I think this is the first piece I tried learning and recording for this YouTube project. It's fairly simple to learn and play, but it does actually have some hidden complexity. In particular, getting the 6-quavers-per-bar to strike like clockwork - not to mention having both hands' notes strike at exactly the same time. That chord where the hands cross is especially menacing.

Via Purifico - Despondence, Not Anger

It's a very emotional piece because of the point in the game where it plays; Yuna has just been betrayed by the religion she's dedicated her life to and her plus her guardians have been thrown into a jail from which no one has ever escaped. It turns out to be one of the slightly less challenging areas of the game in my view, especially since it's meant to be a prison with very little in the way of danger or complexity. But canonically, it is supposed to be a place where Yuna doesn't know if she or her companions will survive.

...and that's why I think the emotion of the piece should be one of hopelessness. The version of this soundtrack in the original FFX game conveys this very well, whereas the official recording for FFX piano collections - the same as in the remastered FFX soundtrack - is a bit on the fast side. Its speed portrays more of an anger or a hostility.

I tried to record this one even slower than I did, but it dragged a bit. This is only a touch slower than the recording, but I've taken as much liberty with the rubato as I think the piece permits to try to convey the feeling of despair that I think Yuna feels during this passage.

As ever, please do let me know what you think!

-tommy