ReMix:Final Fantasy IV "Edward's Dream Quartet" 7:03

Yowza... this is some seriously strong classical composing on OCR! Final Fantasy music has always been overtly classical, but this takes it to a whole new level. I'm usually torn between whether I enjoy the traditional string quartet sound, but this... this won me over. Dense with detail and nuance, it deserves and demands several listens to soak it all up.

I enjoyed each movement in different ways, but would have to admit that it is NOT ideal for anything but active listening. If you are going to listen to this one, stop what you are doing and LISTEN. It'll help you enjoy it all the more.

MORE ARRANGEMENTS AND PERFORMANCES OF THIS CALIBRE PLEASE! So ridiculously competent.

Yeah, it's funny; I was in a discussion about community violin players with OA the other day and he brought up James George. So I guess I could listen here and see what he did.

You picked a tricky source to work with; seemed to be really devoid of substance outside of that repetitive harp, but to see it being arranged with the chords of the harp's patterns in mind takes it in a classier approach, and with James's performance matching really well on the violin leads, we have something that feels quite expressive.

Of all the four different variations here, I felt happiest with the second movement; naturally I may be a sucker for more jollier performances, but that actually manages to capture the source and presented it in a very logical context given the pacing of it, not to mention I felt the violin parts were the most expressed/tightest played there for me in the mix. The fourth movement with the pizzicato playing, while not quite as tight, did make me smile with the surprised direction taken with the sounds here and was a very ridiculous yet amusing way to end what appears to be this more classically-minded take on the source.

I'm not saying the other two movements stuck out as much, just didn't find them quite as memorable as the others; but it may not be a bad thing considering this might be mood music in more ways than one.

Either way, a very fun way to tackle what appears to be a very restricted (harmony-wise) source. It may end up taking some people some time to digest it, but when putting in the track's context into play with the rest of the album you can see how much of a surprise element it could be in regards to arrangement. Hopefully you two will put out similarly strong works for 2012

Pretty downright impressive just for the sheer effort that went into extrapolating this small source into something so grand and complete. Abadoss left no doors unopened with the orchestration, and James George too deserves high commendations for taking the time to actually perform all of this. Incredible

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. This is a really elegant and beautiful piece that brings us some much needed classical sounding tunes. I'm not much of a "classical music" type of guy, but it really helps to have a break from your musical norms and this is a very nice cut from my usual rock and electronica. Glad to see such a great 7 plus minute ReMix represent the album and game it came from. Cheers.

I really enjoy this, whether or not that's because I've always been in love with the source *and* string instruments... I can't say. It's just great to hear Edward's theme expanded on and fluffed out. I wouldn't have minded hearing some more up tempo things in this piece, but as is I still find it enjoyable. It's great background music without being overbearing.

Around the 5:40 mark there's something that sounds like.. plucked strings? I'm not sure because I'm kinda slow about music, but yeah, I like that part.

I feel refined and smart just listening to it

In fact I love to play it while doing my homework. Boosting my concentration is a great side effect in my opinion.

Good job !

Here's my breakdown of this song:

*ridiculously complex string arrangement that makes me wish I knew more theory so I could appreciate it more*

*pageflip*

*ridiculously complex string arrangement that makes me wish I knew more theory so I could appreciate it more*

*pageflip*

*ridiculously complex string arrangement that makes me wish I knew more theory so I could appreciate it more*

*pageflip*

.... you see where I'm going with this, right?

Yes, this is another piece that is hard for the average OCR-goer to properly digest, but that is the nature of what you created, is it not? It is genuinely authentic in what it set out to be, and that kind of dedication is very respectable for this mix. It may not be my cup of tea, but I can tell the kind of work that went into it.

A slow-moving piece that doesn't steal the spotlight, the only criticism I can offer besides any coming from personal preference of musical style would be to indeed variate the speed throughout the mix, just to kind of keep a little bit more attention.

Great, deep work.

This is ridiculously classy and well performed. I feel refined and smart just listening to it, and Ken and James did a fantastic job on it. Super props, guys, I always love your work.

I've played a ton of string quartets in my high school and college career and the one thing I can say about string quartets - they're all kinda boring. Appreciating them takes a lot of active rather than passive listening skills. String quartets were designed for polite dancing and mingling, not grabbing your ears by the balls in the middle of a crowded restaurant (yes, there are many avant-garde Julliard quartets out there, but rest assured, one of those this is not).

Another consideration to take into account is the source material. The second mvmt is just the original source melody but thoroughly fleshed out; it's not really Abadoss's fault that that section is boring, what he did with it quartet-wise in fact is brilliant, beautiful and definitely the pride of this piece. Perhaps a fair criticism might be that the 2nd mvmt should have been the first so that the listener could identify with the theme right off the bat, and have a little more context to appreciate the material that followed. Abadoss could have created all kinds of tempos, sure, but I think he made the tasteful choice given the constraints: it had to stay true to the source, and it could not be too original.

And thank God he didn't make it harder to play than it already was. I haven't played hardcore violin in two years Sorry for the flubs man.

really wished as you went through movement you had contrasting tempos, like a real string quartet piece might have D:

QFT. You know, this is probably really good and awesome and musically it's quite complex, and for the first minute or so I hear that. I really do. It's well written and a smart arrangement that fits really well into the chosen style and at times it is quite clever.

But you know what else it is? Boring. Seven minutes of this going on at the same pace and tempo, it pretty much puts me to sleep after this first minute or so. There's hardly any variation, and the stops and starts between movements only seems to exacerbate things. The only time I could think of myself enjoying this would be if it was playing in the background at a really fancy restaurant, and every once in a while I could tune in to what is otherwise background noise and say "Hey isn't that from FF4? Oh well, back to my incredibly hot date, who is totally interested in me and doesn't think I'm a total douchebag."

Sorry, but this just doesn't cut it for me. Production wise it's fine but the arrangement is just so boring to listen to.

really wished as you went through movement you had contrasting tempos, like a real string quartet piece might have D:

very interesting stuff nonetheless

To me this is a pretty complex tune and I honestly had some troubles at first. But listening over and over again I started to hear out alot of tiny bits here and there that I have missed.

I can only recommend everyone to give this more than just a quick listen. Take your time, at best try to be relaxed and then I think a wonderful world of music will open for you - at least that's how I experienced it.

This feels like the VGM equivalent of Finnegans Wake. I could spend weeks or months trying to understand it. Not light listening, but I can appreciate the effort and arranging prowess that went into it. Great job, though it makes my head hurt.

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