| ~Hakurei Shrine~ > Touhou Addict Recovery Center |
| Characters, music, personalities. |
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| Fightest:
--- Quote from: PriestYoshi on September 07, 2009, 07:50:45 AM ---I'm gonna have to play devils advocate on Phantom Ensemble here. I'm definitely picking up each sister in the arrangement. Lyrica (Keyboard) - The youngest sister. Starts the entire piece with some beautiful keyboard. When her other sisters are in the foreground, she plays some rhytmic support beats percussion style. She's described as the keyboardist and percussionist of the group, so it fits that she would be some rather rhythmic support beats on that keyboard. She's described as the sly one that likes to make her sisters do the work, the fact that she slips down into the supporting rhythmic section a lot of the time reflects it. Lunasa (Violin) - The eldest sister. She's very quiet and calculating in personality. According to her official profile, she prefers solo performances. After Lyrica's intro, she's brings in the main melody with precision. She gives up her spot rather quickly to Merlin though. She's described as someone who hates cheating and believes in fairness in her official profile, so the fact that she steps down for Merlin may be that she's letting everyone have their turn in the spotlight. Merlin (Trumpet) - The middle sister. She's the happy-go-lucky one of the group and is always rather excited. Her trumpet sections are usually very loud, fast, and sporadic. This reflects her vibrant attitude and her desire for the spotlight. Even when all three sisters are jamming out, Merlin is usually the one most prominently heard. --- End quote --- Awesome! I agree with your points, and they certainly do the sisters more justice than my lumping of them together. :) It would have been cooler, I think, if ZUN used exclusively piano, trumpet and violin for this track, but he might not have been as confident back then to break away from his usual stuff. That said, Phantom Ensemble is quite radically different already, what with it being so all over the place, so... |
| Nine West:
--- Quote from: Fightest on September 07, 2009, 08:35:56 AM ---It would have been cooler, I think, if ZUN used exclusively piano, trumpet and violin for this track, but he might not have been as confident back then to break away from his usual stuff. That said, Phantom Ensemble is quite radically different already, what with it being so all over the place, so... --- End quote --- Yes. I was quite disappointed when ZUN did not remix Ghostly Band ~ Phantom Ensemble into three different versions for the release of PoFV. That was such a good chance, considering how the Prismrivers were separated as 3 different characters. That said, the song itself is incredibly melodic, despite the fact that Merlin occasionally blasted her trumpet. :D This is an interesting read so far, keep up the good work! |
| Kuma:
this is enertaining. keep going! |
| Fightest:
Yuyuko Saigyouji - Bloom Nobly, Cherry Blossom of Sumizome ~ Border of Life As is befitting a final boss, and much like Septette, Bloom Nobly is chock-full of character. Obviously, it's very different from Septette in the character that it presents. I'll split by section as appropriate. We start with a guitar-and-piano motif that will stay with us for large sections of the piece, comfortable and quietly establishing a main theme. It is a melodic motif, with warm harmonies, albeit played somewhat harshly on the piano. But Cosmic Mind this ain't, and Yuyuko's patience can run dry - the warm harmony is replaced by menacing chords that only seem to grow in power every iteration, towering over the listener and strongly suggesting that he take matters seriously. Once the listener is properly humbled, the piece explodes into the main melody again, at full power, melodic as before but with far more volume and density to it. Yuyuko is herself through and through, and her nature remains whether she is calm or wrathful. Yuyuko will establish her dominance, but not through manipulation, like Septette's Remilia, or brutality, like U.N. Owen's Flandre, but through sheer force of will. Yuyuko is merciful, however. She will not impose more than she has to - she will let the listener rest, as her theme winds down into a gentle set of piano arpeggios, going nowhere really, not suggesting any developments, just carrying the piece along like some meaningless small talk. But Yuyuko is Yuyuko, and her very presence imposes an overwhelming will if she does not intentionally suppress it. Once again the powerful trumpet theme takes over in a different melody. Yuyuko has more to her than just seen at first impression, certainly - imagine the melody that takes over played alone, without any accompaniment, and in, say, flute or clarinet. The melodic line is fanciful, whimsical, self-indulgent, perhaps a bit playful. The characteristics, perhaps, of a slightly spoiled, somewhat selfish child or teenager. Yuyuko does not mind showing this side of her, and might be even willing to do so once the formalities of "who's boss here" are settled. She, however, probably does not realise the filter through which this side of her passes - her overwhelming, mind-numbing power - so effortlessly does the melody merge with the instrumental power reserved for gods and demons. The listener is absolutely blasted by playful whimsy, and has no choice but to submit. Every once in a while she'll realise that she's crowding the listener and hangs back - during these moments the listener gets a chance to collect themselves, before Yuyuko continues in her usual vein, and once more the listener just has to brace and hope for dear life. One final consideration - those moments of rest are extremely precise, very carefully dividing her outbursts of will. Perhaps Yuyuko is more aware of her charisma than one might think, and knows exactly how to use her power to greatest effect without burning out the listener. That in mind, the image of Yuyuko as manipulative chessmaster that we sometimes get in canon and fanon is rather appropriate. So that's the Yuyuko we get - 50% spoiled princess, 50% charismatic chessmaster, 100% willpower. |
| Fightest:
I'll skip Border of Life and Necrofantasia for the moment. Ran Yakumo - A Maiden's Illusionary Funeral ~ Necro-fantasy. Oof. Far more complicated than U.N. Owen, with a far more complicated character to show for it. Despite how often she comes up in fanon (and in canon, every once in a while), I'm still not able to really come up with a key phrase that really captures the essence of Ran, so maybe this piece will help. First off, there is one melody in the entire thing, approximately 16 bars long - a set of 8 bars that repeats with a fun key change at the end of the second set. What adds the complication is how the melody keeps varying. First of all, however, we get a long, tense introduction, with a bell-like piano drone in the background to add a solemn feeling. Ran is a serious entity, and serious is how the listener would see her at first glance, and well afterwards - this introduction comes back every once in a while to remind us who we're dealing with. The melody comes in as a slight surprise - it's very open and emotional for such a sober introduction, and the listener might think that Ran is quite open-hearted, just occasionally hiding under a veneer of seriousness. That feeling quickly falters once the listener realises that the open-heartedness is just a well-rehearsed act. Ran keeps her true self cunningly hidden just behind the act - the melody keeps varying its texture and instrumentation, occasionally letting the background to the front, hiding itself before coming back, to the point where it's somewhat hard to tell that it's still there at all (xylophone bit - can't miss it), but when you hear that characteristic key-change, the listener realises that no, it's still there, she's still completely in control. She uses that characteristic 'tell' of hers - that brief one-chord key-change - to reinforce her self-control, almost taunting the listener. It's hard to tell what drives these constant alterations in attitude, but it's probably not simple fun and games, as her 'serious' theme keeps reminding us. I would think that gives a satisfactory view of Ran - grimly focused, able and willing to use trickery and manipulation to fulfill her objectives, whatever those may be - she is most certainly not letting anyone know with that poker-face of hers that shows only what she wants it to show. [edit] And that brings us to the end of PCB, having blatantly missed Yukari. It's a toss-up if I skip her or not before continuing to Imperishable Night - if anyone really cares about Necrofantasia, speak up. [edit some more] Ah. Immaterial and Missing Power. Completely forgot. And I do so like Onigashima in the Fairyland. I'll be omitting the remixes in IaMP, but I'll move on to that before IN. |
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