement is briefly re-introduced. From there on though, the music gradually goes back again into the final battle, which leads to the conclusion of the piece: a bold statement of the ‘Ending Theme’ (Zanarkand) as the story comes to an end.

• published: 11 Jul 2015
• views: 3310