One-Winged Angel (theme)

"One-Winged Angel" (片翼の天使 "Katayoku no Tenshi") is the name of Sephiroth's theme in all his appearances throughout the Final Fantasy series. The song originally appeared at the end of Final Fantasy VII as the final boss theme, played during the battle with Safer∙Sephiroth. The song's name refers to Safer∙Sephiroth, who has six white wings and a grotesque black wing where his right arm should be.

The song is one of the most recognized tracks in the series, unseating what was originally Sephiroth's theme, "Those Chosen by the Planet." To that extent, the song and its title have become synonymous with Sephiroth, and "One-Winged Angel" has been used not only as the name of the song, but as a title for Sephiroth himself. "One-Winged Angel" has been remixed numerous times for different games in which he is featured, and to draw back to the appearance of Safer∙Sephiroth, Sephiroth is now commonly shown with a black wing extending from his right shoulder.

Development
"One-Winged Angel" broke new ground in the Final Fantasy series by being the first song in a Final Fantasy game that had lyrics. The developers experimented with the song and took the recording of it and reduced it in a way it would fit the game; Uematsu has mentioned that "One-Winged Angel" is a good example of an experimental song, or a result that they didn't really expect from the beginning. Uematsu had not been trained or been in an orchestra prior to composing "One-Winged Angel," but he wanted to keep the orchestral music atmosphere and be able to "rock it" and have sort of a thick orchestral feel to it. He had a bunch of samples of stuff he had prepared for the orchestra, but in the end he ended up tossing it over to them and seeing how they could perform it.

During the VOICES: Music from Final Fantasy concert, the encore piece was "One-Winged Angel" performed by both the Black Mages and the orchestra. Afterward Uematsu has stated: "At that moment, I knew that was the complete "One-Winged Angel." So I still think "One-Winged Angel" is a rock piece."

Lyrics
The verses were taken from the medieval poetry compilation Carmina Burana. {| border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" align="center" width="100%"
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Latin
CHORUS Estuans interius ira vehementi Estuans interius ira vehementi Sephiroth Sephiroth

REPEAT CHORUS

Sors immanis Et inanis Sors immanis Et inanis

REPEAT CHORUS

Veni, veni, venias, Ne me mori facias Veni, veni, venias, Ne me mori facias

Veni, veni, venias, Ne me mori facias Veni, veni, venias, Ne me mori facias

Veni, veni, venias, Gloriosa Ne me mori facias Generosa Veni, veni, venias, Gloriosa Ne me mori facias Generosa

Sephiroth Sephiroth Sephiroth


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English translation
CHORUS Burning inside with violent anger Burning inside with violent anger Sephiroth Sephiroth

REPEAT CHORUS

Fate - monstrous and empty Fate - monstrous and empty

REPEAT CHORUS

Come, come, O come, do not let me die Come, come, O come, do not let me die

Come, come, O come, do not let me die Come, come, O come, do not let me die

Come, come, O come, Glorious do not let me die Noble Come, come, O come, Glorious do not let me die Noble

Sephiroth Sephiroth Sephiroth
 * }

Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks
"One-Winged Angel" was included as an orchestrated rearrangement in the album Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks. Some versions of the album contain a hidden track accessed by rewinding from the start of the album. This track is an instrumental version of "One-Winged Angel" without the choir.

The vocal version from the Reunion Tracks can also be found on the Final Fantasy S Generation: Official Best Collection album.

Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VII
A piano arrangement of the theme is included on this album, performed by Seiji Honda.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
An arrangement of the song titled "The World's Enemy," plays during a flashback sequence where Sephiroth battles Genesis Rhapsodos, and the Sephiroth boss battle in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- along with "Controlling the Iron Beast". Compared to the original song, this arrangement features a shorter introduction leading into the vocals much earlier, and is shorter as a whole.

An interesting note is that this remix focuses on the song's orchestral elements, providing a sharp contrast between it and Genesis's themes, "A Beating Black Wing" and "SOLDIER Battle", which focus on rock elements.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
"One-Winged Angel" was re-arranged for the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, for the final battle between Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. This arrangement is titled "Advent: One-Winged Angel" ("Sarin: Katayoku no Tenshi"), and was meant to be the main focus of the film's soundtrack. Notable from any past iteration of the piece, this new version features an accompanying performance by Nobuo Uematsu's metal band, The Black Mages. The track also features new orchestration, altered from the original composition to accommodate the added metal accompaniment. For the movie's extended cut, Advent Children Complete, the song was again re-done with new orchestration. Since the scene during which the song plays had been lengthened, a new passage was added toward the end. It repeats the song as heard from 1:29-2:15, without the Latin chorus and metal band accompaniment.

In the commentary for Advent Children, Nobuo Uematsu comments that the previous orchestration never really quite felt right to him and, by contrast, the combination of orchestra and metal sounds seemed to be what the piece really required all along. Uematsu also noted various rock bands that had performed their songs with an orchestra, and failed, and stated that because "One-Winged Angel" was written for neither an orchestra or a rock band, the two styles ended up meshing together well for the song's remix.

The lyrics of the Advent Children version were completely different from those of the Reunion Tracks. There is a dispute concerning the official translation of the Latin lyrics and another, more literal translation of the first and last stanzas. Whether or not the official translation of the song conveys the same message as its literal translation is entirely a matter of opinion.

