Nobuo Uematsu, One-Winged Angel - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction

#virginrock #noubouematsu
Video games, Strawinsky and Jimi Hendrix, what a combination! I love the energy and excitement that this music induces. I would turn it on myself!

Here’s the link to the original song:

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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.

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Credits: Music written and performed by Nobuo Uematsu

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[neurness]

Classical music isn't dying, it's just been modernized and integrated into video games. It's great. The music really enhances the sense of immersion with the in-game activities.

[thormozart]

Just imagine, you're 10 years old, you just beat what was presented as the Final Boss of the game, and then the intro of A One Winged Angel starts playing, and another Final Boss appears descending from a gleaming ball of light in the sky. This music made an awesome and terrifying impression on us the first time we heard it.

[Eric]

Careful with this rabbit hole, us Final Fantasy fans will never let you go. Nobuo Uematsu was the sound of many Millennials'' childhoods. His successor, Masayoshi Soken, is currently doing a bang up job as well with the live service MMO FF14 which has hundreds and hundreds of tracks alone. The boss fights like E12S, Susano, and more are just so beyond epic and as you mentioned in this video with your comparison to Genshin, just fun and loaded with personality. And because the FF series spans many settings from high fantasy to steampunk to futuristic, each game stands out. For my money, FF7, FF8, and FF13 are the best complete soundtracks

[DeepFleeceheart]

6:30 you're describing entering a boss fight without having the gamer lingo/experience to articulate it. I love it

[AVJHalonen]

I like how she’s describing ”is that boss battle music I hear?”

[innocuousalias]

The character of Sephiroth is several things. An elite soldier, a national hero, Frankenstein's monster and in the end Lovecraftian horror. This song perfectly matched how exciting yet unnerving the player's final confrontation is with him.

[jarrakul]

It's worth noting that this is straight-up one of the most beloved pieces of video game music of all time. There are whole symphonies of Final Fantasy music, and this is pretty much always the grand finale. Nobuo Uematsu is an absolute rockstar in gaming circles, and this is his most famous piece.

[jojackmcgurk]

5:48 "There's a feeling That's the feeling of the Boss Battle right there. Better lean forward, it's time to test your mettle.

[mangooleh]

This man is legitimately one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. Loved your video.

[edamael]

Definitely check out the Advent Children version of One-Winged Angel if you want to hear the rock elements realised more overtly, with electric instruments on top of the orchestra and choir

[Erikuzuma]

10:05
"Some sort of... character to it"
Boy do I have a mad clown laying in wait for you.

[stoweby]

If you haven't done so already Final Fantasy X's "To Zanarkand" is absolutely beautiful. Also, when explaining your feelings at around 6 minutes is in alignment with the events going on in the game itself. I've played FFVII more times than I can remember since it came out in the 90's. Well done.

[rawvoxel]

Nobuo Uematsu changed my life and is a huge reason I'm a musician and engineer today. When I was 12 I ordered the FFX Piano Collections sheet music from a Japanese vendor and proceeded to learn everything with nothing to stop me.

[rkahaog]

This song has played on repeat in my head for the past 26 years

[MetalSmith]

Nobuo Uematsu is to Video Games as John Williams is to American Films.

On a side note, As Yokko Kano is to Anime.

[wangtoriojackson]

4:39 Bells, frogs, bing cherries, jingle bells, magic cheese. Bells, frogs, jingle bells, magic cheese. SEPHIROTH! SEPHIROTH!

[Leo-pwkf]

The Hendrix influence in this piece is specifically the intro for Purple Haze. Hendrix does staccato octaves landing squarely on the beat. This idea forms the basis form One Winged Angel. Chords landing on the beat to mimic a matching rhythm and the pattern of low-high low-high

[glennwelsh]

To give you a sense of how highly regarded Nobuo Uematsu's work is, he is often considered "the John Williams of video game scores". He has so many memorably iconic pieces that whole concert tours have been held that were comprised entirely of his music from the Final Fantasy franchise, though "One Winged Angel" is probably his most well-known song. It really conveys the intensity and foreboding sense of doom of heading into battle against your most dreaded foe while the fate of the world hangs in the balance. When you're playing the game and "One Winged Angel" kicks in, you simultaneously get goosebumps while your stomach drops.

[EversonBernardes]

The march-like, militaristic rhythm with the timpani and the snare rolls are not only due to it being used for battle, but the character this theme is attached to is a famous soldier in the game setting. In a way, you could parallel this to, say, the Imperial March from Star Wars.

[Jchmcom]

39 year old man and I still cry every time I hear this song. Best friend introduced me to this back in 97 and I went and got a Playstation that day because of it. I've replayed it countless times and have devoted thousands of hours to playing it in different ways. Thank you, Chris. Miss ya.