Oboe soundfont
Oboe Plogue sforzando VST
Bassoon soundfont
Clarinet soundfont
Clarinet recording of my own performance
Flute Staccato in Direct Wave
Flute soundfont
Timpani SAM soundfont
Violin Section SSS soundfont
Violin All Around soundfont
Ethan's Cello soundfont
Basses Sustain Plogue sforzando
MM8 Pizzicato Strings
Florestan French Horns soundfont
MM8 Marimba
Trumpets Sustain Plogue sforzando
Trumpet fp cresc 1 soundfont
Papelmedia Final SF2 XXL Trombone soundfont
Ethan's Triangle soundfont
Ethan's Wind Chimes soundfont
Orch Batterie Orchestral Drums soundfont
G-Town Cymbals soundfont
Chimes from Direct Wave
Tuba Sustain Plogue sforzando
Tuba Staccato Plogue sforzando
Dark Piano from Direct Wave
Story Behind the Music
The score to this song was originally written by me back in 2002. I was 17 and diligently writing the beginnings of what I wanted to eventually become a novel and video game. I wrote much of the story during classes. I wrote the score during music theory class and at home in the program Noteworthy Composer. At the time, I utilized Microsoft Wavetable Synth during composition and recorded it on the computer internally using Yamaha XG Soft Synth. The initial release was not produced, not mastered, and not mixed in any way.
Since high school I have become a Registered Nurse, a husband, and a father of four children. The amount of hardwork placed into those honorable responsibilities have been tremendous. However, my desire for writing music became distant. In 2015 I began to increase my involvement in writing and producing my own music through FL Studio. One thing that I have wanted to do for a very long time was to fully produce this piece of music. This is exactly what I have done. The result is beautiful and signifies the beginning of a great future.
Using soundfonts, Direct Wave plugins, and a number of free VSTs as well, I started to transfer everything written on score into FL Studio. This process was very time consuming and required a lot of time and patience. I was also still relatively new to FL Studio so this project has taught me a lot about FL Studio. Each channel is mixed, then each section (i.e. strings, woodwinds, etc) are mixed together, then the entire piece is mixed as a whole. I also recorded my (mildly rusty) clarinet performance and integrated it into the piece as a final touch to help increase the sense of realism. A small amount of the song is arranged. However, most of the song has largely remained structurally the same. The most changes are in the flashback portion near the end of the piece.
This piece of music was intended to coincide with events from the story. Thus, the following is a timeline showing which parts of the song belong where in the story.
Story in the Music Chapter One: Nothing
0:00 - The melody of the entire game is based upon the ascending and descending oboe solo at the start of the song. This melody represents Kurt's remembrance of Philip's martyrdom in the prologue.
0:18 - Kurt lifts Philip's dead body onto his horse and begins traveling back to town.
0:33 - Kurt exits the thick forest and travels through farmlands.
0:49 - Kurt passes through the entrance sign of his hometown St. Benjamin and stops his horse at the town church.
1:01 - Father John greets Kurt and they meditate upon the sorrowful mysteries.
1:30 - Kurt starts to dig the grave of his dear friend in pouring rain while Josh, a long time friend, watches.
1:45 - Kurt's anger continues to build within him while Josh recites a poem he learned as a child.
2:01 - After digging the grave deep enough, the day is over. Kurt returns home on his horse.
Chaper Two: Belief
2:08 - The next morning, Kurt is at the morning Mass. During Mass, community members look upon Kurt and gossip among themselves. Kurt gets irritated and rushes back home after Mass.
Chapter Three: Nature
2:52 - Kurt punches and destroys his own image in a mirror at his home; Father John arrives behind him.
2:59 - Father John convinces Kurt to have a conversation while slowly riding back into town. Father John and Kurt argue about whether or not to start a grassroots opposition to overthrow the oppressive government.
3:13 - Kurt notices smoke over the horizon.
3:16 - Kurt sees a house ingulfed in flames. Father John and Kurt both rush to the home.
3:33 - Kurt discovered people tied up to wooden posts inside the burning house and untied them.
3:40 - After Kurt drags a person out of the house he travels back into it and runs into a few soldiers. Kurt uses his oak sword to fight the soldiers.
3:55 - The soldiers were defeated and the victims were dragged out of danger. Unfortunately, the victims were already fatally wounded. Kurt got back onto his horse and traveled further into town to find the entire town ablaze. Kurt traveled toward the closest house and fought off more solders.
4:12 - Kurt arrived at the second house and got off of his horse. Kurt became exhausted.
4:18 - Kurt gets stopped before entering the house by soldiers and was forced back onto his horse due the large amount of soldiers. From atop his horse he battled the soldiers valiantly.
4:34 - The amount of enemy soldiers became overwhelming.
4:40 - A pain stung Kurt upon his right hand (signified by the use of the triangle). Kurt saw that his right hand had a large slice wound from the sword of General William. William and Kurt taunt eachother in conversation as the soldiers scattered to continue ravaging the town.
4:50 - General William vs Kurt battle sequence.
5:15 - Realizing the unexpected stregnth of Kurt, William exherted his full stregnth.
5:33 - William was hit for the final time and fell to the ground. William was defeated but not fatally wounded. Soldiers eventually evacuated him safely.
Chapter Four: Remembrance
5:36 - The aftermath: Holding his hurt hand in his pocket Kurt is informed by Father John that they are the only two survivors of the massacre.
5:55 - In a hopeless attempt to talk to Philip's spirit, Kurt said "I fought back, Philip. I fought back!"
6:13 - Kurt finishef his conversation with Father John and walks out of the skorched church.
6:22 - Kurt, finding a small spot of grass, slowly knelt down onto the ground. Kurt stated "I must continue this fight. Philip, I will do it on your behalf."
6:32 - Kurt plucked a small wildflower. A flashback occured to explain some of the backstory. Kurt visualized the first time that he met Philip and his family; it was during a heavy snowstorm when Kurt ran away from his family as a 10 year old boy. A conversation began regarding how a child raised by the oppressive government could not possibly be adopted by a Christian family.
7:32 - Kurt remembered the first time he played together with Philip.
8:16 - Kurt remembered when Philip's family finally agreed to accept Kurt as their own adoptive son as they traveled to a warmer and safer place farther from the dangers of the oppressive government's military.
8:37 - Kurt exits his flashback, stood up and walked towards charred remains of the church.
9:01 - The burned church doors closed behind Kurt; an era of Kurt's life is now over and a dangerous future now awaits him. The question is will Kurt be able to be victorious against the oppressive government or will he, too, be a martyr?
