Aerith's Theme

"Aerith's Theme" or "Aeris's Theme", is Aerith Gainsborough's eponymous theme originating from Final Fantasy VII. It was composed by Nobuo Uematsu.

It contains elements of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere" from Final Fantasy VI. Elements of "Aerith's Theme" independent of "Aria di Mezzo Carattere" are also present in "Yuna's Theme" from Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy VII]]
"Aeris's Theme" plays at three stages in the game: during Elmyra Gainsborough's flashback where she tells the party of Aeris's childhood; during the fight with Jenova∙LIFE and during the preceding scene; and a final time at the end of disc 2 when the party remembers Aeris's sacrifice before raiding the Northern Cave. A short phrase of the theme is heard in the scene where Cloud sees Aerith's hand reach out for him from the Lifestream in the ending.

"Flowers Blooming in the Church" is an arrangement of "Aerith's Theme" and plays as the background theme for the Sector 5 Church and Aeris's house in the Sector 5 Slums, as well as in several in-game cutscenes involving Aeris.

"Aeris's Theme" is the nineteenth track of the Final Fantasy VII: Original Soundtrack third disc; while "Flowers Blooming in the Church" is the twelfth track of the album's first disc.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
The piano arrangement of "Aerith's Theme" from Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VII was included, and is the eleventh track of its original soundtrack.

"Water" is a new theme based on "Aerith's Theme", and plays at various parts of the film that focus on her, such as when her voice is heard on Cloud Strife's cellphone. It is the ninth track of the original soundtrack.

A new original arrangement of this theme is included in the remaster to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Advent Children Complete, and is titled "Aerith's Theme - ACC Long Version". This theme was released in the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Reunion Tracks album as its eleventh track.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
"A Flower Blooming in the Slums (from Final Fantasy VII Aerith's Theme)" is an arrangement of the theme by Takeharu Ishimoto, and is the twenty-second track of the first disc of the Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack. It features the piano and an acoustic guitar performance by Hirokazu Ogura. It plays during several cutscenes involving Aerith, including her appearance in the game's ending cutscene.

An orchestral version, accompanied by the acoustic guitar, of "Aerith's Theme" is also included on the ending theme, where it is known as "Fulfilled Desire", by Kazuhiko Toyama.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
"Aerith's Theme" was selected as the theme for the Final Fantasy VII series play's respective Event Music Sequence.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call
"Aerith's Theme" returns as a Battle Music Sequence, while "A Flower Blooming in the Slums (from FFVII 'Aerith's Theme')" appears as a Field Music Sequence from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. "Aerith's Theme (Piano Version)" from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a bonus FMS available as downloadable content.

Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks
"Aerith's Theme" is one of three tracks arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi and performed by an orchestra for this best-of album of Final Fantasy VII music. It is the final track of the album.

Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VII
A piano arrangement of "Aeris' Theme" by Shirō Hamaguchi was included in the Piano Collections album of Final Fantasy VII as the eleventh track. This version also appears in the exclusive PlayStation 4 theme for those who buy the remastered version of the original Final Fantasy VII.

Suteki da ne
"Aerith's Theme" is featured as a B-Side to RIKKI's "Suteki da ne" single. It is a vocal arrangement, and renamed "Pure Heart ~ Aerith's Theme". The track was voted in by fans to be arranged and included to the single's B-side and the lyrics are written by Emiko Shiratori, who sang the theme song for Final Fantasy IX. Uematsu had been aware of "Aerith's Theme's" popularity among the fans, so he wasn't surprised by their choice. However, in his opinion compositions other than "Aerith's Theme" would have been easier to make into a song.

Guitar Solo Final Fantasy Official Best Collection
A classic guitar arrangement of "Aerith's Theme" by Yuji Sekiguchi is present in the Guitar Solo Final Fantasy Official Best Collection. It is the fourteenth track of the album.

SQ Chips
The song appears in the 8-bit arrangement album featuring tracks from several Square Enix games. It is the eighth track in the album.

Final Fantasy Orchestra Album
"Aerith's Theme" appears on this Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary arrangement album.

20020220 music from Final Fantasy
The version of "Aerith's Theme" included in the concert album 20020220 music from Final Fantasy features an orchestration arrangement produced by Nobuo Uematsu and Shirō Hamaguchi.

Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy-
The orchestral arrangement of "Aerith's Theme" from 20020220 was part of the performances of this concert tour throughout the USA in 2005. It was the eleventh song of the line-up.

More Friends - Music from Final Fantasy
"Aerith's Theme" 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 II: More Music from Final Fantasy
The orchestral version of "Dear Friends" from 20020220 was included in the sequel to Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy, arranged and performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. It was the twelfth song of the line-up and track of the concert's recording.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy
"Aerith's Theme" was performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in this live orchestra concert recording.

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy Returning Home
"Aerith's Theme" 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.

Final Fantasy S Generation: Official Best Collection
Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks version of "Aerith's Theme" is the thirteenth track of this compilation.

Potion: Relaxin' with Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks version of "Aerith's Theme" is the thirteenth track of this compilation.

Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack
"Aerith's Theme"'s original version was released as the eight track of this collection of themes present in the Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy- concert tour.

Final Fantasy VII Vinyl Limited Edition
"Aerith's Theme" is included on the third disc of this collectors' edition.

"Aerith's Theme" and the "Aria di Mezzo Carattere"
Among many fans there exists the belief that "Aerith's Theme" may have been inspired by or based upon the Final Fantasy VI "Aria di Mezzo Carattere". The reason for this stems from many similarities between the songs: the musical scales in which both tracks are written, D-major, similar chord changes, and them sharing several notes in their central melodies.

Merchandise
One of, if not the, rarest pieces of Final Fantasy merchandise is the limited edition Final Fantasy VII music box that plays "Aeris's Theme". It has a gold plaque that says "Aeris's Theme" and its limited number. Only 100 pieces were ever produced by Sankyo Orpheus Japan. This music box has 50 notes whereas most music boxes have only 18 and the box is made out of curubixa wood.

Trivia

 * "Aerith's Theme" has appeared on the Classic FM's Hall of Fame in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. It was 16th in 2012, 3rd in 2013, and 7th in 2014.
 * "Aerith's Theme", along with other Final Fantasy themes such as "Melodies of Life", "Zanarkand", Love Will Grow", "Blinded By Light", "FINAL FANTASY XIII - The Promise", "Don't Be Afraid, "Force Your Way" and many others are used as background music on Filipino channel ABS-CBN programs as well as other Filipino channels and radio stations.