"The Fields are Blooming" (from "The Settlers II" soundtrack by Haiko Ruttmann) [Orchestra Remake]

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Published on September 26, 2021 5:07:16 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux5gjyUlFRU

Game:

The Settlers II (1996)

Duration: 2:55

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43

I've always been very fond of this track from the game Settlers II, originally composed by Haiko Ruttmann. But I never felt the original MIDI nor the CD audio original lived up to its full potential.

This is my first attempt at getting there, although it's still not how I wanted. I envisioned it with more brass and more flowing string sections but it's pretty hard to get the dynamics right. For now, I'll upload this version since it's a mostly complete take on it, and I figured others might enjoy it.

I've had a very specific narrative in mind when I imagine an orchestration of this track. Due to the title and nature of the game, I always took it to be a dirge for the land itself (the blooming fields), and this is how I set it up. The focus on the settlers themselves is secondary. Here's how it goes:

The idea for this music, in my head at least, is to split the track into two parts: one shows the pristine wild nature during a warm day of spring, when the fields are blooming with flowers. An ominous sound of trumpets is foreboding the distant arrival of settlers, here to conquer this natural land and destroy it. After a moment of quiet, a sudden change in winds announces the arrival of the settlers in these lands.

The second part is about humans destroying nature in their settling of it, and the frenetic industry and war that results from it. (The strings symbolizing greed and death, with brass and anvils symbolizing industry and war.)

But all of this is just in a small patch of land. Meanwhile, not far from there, other blooming fields await their turn to be conquered and pillaged by the settlers, and we lament their fate under their arrival.

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Anyway, I will probably revisit it later, now that I have a subscription to EastWest's ComposerCloud. But I really am out of my depth in how to use it properly.

This is just me fooling around during the weekend, not a serious attempt at anything.

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