\"Welcome to the world-renowned Celestial Resort Hotel! Mr. Oshiro, at your service.\"
Spirit of Hospitality, composed by Lena Raine, is the theme for Mr. Oshiro, a character who appears in chapter 3 of Celeste. Mr. Oshiro is the friendly owner of the Celestial Resort Hotel, and he is very dedicated to the establishment -- so much so that he continues his duties as concierge despite being a ghost.
I'll cease discussion on what exactly happens in chapter 3 here, but suffice it to say that I think this chapter is one of the most emotionally captivating parts of any game I've played period. This theme also fits into my favorite category to arrange - short, simple loop with a nice, identifiable melody ripe for variation. I absolutely love the counterpoint in this theme, and when the part represented by the theremin comes in, it's very interesting to hear an augmentation of the melody play at the same time as the original melody itself. By the way, it just so happens that I play a theremin, the perfect instrument for a spooky ghost!
For those who don't know, the theremin is an electronic instrument that is played without contact. The closer one's right hand is to the vertical antenna, the higher the pitch. Whereas the farther one's left hand is from the horizontal antenna, the louder the volume. So with pitch and volume, you have the basic necessary ingredients to make music! Theremin is extremely difficult to play because one has to essentially \"feel\" where a pitch is in space -- and one can feel not just the twelve chromatic notes but all of the out-of-tune gaps in between! Additionally, the instrument is very sensitive; lower frequencies are physically closer together in space, whereas even a minute change in one's hand gesture can cause a huge leap in the upper register. This is the first time I've played theremin on this channel in a little while, but I did work it into a few other arrangements if you're interested in hearing more!
For this arrangement, I picked up the pace a tad and tried to play into the contrapuntal ideas of the original as well as, programmatically, what happens to the characters in-game. This is the first time I tried using an effects plugin on the theremin's sound, and I really like the distortion effect! Visually, this came with a few other firsts and what I think are some interesting surprises. And be sure to stick around to the end for a nod to some of the other themes found within chapter 3!
I really can't recommend Celeste enough! If you haven't already, consider purchasing the game Celeste as well as the soundtrack by Lena Raine. Though climbing Celeste Mountain is certainly challenging, it is an extremely clever game, and the puzzle-like platforming is well worth the effort to figure out and execute.
