Orchestral music! Frozen Night delivers a continuation of his epic ethnic orchestral suite with the third movement, The Moonlit Meadow. Immediately it hooks you in with lovely melodies and strings, quickly building up in majesty and size. It gets pretty epic later on, with horns and percussion aplenty.
Orchestral
CainbowRrash – Discovering Generosity | Orchestral
This piece from CainbowRrash is some music for video game project My Little Sweetheart, and takes a much more reserved approach, as befitting the kind of music you might find in a gentle section of a game. There’s lots of lovely melodies and slight French influences here.
Mane in Green – Miss Rarity | Baroque / Electronic
A huge fan of Baroque music myself, I was instantly hooked by that familiar sounding, yet original harpsichord intro! Mane in Green is no stranger to the genre as he presents some very well written baroque style melodies and chord progressions. The electronic drums and sub base give this a modern spin, and only gets better as the flute is introduced taking over the motif. Then things get really exciting as the tempo picks up and we get some Bach-esque keyboard performances. Stuffed with musical ideas from beginning to end, no fan of classical music will get bored of this one!
Lunar Drift – Changeling Reform | Electronic/Orchestral
NB: This was originally posted on Equestria Daily on 28 March 2017.
Lunar Drift has been releasing music for about a year now, and they’ve steadily shown improvement over time. Whilst this piece is a little rough around the edges in places, the main focus is on the melodic elements which work wonderfully. There are some great melodies played out by the plucky synths, and the percussion keeps the energy moving along pretty well. All the while some nice string sounds help to fill in the background appreciably. There’s also a nice piano section towards the end, so check it out if that sounds like fun!
Ataraxia – Six Stars | Piano Solo
NB: This was originally posted on Equestria Daily on 25 March 2017.
Another new track from Ataraxia’s recently released album Eternal Perfect Motion, this is a continuing example of how great he is at producing piano-centric pieces. This one is a lot more upbeat than the last couple, and makes some great use of heavy piano chord hits whilst dancing around wonderfully. There are also some subtle strings that come in at times. Give it a listen for some Twilight-flavoured piano!
Sonic Hooves – Whisper of the Wind | Piano Solo
NB: This was originally posted on Equestria Daily on 23 March 2017.
I go through a lot of music in my life, and whilst I do of course love hearing all the fancy stuff people are able to put together, sometimes it’s just nice to relax and listen to something that’s about as stripped back as it gets. Piano music like this, no bells and whistles, not even recorded especially well, just played from the heart with obvious skill and passion, is one of the simple pleasures in life. Sonic Hooves truly has a talent for composition, so please do check it out and find something to get lost in.
Vibrant Sound – Perpetual Nightmare | Orchestral
NB: This was originally posted on Equestria Daily on 21 March 2017.
Vibrant Sound has been around for a while, but this is certainly the best I’ve heard from them. A dark orchestral soundscape steadily builds throughout the piece, with some steady percussion and frantic arpeggiation in the background giving great impetus to the sharp strings that play throughout. This piece definitely fits the feel of Nightmare Moon swooping in to terrorise, so if you want some of that make sure to give it a listen!
A Symphony Of Two – Introspections | Orchestral
A Symphony Of Two’s new piece resolves around Starlight’s reflection on who she might really be and who she is meant to be, tortured by her sinful past and at the same time encouraged by her friends to be the great and valiant leader and world-guardian she proved to be in the S6 finale. As Trixie told her, she is “really good at it”! Fitting really nicely as an epic and emotional BGM that would play during a cutscene in a RPG where Starlight’s character depth would be emphasized on, the track shows an amazing progression clearly reflecting that depth, and portrays once again the duo’s talent at composing masterful OST-like pieces of much profoundness. The piano is especially doing an amazing job at creating emotion, reminiscing of the musical style of OST composers such as Yoko Shimomura.
Frozen Night – Evergreen Sanctuary | Epic Ethnic Orchestral
Frozen Night sure has been pulling off quite the impressive streak of amazing tunes that are both masterfully composed and emotional, and this new movement from the upcoming EP is doing a magnificent job at going even further. Bringing a very creative ethnic vibe in continuation to the first movement, it plays out the concept from the cover art and the title in beautiful and epic ways over a mighty progression where Orchestral and World Music instruments gather for a massive experience of blissful sound.
Liquid Harmony – Despair | Orchestral / Piano
As you might expect from the title, this is a melancholic orchestral piece that starts with a sad piano motif, accompanied by some lovely atmospheric string pads. The progression remains consistent, and slowly builds in tension, yet the transitions remain subtle, like a train of thought. Inspired by AshleyH’s “Remembrance” series, its a mournful piece for Princess Cadance having lost a loved one.
Horse Music Herald 