ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "Hyrulean Overture #1" 5:53

I've really been enjoying Breath of the Wild lately... it was worth the wait, and has gotten me back into Zelda, so this lovely orchestral franchise medley from newcomer freezetag (Trevor Alan Gomes) hits at the right time. First, a helpful breakdown:

Featured games...

• The Legend of Zelda
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Featured tracks (in order)...

• "Overworld" (LttP)
• "Overworld" (LA)
• "Zelda's Lullaby" (OoT)
• "Lost Woods" (OoT)
• "Kakariko Village" (OoT)
• "Title" (LoZ)
• "Hyrule Field Main Theme" (OoT)

Trevor writes:

"I originally wrote this medley as a demo for the fine people at VGL. My passion is arranging and orchestrating music for live musicians, and I've been a big fan of video game music for most of my life. I'm looking for ways to get involved with the video game music arranging community and, when I asked his advice, Andrew Aversa pointed me toward OCR.

As for the arrangement itself, it takes a lot of ideas from a marching band field show I arranged when I was 14, which was never performed (definitely for the best). It's actually my first substantial attempt at arranging using samples, since most of my work is in writing for live musicians. It served as a "training ground" of sorts with software instruments.

I hope you enjoy it and that it would be a good fit for OCR; I'd love to get involved with the community and find some more opportunities to arrange great video game music."

Good stuff; samples come off synthetic at times, especially during exposed passages, but it's a coherent arrangement which does a good job stringing together themes while also connecting them and making them feel like part of a larger, epic narrative. Certain transitions are stronger than others, but on average this is a lush & well-constructed musical tour of Hyrule. Chimpazilla writes:

"Great dynamics here, transitions are pretty smooth. Super use of samples, mixing is really good, tasteful reverb. I'm inclined to say YES as long as this type of medley is ok. It sounds really cohesive to me."

Liontamer adds:

"Arrangement-wise, the themes pieced together effectively, with a lot of care put into the transitions and flow, as well as personalizing the arrangements of each theme and providing good dynamic contrast throughout. The instrumental and textural changes kept the composition fresh throughout, the overall use of the samples was solid, and what this lacks in realism in places, it makes up for with creativity and energy."

Agreed; this is an excellent tribute to some legendary music, and it's especially well-timed for all of us playing Breath of the Wild to remind us of how far the series has come & its many memorable moments. This was submitted and evaluated a good while back, but here's hoping we still hear more from Trevor, as this OCR debut is long & strong and provides a musical retrospective and rousing adventure at the same time. Kudos!