to the beginning - Fate/zero Season 2 OP [Piano]

It's hard to believe that Fate/zero has aired almost 8 years ago in 2012 and both「oath sign」 and 「to the beginning」 has become true Anime song classics in the last decade. I am still sad that Kalafina has disbanded for good in 2019 because I really enjoyed listening to their music with the three separate voices and with the "typical" Yuki Kajiura sound.

「to the beginning」is another Anime song where the second chorus is being skipped and instead the bridge part is playing. I also have to applaud to Yuki Kajiura for managing to do the almost impossible: despite the huge amount of key changes throughout the song, the piece still sounds very natural from start to finish. That's because all key changes are well prepared with a fitting chord progression.

Here is a rough outline how often the piece is changing its keys.
Eb minor (intro) → C minor (instrumental) → A minor (verse 1)
→ F# minor (chorus 1) → E minor (instrumental) → A minor (verse 2)
→ F# minor (bridge 1) → A minor (bridge 2)
→ F# minor (chorus 2) → Eb minor (outro)

My favorite part of the entire song is actually the bridge part, starting at 02:20 the three voices are becoming intertwined and each of them are taking turns to sing the main melody. I decided to add a right hand movement inspired by a Rachmaninoff prelude to create a stormy, yet mysterious atmosphere, while the left hand is playing the main melody.

Not much to say about the rest of the song, since it's following exactly the same structure as the original song. But I have to say, both the first chorus in 1:01 and the second chorus in 3:23 was very satisfying to play because the bass is very powerful in this section and I could go all out with the dynamics.

Alright, that's it for this weeks upload. Next week I am going to arrange another song by LiSA. It has also been requested many times in the comment section. See you next time!

Animenz
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
My facebook page:
Follow me on Twitter!
I am using Instagram as well!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Piano arrangement by Animenz
Original Song: to the beginning
Anime: Fate/zero Season 2 / フェイト/ゼロ 2ndシーズン
Published by: SME Records (2012)
Composed by: Yuki Kajiura / 梶浦 由記
Performed by: Kalafina (Wakana, Keiko, Hikaru)

#tothebeginning #FateZero #piano
#Animenz #Kalafina #YukiKajiura

[Animenzzz]

no

Still sad that Kalafina has disbanded in 2019. Their songs were legendary: 「Oblivious」, 「Lacrimosa」, 「manten」, 「hikari no senritsu」 and many more. Their songs will always have a special place in my heart

[Yakuson]

It's very unfortunate that Kalafina disbanded, but at least this cover will hopefully pay them homage by capturing their unique style.

[Caliko]

I feel like these types of songs are kind of unfair to you as an arranger because of how well they're composed already - leave it to Yuki Kajiura to pull off those heavenly keychanges! They kind of take the spotlight. Though, that part starting from 2:20 sounds absolutely incredible, the moment the left hand starts the melody is one of those that makes you stop and go, wow, this is insanely beautiful, and then went and added to it and made it even better - I'm running out of synonyms to say it's beautiful but yeah

As a HUGE Yuki Kajiura fangirl I will definitely be looping this one a lot, thank you for these weekly covers, Animenz! They really make me look forward to the end of the week!!

[laepiano]

"I really love the polyphony of the three voices in this piece." - We're gonna see your 4-hand technique.

[zengarang]

Kalafina's majestic sound translates quite well to your arranging style. The unique voicings definitely give it a certain "medieval and magical" flavor.

At first listen, something about this piece blurred the musical section boundaries (in retrospect, most likely the seamless execution of multiple key changes) and made the verses and choruses all flow together in a seemingly continuous melody. I kept searching for a musical grounding point, but it kept resetting. Interesting how I was able to get "lost" in a piece like that.

My favorite part of this arrangement is the 2:22 multiple hand melody. The bold cyclic upper register RH resonates really strongly, yet the lower LH melody is still able to pierce through and meld together quite smoothly.

Yet again, the way the bass is executed on the I - vii 7th diminished - III progression at 1:13 and 2:32 really made me feel a certain type of way, the same way that it did in your Tamashii no Refrain cover 3 months ago. Chills.

Lastly, that ending chord really has an interesting flavor to it. Makes it feel hopeful, yet with a tinge of uncertainty.

Thank you again for sharing! See you next week in the comments!

[TurnaboutHalifaxHD]

Best Fate OP followed by Brave Shine in my opinion. To The Beginning carries that fantastic gravitas that is Fate/Zero

[Thelifreak]

Okay, I'm not gonna lie, this is the piece I'm most exited about since you started uploading on a weekly basis. I love kalafinas unique polyphony in their songs.

[mokonamodoki]

OH GOD I LITERALLY ALMOST GOT A HEART ATTACK. how could you do this to me Animenz 😭 I'm forever grateful for any cover that you made and always tell myself to not get greedy. But to the beginning cover is about to arrive and I'm crying over hereeee. 08.00 PM feels so long all of a sudden

[eric]

2020 has been a rough year...but to be able to have so many anime pianists settle down and show us their masterpiece every week is a silver lining.

[nayu_]

This is one of the most memorable songs I've ever heard. The key changes aside, the ad-libs are really nice as well, and I'm really happy that you included it in this arrangement too! :D

[CSMPiano]

Rich harmony during chorus with usage of chord extension, double voicing in middle register, classic 3 hand techniques with great sounding and visually stunning RH snipe. This is just pure fanservice at this point lol
Thanks for the weekly dose of Animenz "recipe" bro :3

[DrewyJin]

Animenz's arrangements have literally moved mountains of my emotions. But this one... This one fills me with dreams of being able to be summoned by Animenz to protect those godly blessed fingers XD Amazing as always Animenz!

[ayapamungkas]

OMG I love this so so much.
It's too bad that Kalafina has disbanded. They were legendary on their own.

[sukidevil]

The timing of this cover release and the Fate/Zero event re-run in F/GO... What a coincidence.

[arima]

It would be so nice to have your covers on spotify

[sendpie]

I was lucky to go to one Kalafina concert, their songs are emotional, powerful and epic. Thank you for this arrangement! 👏👏👏

[Kaz-gctv]

finally, been waiting for this for years

[aadishtamaskar]

Love the last line "Kimi no nageki wo shinjiteiru" [I believe in your sorrow]
Really feels like Iri saying this to kiritsugu

[hongthienvo]

Really? This is the most impressive song when I first started watching anime. Can't imagine how their talent for creating that intro 🤯
And the first Openning I never missed when watching Fate/Zero

[MadPianoLife]

I’m very lazy nowadays when it comes to practice. A super casual and meh pianist. But every time I listen to Animenz, there’s just an uncontrollable urge to play. Animenz in that sense, is my hero.