ReMix:Final Fantasy V "Standard of Light" 4:41

Time for a touch of class on the front page with Bluelighter's genteel solo piano performance of two themes from Final Fantasy V! For me, it's also exciting to have the first OC ReMix invoking "Pirates Ahoy" in more than twenty years. :-) As Guillaume explained, he was inspired to transform a valiant theme into something serene:

"Here is a piano arrangement of FF5 "Search of Light" and a little of "Pirates Ahoy". Original music composed by Nobuo UEMATSU. As an exercise, I tried at the beginning to play a heroic theme of FF5 in a nostalgic, peaceful mood. I've found the result interesting and I've started to develop this to get a complete arrangement.

I've begun with heroic harmonies of "Search of Light's" intro, those I've adapted in soft arpeggios. The main theme comes after (part 2 to 4).

At part 5, I continue the melodic line with some arpeggios like in the intro.

Parts 6 and 7 get closer to the heroic mood of the original. By using some variations in harmony, I've recognized a little "Pirates Ahoy". So I've integrated some winks and I conclude the arrangement by "Pirates Ahoy", in the same mood as the beginning.

For the title, I've thought to a flag used by some warriors of the see, in the light side.

Breakdown:

* Part 1: 0'00: "Search of Light" intro (0'00 -> 0'03)
* Part 2: 0'43: SL 0'03 -> 0'22
* Part 3: 1'19: SL 0'22 -> 0'30
* Part 4: 1'40: SL 0'03 -> 0'22
* Part 5: 2'13: SL 0'22 -> 0'30 with key transposition of 0'30
* Part 6: 2'30:
- variation of SL 0'03 -> 0'22
- introducing harmonies of "Pirates Ahoy" and some winks to "Pirates Ahoy"
* Part 7: 3'05: SL 0'30 -> 0'44
* Part 8: 3'28: SL 0'03 -> 0'22 and PA 0 -> 0'40 together
* Part 9: 3'58: PA 0 -> 0'40"

The ReMix opens sounding nice and lush, so we're in for a treat! Judge prophetik music appreciated every nook and cranny of the performance, insightfully praising an effective tempo change that allowed the primary source tune to shine:

"opening section has some Prelude vibes to it. 0:43's descending arpeggio is nice, and the contrast between the triplet fanfare elements and the duple left hand is a fun concept. there's a lot of patience here whereas i've always thought In Search of Light felt too fast in-game. i think that taking a bit more time gives the melodic elements more weight. 2:13's key change was nice to add some verve. [...]

2:30 gets a lot louder and bolder, and trucks through some new material as well. after the big hit at 3:20, we get some layering of themes - these two fit together really nicely, and hearing the lydian harmonies of pirates ahoy against ISoL's chords is neat. after this it moves through the descending arpeggio line once more and then we get an open chord to finish it off.

this is straightforward and well-done. there's some interesting adaptation done here both in dovetailing PA into ISoL, and separately with expanding a pretty straightforward fanfare theme. nice work."

I particularly enjoyed Bluelighter's supporting writing underneath the arranged melody, giving this a graceful sense of movement. Very restrained and tasteful integration of "Pirates Ahoy" as well. Like prophetik, judge MindWanderer also praised this piece as bringing out some of the best qualities of the original music:

"Beautiful, rich interpretation of the source material. Clearly written and performed by someone passionate about the work, which is odd given that it's a lesser-known track off the OST. It's a little simpler than other Bluelighter mixes I recall, but there's certainly enough depth to hold up."

I agreed with MindWanderer that you can easily hear how Bluelighter has love and respect for Uematsu's compositions as expressed through this performance. Though when MW framed this as feeling "simpler" than other Bluelighter pieces, I respectfully disagreed on this lacking depth in any meaningful way. There's an apocryphal quote attributed to da Vinci: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Though da Vinci likely never said it, the saying's truth still applies here. Relaxing, emotive, and engaging, this delicate piece achieves everything it sets out to do! :-)