ReMix:Final Fantasy V "Galuf's World" 4:00

Our second Tripp-post of the day comes with a second reminder to check out & consider supporting her kickstarter for a livestreamed Chrono Trigger concert - should be awesome! Of this symphonic ballad with deliberate melodic writing, a Taiko-style drum groove, & faster arpeggiated harp/harpsichord accompaniment, she writes:

"Galuf is by far my favourite character in Final Fantasy 5! Though he didn't have a theme song in the game, I consider the original track, "Unknown Lands" or "World 2" in FF5 to be his unofficial theme. "Dear Friends" also makes me think of him, but this theme seems very... Galuf -- especially after we learn more of his incredible backstory!

I wanted the song to sound kingly, proud, tempered, and solemn. It sort of represents to me Galuf's fatherly devotion to not only his kingdom and remaining family and compatriots, but his lifelong quest to restore the balance to the world and repair the wounded fabric of reality. He is a noble warrior, a fearless leader, and a selfless comrade-in-arms who fights side by side with his subjects and considers nothing to be beneath him.

In this arrangement, I also tried to recall the "Main Theme" from FF4, which I think is aesthetically and thematically very similar. In many ways, "Galuf's World" could be considered the "true" setting in FF5 and "Unknown Lands" is the truest "main" overworld theme, for although the merged world was the original world and Bartz's world is the one the player starts the game in, during the current events of FF5, the merged world is sort of a long-forgotten golden age and the events in Bartz's world, epic as they might be, are side effects of the great struggle between Enuo and the Dawn Warriors. Thus, in this track, I attempted to encapsulate the very heart of Final Fantasy 5 -- one which beats deeply and somberly underneath the cheerful and colorful veneer."

Some neat stuff going on, here; tempo fluctuations, an uneasy/unresolved ending, the afforementioned double-time rise/fall harp(sichord) bits, and the pairing of an orchestral palette with a minimalist drum groove that channels traditional Japanese music. Gario had some specific nitpicks with his general approval:

"I've been on a heavy FFV kick lately (currently doing a second run, this time natural-chaos-Krile variant), so this comes at just the right time for me. One of the underrated themes from this soundtrack, too - I can't say I don't appreciate this submission.

The orchestration is up to your normally high standards, and there are some cool arrangement ideas to help this stand on its two feet (cut-time for the first iteration of the track to open, then regular time with more sweeping instruments as an example)... humanization is as it should be - I could nitpick a few string entrances in the beginning of the track, but at this point it could be personal preference. The high strings could be mixed better, though... solid work regardless - it captures the ethereal atmosphere of the source wonderfully."

Liontamer adds:

"Another great example of a structurally conservative but creatively arranged interpretation. Rebecca's ornamentations always add that extra level of personality to the mix. Good work, and glad to hear an arrangement of this theme on OCR finally; been a low-key fan of it for a while."

Good stuff; many harder-core FF & VGM fans are pretty familiar with FF5, but it always helps to keep preaching the gospel ;) Two great ReMixes from Rebecca, both of which you'll enjoy... be sure to check out her kickstarter and spread the news, as I'm sure her Chrono Trigger work will be equally enthralling!