Lyrics
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Latin
Noli manere, manere in memoria Noli manere, manere in memoria Sephiroth, Sephiroth

Saevam iram, iram et dolorem Saevam iram, iram et dolorem Sephiroth, Sephiroth

Ferum terribile, terribile fatum

Noli manere, manere in memoria Noli manere, manere in memoria Sephiroth, Sephiroth

Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili Hic veni, da mihi mortem iterum Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili Hic veni, da mihi...

Noli manere in memoria Saevam iram et dolorem Ferum terribile fatum Ille iterum veniet

Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili

Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili (Qui mortem invitavis) Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili (Poena funesta natus) Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili (Noli nomen vocare) Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili (Ille iterum veniet)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth Sephiroth
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Official translation
Won't remain, remain in memory Won't remain, remain in memory Sephiroth, Sephiroth

Raging anger, anger and misery Raging anger, anger and misery Sephiroth, Sephiroth

Fierce terror, fierce fate

Won't remain, remain in memory Won't remain, remain in memory Sephiroth, Sephiroth

Come, my son. Come, my son Come here, give me death once more Come, my son. Come, my son Come here, give me...

Won't remain in memory Raging anger and misery Fierce, terrible fate The second advent

My son, come, come, come, my son My son, come, come, come, my son My son, come, come, come, my son My son, come, come, come, my son

My son, come, come, come, my son (By death's invitation) My son, come, come, come, my son (Painful tainted birth) My son, come, come, come, my son (Won't call the name) My son, come, come, come, my son (The second advent)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth Sephiroth
 * }

Literal Translation

 * Don't remain, remain in memory
 * Don't remain, remain in memory
 * Sephiroth, Sephiroth


 * Fierce anger, anger and pain
 * Fierce anger, anger and pain
 * Sephiroth, Sephiroth


 * Wild, terrible, terrible fate


 * Don't remain, remain in memory
 * Don't remain, remain in memory
 * Sephiroth, Sephiroth


 * Come, my son. Come my son
 * Come here, give me death once more
 * Come, my son. Come my son
 * Come here, give me...


 * Don't
 * Remain
 * In memory
 * Fierce
 * Anger
 * And pain
 * Wild
 * Terrible
 * Fate
 * That [Man]
 * Once again
 * Will come


 * My son, come, come, come, my son
 * My son, come, come, come, my son
 * My son, come, come, come, my son
 * My son, come, come, come, my son


 * My son, come, come, come, my son
 * He who invited death 
 * My son, come, come, come, my son
 * [Was] born with an ill-fated punishment
 * My son, come, come, come, my son
 * Don't call his name
 * My son, come, come, come, my son
 * That [Man] will come again
 * Sephiroth
 * Sephiroth

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Dissidia features the arranged version of "One-Winged Angel" from the Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks album as a battle theme, and may be heard whenever a story battle occurs in the Northern Crater. It can also be the default choice for fights against Sephiroth or Cloud. Like every other of Dissidia's tracks, this version is reused in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Kingdom Hearts series
"One-Winged Angel" was remixed twice for the series, playing in boss battles with Sephiroth in both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, as well as playing during his fights with Cloud in cutscenes. The remixes of the theme feature much shorter intros, leading almost immediately into the Latin vocals, and the vocals as a whole are more prominent than in the original version.

Live orchestra recordings
"One-Winged Angel" is typically performed as an encore on the Final Fantasy concerts.

20020220 music from Final Fantasy
"One-Winged Angel," performed live by Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, is included on this concert record album.

More Friends - Music from Final Fantasy
"Advent: One-Winged Angel" is included on this live recording of an orchestral concert, preformed by The World Festival Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arnie Roth at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California on May 16th, 2005.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy
"One-Winged Angel" was performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in this live orchestra concert recording.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy Returning Home
"One-Winged Angel" is included on this live recording of an orchestral concert, performed by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Arnie Roth held in Tokyo, in November 2010. Instead of being the encore, "One-Winged Angel" opens the concert.

Trivia

 * In Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts: Re:Chain of Memories, "One-Winged Angel" appears as a Keyblade for Sora known as the One-Winged Angel. It is one of the more powerful Keyblades one can obtain, and is modeled after Sephiroth's Masamune. In Final Mix, it is obtained by defeating Sephiroth, while in Chain of Memories and its remake, it can be found in the Room of Rewards.
 * "One-Winged Angel" is also the name of Sephiroth's exclusive Level 100 weapon in Dissidia Final Fantasy.
 * Sephiroth's "One-Winged Angel" incarnation and its six white wings are a direct nod to the angelic description of Seraphim in Isaiah 6:2.
 * "Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft."
 * However, the name and title "One-Winged Angel" owe themselves not to these six white wings, but to the seventh single black wing.


 * The melody of the lyrics "Sors immanis, et inanis," may be derived from Sephiroth's theme, "Those Chosen by the Planet."
 * Nobuo Uematsu apparently got his inspiration for "One-Winged Angel" through Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho Theme. This is confirmed when Nobuo himself states it so in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children's special feature, "The Distance: Making of Featurette" on Disc Two of the Two-Disc Special Edition.