Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections
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Album Title: Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections |
| Record Label: Square Enix |
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| Catalog No.: SQEX-10144 |
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| Release Date: May 27, 2009 |
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| Purchase: Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
The announcement of Kingdom Hearts was originally met with skepticism. A crossover between the Final Fantasy series with Disney characters? Although the fan bases for each were not by any means mutually exclusive, these series were aimed at different audiences. It was not clear how a game that tried to simultaneously please fans of both series could fare. However, thanks to the clear vision and dedication of the development team, the game was released to strong sales and reception across the globe, and later spawned several sequels and spin-offs. Also popular were the melodically-centred scores penned primarily by Yoko Shimomura, containing everything from light and bubbly world themes to brooding and sorrowful character themes. There was little surprise then that Kingdom Hearts music would become the first non-Final Fantasy entry in Square-Enix’s Piano Collections series. As with the other Piano Collections albums, select favourites would be rearranged for solo piano. This first album covered music from the first three games (Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II), and the track list was based on a fan poll. The songs were arranged by two newcomers to the series, and played by three others. The sheet music has since been released by Yamaha Music.
Body
A few of the songs on the album remain very close to their original counterparts. The album opens almost expectedly with “Dearly Beloved”, a theme heavily used in the series. The arrangement starts closest to the title screen versions of the theme, featuring little in the way of build-up or progression. However, this may have been the best approach since the original pieces were so captivating and magical in themselves, in spite of their simplicity. It also helps that the piece is given a sensitive performance. “Roxas” is given similar treatment, although it gets a bit more dramatic weight in its second half. Though it starts off light and dreamy, it ends with thick and heavy chords that really hone in on the tragic aspect of the character. Both pieces are short and to the point, but it works well for them.
Sticking to simple doesn’t always work, and the arrangement of “Traverse Town” is a prime example of that. Although the arrangement is not terribly long, it drags on because it doesn’t seem to know what to do with the short melody, pointlessly sending it up and down different octaves and keys. Despite the original being a fan favourite, this arrangement comes and goes without leaving much of an impression. “Hand in Hand” introduces another problem recurring throughout much of the album, being pointlessly grandiose with a near-constant barrage of runs and tremolos, despite simple and short melody. The arrangement is very much all flash and no substance. Repetition and unneeded flair come together in three of the movements of the so-called “Sonata on Themes of Kingdom Hearts”. The first movement “Sora” not only sends the melody through unneeded shifts and key changes, but it also suffers from a generally loud and rigid arrangement. It does try for some depth by including elements of the theme for “Roxas”, but ultimately it is not enough to salvage the piece. The third movement “Riku” is more listenable while also being one of the most difficult Piano Collections pieces, but is also includes a myriad of key changes which try to mask the lack of true variations. The finale of the sonata, “Working Together” is again too repetitive, but it has a good arrangement that channels the fun of the original while keeping a full sound. It’s also another fairly impressive piece, but admittedly is probably more fun to play than to listen to.
There are some tracks that do fairly well, despite shortness of source material. “Missing You ~ Naminé” avoids repetition by filling time with two pieces. It loses points for an abrupt transition between the two songs, but both segments stand very well on their own with good progression and buildup to strong climaxes. Neither songs feel like simple transcriptions, but they both retain the spirit and emotion of the originals. The second movement of the Sonata, “Kairi”, starts off very close to the originals, and almost puzzlingly includes both the 3/4 and 4/4 versions of the melody without much transition, but it too beautifully flourishes into an emotional rise and fall. “The 13th Side” is arrangement that includes “Organization XIII” and some parts of “The 13th Struggle”. Though it might have benefitted from including some of the other Organization battle themes, the arrangement here is strong enough, and comes just shy of being repetitive by making good use of the slower and brooding “Organization XIII” to surround the exciting battle-theme midsection.
The album closes with two arrangements of themes already on the album. “The Other Promise” is an expansion of “Roxas”, and in the original games served as the battle theme between Sora and Roxas. This arrangement really treads the line between being impressive and being flashy, and can air on the repetitive side since the piece almost seems to climax on both the first and second halves of the song. Perhaps it would have been better to splice the second half into the album’s arrangement of “Roxas”, to allow room for a different song on the album. The final song, “Concert Paraphrase on ‘Dearly Beloved’” is the same way, with a bit too strong of an opening that throws off the progression of the song. However, the mid-section onwards (which has neat ideas later used for “Birth By Sleep”’s version of “Dearly Beloved”) finally gets right everything the album wanted to in terms of balancing power and emotion. A stunning finale that almost makes you forget about the stumbles earlier on in the album. Almost.
Summary
The first entry in the Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections is not a bad start, although it has a few problems in repetition and spectacle. The shortness of the original material shows in arrangements that are overlong, and the excess of runs, arpeggios, and jumps contrast too strongly with the simpler source tracks. However, it does generally capture the essence of the original songs, while managing to bring something new. The pieces with minimal arrangements are given emotional performances, and pieces with larger arrangements never stray too far as to be unrecognizable. At their best, the arrangements work very well, living up to the quality expected of the Piano Collections series. At their worst, they’re a bit of a bore. The selection of music is good, with many of the most notable tracks in the series making appearances. Given the size of the library of Kingdom Hearts music, there could likely be many more piano albums, and hopefully the arrangers will have a better grasp on what works and what doesn’t by that time.
As an aside, does anyone do a true chromatic glissando when they play “Naminé”? With only one hand?
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
3.5
Posted on April 24, 2014 by Christopher Huynh. Last modified on April 26, 2014.
About the Author
Christopher Huynh recently finished an undergraduate degree in Physics at McMaster University. He has some proficiency in singing, piano, organ, cello, and gaming. He hopes to continue exploring the vast world of music while sharing it with others however possible.
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