Jonathan Shaw
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New Arrangement - "Main Theme" (Elden Ring)
🕑 Added 2022-04-24 15:51:18 +0000 UTCElden Ring's Main Menu Theme, now with an expanded orchestral cover (i.e. adding woodwinds!)
Check out the video above, and you can find the landing page here with links to the recording, sheet music and more.
And for the wonderful patrons on either TandA Tier, you can now find the Sibelius file, a recording, MIDI and XML files attached to this post!
And for the wonderful patrons on TandA (Tier II), you can now find the stems I created for the recording in your Google Drive folder!
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Arranger's Note:
"We commence with remarkably sparse orchestration (0:03); a single bass drum strike signals the entry of a lone harp playing chords low in its register, creating a muddy, gritty texture. This harp oscillates between the tonic (here, A minor - A-C-E) and the subdominant (chord IV; here, D minor - D-F-A), before an armada of chromatic glissandi strings begin to swarm the space (0:16).
This leads to a brief disruption of the time signature (removing 2 beats out of the established 4-beat measures) as we are thrust into the main theme (0:22). This theme begins largely chordal, built nearly entirely on triads that then drop a tone to form a gospel chord (e.g. A-C-E turning into G-B-D with an A in the bass; A-G-B-D = a gospel chord) alongside a steady, heavy drum pattern.
This descends harmonically to the submediant (chord VI; here, F major) where the triad oscillation continues again (now F-A-C-E to F-G-B-D). Then we climb into G with a suspended 4-3 chord (G-C-D to G-B-D) with the 3rd already present, creating a harsh semitonal clash of the B+C which is quickly resolved. Finally, this drops to E minor (a tertiary modulation) to form a minor 7th chord (E-G-B-D).
This material is loosely repeated (0:34), now with added choir and woodwind flourishes. Here, however, the harmony develops slightly: at 0:41, rather than ascending to G, we fall from F into C major (a plagal cadence). This forms a gorgeous major 7th dissonance (C-E-G-B) that is but fleetingly visited as the bass jumps up to 1st inversion (E-G-C) to act as the dominant note of A minor (E) for a smooth return back to A.
When the material repeats again (0:47), we now have a proper melody on top; here, in the brass. Accompanying this is a tasty string ostinato that is doubled in the winds to create a fleeting flurry of notes. There is little development here, aside from a loose hemiola appearing at 0:58 (where the compound pulse of 123-123 briefly returns to a straight pulse of 12-12-12, or vice versa).
With the next repeat (1:00), I added a countermelody in the horns, alongside other developments such as expanded woodwinds which were otherwise absent. For the final statement (1:13), the string ostinato returns, and the piccolo joins the fray, while the harmony slowly ascends up a scale (loosely) for dramatic effect.
Finally, the orchestra drops out, leaving the choir exposed for their moment of glory (1:25). From the original, I suspect they speak gibberish Latin ("Ah" & "Cre"), but I'd suggest singing something a bit more relevant (perhaps "El-den" or even the proper Latin; "Cre-do"). This leads to a final orchestral hit that slowly diminishes with the fading cellos and basses."
