New Transcription: "Satorl Marsh (Night)" from Xenoblade Chronicles (2010)
A new full sheet music transcription of Satorl Marsh (Night) from "Xenoblade Chronicles", complete with sheet music and instrumental part scores.
If you're after the sheet music or score for the Satorl Marsh (Night)" from Xenoblade Chronicles, you can find it here!
This includes individual part scores for:
Full Score
Oboe
Piano
Singer I
Singer II
Singer III
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Violoncello
Contrabass
If you are one of my Patrons, you can now find the MIDI, XML and SIB files I created for this transcription now available to download from your Patreon Google Drive folder!
Arranger's Note:
"This track is one that canonically follows after the grand and adventurous "Gaur Plain". As such, it is more introspective and serene in nature, portraying the glimmering nights of the more linear Satorl Marsh.
The track opens with a vast Gb major 7th chord (Gb-Bb-Db-F; 0:03), with a deep contrabass pitted against a twinkling piano ostinato. This is quickly accompanied by female vocals, and a cohort of pulsating strings.
Although opening in Gb major (or potentially F minor/Db major), the true tonal center is actually Bb minor (Bb-Db-F). This can be deduced due to the oboe phrase concluding with a perfect cadence in - you guessed it - Bb minor (0:33), as well as later passages emphasizing Bb minor (e.g. 1:54).
The opening material (0:03 - 0:14) is repeated and extended twice more (0:15 - 0:39, 0:40 - 1:04), now with an additional lyrical oboe floating above in place of the vocals. I hope this opening minute was your least favourite part of the track since it never appears again! D:
At 1:04, we progress to the main section of the track, now travelling through a circle of 5ths to reach the relative major - Db (Db-F-Ab; 1:10). Here, the strings and piano take on the melodic focus with material constructed out of the earlier oboe passage, with the oboe now providing counter-melodic support (1:12).
These 4 bars (1:04 - 1:17) are nearly repeated again (1:17 - 1:25), but concluding the phrase with a surprise tertiary shift up to F major (F-A-C; 1:26) rather than Db. We would expect this to modulate via a perfect cadence back to the tonic of Bb minor, but instead we are treated to a remarkable interrupted cadence into Gb (Gb-Bb-Db; 1:29).
We have reached the climax: the dynamics increase; the vocals have returned fleshing out major 7th chords; and the oboe doubles the melody with the piano and strings. From here, the harmony quickly reaches the tonic (Bb minor; Bb-Db-F; 1:39) before floating up a beautiful ascending sequence decorated with added note chords (Ab major 9th; Ab-C-Eb-Gb-Bb; 1:51 - a very scrumptious chord!), concluding in the tonic, Bb minor (1:54).
At 2:06, the track moves into a new section with a long-debated discussion about whether he's still a tuna ... 🐟
Okay, memes aside, this new section introduces text into the track. The official text is unknown, but fans have identified potential Latin transcriptions:
Iste Natura ("This nature")
Iste Terra ("This Land")
Iste Mare ("This Sea")
Eso ("Eaten")
This transcription was later re-translated by "WorthlessKoridian" on Reddit to become:
Iste Natura ("That [man] with the nature")
Iste Terra ("That [man] with the land")
Iste Mare ("That [man] with the sea")
Eso ("About to be eaten")
Now I won't explain the text further since it would contain spoilers, but if you've finished the game and want to read their analysis further, check it out - it's an interesting read:
(SPOILER WARNING IN LINK)
https://bit.ly/2Ap9Nf6
In other news, this section (2:06) closely resembles the opening material (0:15), with the alternating Gb-F ultimately resolving to Bb minor, and a near full repeat (2:31), concluding the track.
Trivia: This track has an identical tempo marking to "Valak Mountain (Night)" (*Cue conspiracies*)"
