Nothing into Something
I’m sitting here listening to Schala’s Theme (from Chrono Trigger) and I just can’t help but wonder how it came to be. Maybe Yasunori Mitsuda saw some of the script in-progress, had an idea of the general character description, what music would be used near her theme, etc. but then how does that all translate into what he made? Surely a lot of it was improvisation and hammering away on a keyboard to see what sounded good, but that wasn’t everything.
As cliche as it sounds, the actual song itself tugs at one’s heartstrings while being a little uplifting at the same time. I guess that is because her character represented hope in a very dim world. There was a point where Mitsuda got sick and was temporarily hospitalized or at least removed from the project until he got better. With this being his first major production, he was ridiculously stressed out and more than likely completely enveloped in his work. It makes me wonder whether when he composed the piece, was he going through a rough time in his life that gave it that sense of emotional destruction, of a person whose been torn asunder. What if he had written it in a happier time in his life? Could’ve sounded completely different.
I know this entry is a little cheesy, but there’s something inherently interesting about composing for something that is not your own product with your own vision. Deep down buried between the notes, a piece in the life of that person remains. That’s what makes creation so powerful. There’s simply no way two people can be going through the same problems or be feeling the same way when crafting something, and as a result what they produce will surely be different. It’s a preservation of something greater than the media it’s presented in.
Makes me question whether a “masterpiece” can really exist. Then again, many masterpieces come about when an artist is the most dedicated to their style and form which allows the most amount of emotion to be injected into the work. I just hope I can look back fondly on whatever masterpiece I create.
