Wednesday, September 25, 2019

MIDI Week Singles: "Requiem Ending" - Penumbra: Requiem (PC)


"Requiem Ending" from Penumbra: Requiem on the PC (2008)
Composer: Mikko Tarmia
Developer: Frictional Games



And wee have used Mikko Tarmia's music before here earlier in the year with "Catherine's Theme" from SOMA, and back in 2016 with "Lux Tenebras" from Amnesia: The Dark Descent, so I thought it only fitting to use this song from Frictional Games' first series, Penumbra.

Similar to the music that Mr. Tarmia composed for Amnesia: The Dark Descent, a lot of the music in the Penumbra series is there to create an atmosphere of dread and fear, without the call for such dramatic scores like what Jason Graves wrote for the Dead Space series.  What I love about "Requiem Ending" is that it not only works as a cap for the series, but there is also a sense of longing once the vocals come in at 0:26 and then that feeling is amplified when the cello (I'm at least pretty sure it's a cello) comes in at 0:47.  And I feel like it is not until a minute into the song that we are given the first glint of a melody which is only played a couple of times before the song fades out and ends.

It has been some time since I last played Penumbra: Requiem and listening to the soundtrack, it is hard to place times when specific songs played during the game, but I know that I can always count on Mikko Tarmia's scores to be effective in establishing tone, even when using the barest hints of melody.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

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