ReMix: Baldur's Gate 'Child of the Murder God'

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Well, 'round here we just got ten or so inches of snow, and with the roads as they are currently, I don't think my 'Stang would be particularly safe to drive. So I'm essentially snowed in this morning, and as everyone knows, the best way to kill time when snowed in is with a nice cup of warm, hot cocoa, preferably w/ marshmallows. Which is why I'm sitting here nursing... a martini. Ahh well... buck the trend, says I. Shaken, not stirred, as a matter of fact. Once upon a time, Mr. Pacaud wrote:

"Something NOT from a Square game, for a change. This was my submission for RPGamer's Splendid Performance contest's 1st round."

Clearly this contest has been inspiring quite a few gems, and we've been remiss in not posting Christian's piece sooner. Our first arrangement from Baldur's Gate, one of Bioware's earlier hits before they went on to Neverwinter Nights and KOTOR acclaim, is a solo piano work with equal parts Romanticism and Impressionism. You might need to pump the volume up a tad, as levels are fairly low, but the performance is dramatic and emotive; I'm usually not into the double fortissimo portions of most piano mixes, but here I think they're the highlight, and include some of the more interesting voicings in the arrangement, particularly at 2'15" and following. TO writes:

"The sustain pedal's certainly been well used here. It has a clear concert sound to it, never really leaping into any fast and amazingly complex piano structures. Instead it keeps this atmospheric and deep, dark sound to it most of the way through. The buildup to the loudest section at 2:15 was very nice, if not a little overbearing. But the chord progression choices there are very pleasing to the ear."

Overall, the panel didn't feel this to be representative of the ReMixer's strongest work to date, and Gray mentioned some of the complexity and interest in the original being lost in the migration to solo ivories, but it's still a competent and evocative work. At three and a half minutes, I think it's the appropriate length for the ideas conveyed, and if you're looking for something dark, brooding and gothic to listen to (for which red wine would be far more appropriate than a martini, FYI), it definitely fits the bill.

― djpretzel