Memories of the Last War: A Symphonic Fantasy (on the music from the Estpolis video game series) Transcribed, arranged, and orchestrated by Patrick Waters Completed on 16 Feb 2004 After almost eleven months of on-and-off work, 'Memories of the Last War' is finally complete. What began as a simple experiment in using a large orchestral setting has turned into something that I never imagined, and it's certainly the largest, most complicated piece I've arranged to date. Over the course of the past eleven months, 'Memories' has endured several transformations: after I began the project 24 March 2003, prior to the release of the most recent addition to the series (The Ruins of Lure), the work initially consisted of the current opening movement, 'The Gate of Journey', 'The Last Dual', 'For the Savior', and finally a reduced version of the current second movement. I was unsatisfied with the dramatic element I presented in the music at that point, I moved the jovial wedding dance to follow the introductory movement with a segue into the main theme of the dance. Realizing the potential for even grander ventures, I conceived the current thematic progression of the source music less than two months following work on the introduction. I wanted a physical, hard copy of something from the whole project, and in late May 2003, I sketched out a plan of the final movement, including orchestration, some thematic counterpoint ideas, et cetera. With that out of the way, work started on composing the piano part, the central instrument of the ending. Drawing on inspiration from Chopin Ballades and Rachmaninoff concerti, the draft version of the piano part received its final note mid-June 2003, and the orchestral complement was completed the following month. The project was near completion, it would seem. With the second movement very dry and timbrally repetitive at first, between June and August 2003 I played around with it, working on different orchestrations of the themes, tossing in a countermelody here and there, and leaving it to tweak other movements. Only very recently (Jan 2004) did it receive any additional treatment since it was last revised. A vigorous (and very blatant) nod to Tchaikovsky, the completely new introduction has an exposed harp solo, and the edited and expanded coda section ties all the thematic material of the movement together. The months between August and October 2003 saw very little productivity on the 'Memories' project. In late October/early November 2003, several newer (and better sounding) samples came into my possession, including a new percussion library and piano sample. Reorchestrating and rebalancing much (if not all) of the work was my next task, and between December 2003 and January 2004, new percussion parts (glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, wind chimes) were added to the fourth movement to fill in the hollow sound of the Battle Theme from 'The Legend Returns'. All throughout 'Memories', countermelody plays an important role in creating dramatic effects needed to make this music convincing. In many cases, the original source music has enough secondary melodies, so all I had to do was consider smart ways of exposing them without overpowering the main themes. As things progressed, I added some of my own techniques to the music, creating countermelodies, additional counterpoint, more complex harmonies, and other techniques typical of a trained (and training) composer. Forgive me for waxing musically philosophical, but I feel a lot of the beauty of 'Memories' comes from the dissonance and dialectic attributes of melody versus countermelody. I could write for pages on the specifics of each of the movements, and I would very much enjoy doing so, but revealing too much detail would compromise the musical integrity of 'Memories'. However, one of two important considerations I can reveal is that the whole work is cyclic in terms of tonal center, which consists of the following: --- I Bb minor -> Bb major parallel modulation II From Mvt I -> Bb major -> [(trio section) F major] -> Bb major -> [(coda) Eb major -> Bb major] dominant relation return to tonic plagal relation return to tonic III From Mvt II -> Ab major -> F minor -> Ab major (see below) relative modulation IV From Mvt III -> F minor -> (immediately to Mvt V) relative modulation V (immediately from Mvt IV) -> F major -> Bb major parallel mod. dominant relation Note: The first pitch of Mvt III is the tonic of Bb, the key of the preceeding movement, in a sort of common-tone modulation. --- Likewise, much of the thematic material is also cyclic, with themes appearing from earlier movements and developing in later ones. The strongest example of this occurance is the Finale movement, wherein at the halfway section (just before the piano cadenza) the horns carry a countermelody consisting of themes from the climax of the fourth movement. Additionally, the attentive listener will notice that the coda contains four different thematic lines. For the most part, I want the audience of this piece to hear the music, not the orchestra. Again I may be getting too philosophic for an already too heavy description of the music, but my intention is for the listener to hear colors, timbres, and sounds, not digital instruments. To ignore the fact that this is a completely synthesized ensemble would be egregious, but the quality of the sound should be held in a different light from the music itself. If I am to be criticized or praised for the work put into the creation of this, I would be more appreciative of responses that comment on the music, rather than on the sound of the orchestra. I object to claiming that everything I have done was perfect or ideal or should be considered a model for arranging and transcribing video game music into an orchestral setting, but all told, I simply would like an audience to enjoy listening to my work. I hope that reading this treatise allows for a greater understanding of what I endured to produce this massive work. Patrick Waters 18 Feb 2004 --- Memories of the Last War: A Symphonic Fantasy total running time 30:55 I Introduzione: Moderato 2:24 II Menuetto: Andante tranquillo - Allegretto (Tempo di valse) 7:27 III Riposo: Andante espressivo 6:38 IV Battaglia feroce: Andante moderato - Allegro agitato - Presto e furioso (attacca:) 6:24 V Finale: Andante malinconia - Andante maestoso 8:02 Orchestration: Winds 1 Piccolo 2 Flutes 1 Alto Flute 2 Oboes 1 English Horn 2 Bb Clarinets 1 Bb Bass Clarinet 2 Bassoons 1 Contrabassoon 4 F Horns 3 Bb (and C) Trumpets (1 C Piccolo Trumpet and off-stage) 2 Tenor Trombones 1 Bass Trombone 1 Tuba Percussion 1 Crash cymbal 1 Suspended cymbal 3 Snare drums (left-center-right) 1 Bass drum 1 Vibraphone 1 Xylophone 1 Marimba 1 Glockenspiel 1 Triangle Chimes (Tubular bells) Wind chimes Timpani Miscellaneous Piano/Harpsichord Organ 4 Harps Strings (all additionally with divisi and solo) Violin I Violin II Viola Violoncello Contrabass Source materials (in order of use): Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - The Memory of the Last War Lufia II: The Rise of the Sinistrals - Rice Shower Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - Theme of Castle Lufia The Legend Returns - Melphis' Theme* Lufia The Ruins of Lore - Sad Town Theme* Lufia The Ruins of Lore - Ancient Town Theme* Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - The Gate of Journey Lufia The Legend Returns - Battle Theme* Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - The Last Duel Lufia II: The Rise of the Sinistrals - For the Savior Lufia II: The Rise of the Sinistrals - Ending * named by the arranger This file and its content are protected under International Copyright Laws and are the intellectual property of the author. It is prohibited to take any piece of this document and reproduce and/or distribute it in anyway without the written consent of the author. Any website or other published medium found to have this document without permission will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Copyright © 2004 by Patrick T. Waters patrickwaters at betterthanbach dot com