"Sephiroth Reborn" (リバース＝セフィロス, Ribāsu-Sefirosu?, lit. Rebirth-Sephiroth) is a boss theme in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, composed and arranged by Masashi Hamauzu.
"Sephiroth Reborn" has five movements:
- "Sephiroth Reborn - Advent" (リバース＝セフィロス -降臨-, Ribāsu-Sefirosu -Kōrin-?, lit. Rebirth-Sephiroth -Advent-): It noticeably begins with a repetition of the Latin phrase "miserere nobis" which means "have mercy on us".
- "Sephiroth Reborn - Transfiguration" (リバース＝セフィロス -変異-, Ribāsu-Sefirosu -Hen'i-?, lit. Rebirth-Sephiroth -Mutation-): A short movement.
- "Sephiroth Reborn - For Aerith" (リバース＝セフィロス -弔い合戦-, Ribāsu-Sefirosu -Tomuraigassen-?, lit. Rebirth-Sephiroth -Fighting to Avenge Someone's Death-): It includes a motif from "Those Chosen by the Planet", originally composed by Nobuo Uematsu.
- "Sephiroth Reborn - Embrace Your Dreams" (リバース＝セフィロス -夢を抱きしめろ-, Ribāsu-Sefirosu -Yume o Dakishimero-?, lit. Rebirth-Sephiroth -Embrace Your Dreams-)
- "Sephiroth Reborn - Second Advent" (リバース＝セフィロス -再臨-, Ribāsu-Sefirosu -Sairin-?, lit. Rebirth-Sephiroth -Second Advent-): It features scattered references to the theme of "One-Winged Angel", originally composed by Uematsu.
Game appearances[]
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth[]
"Sephiroth Reborn" plays during the penultimate boss battle against the eponymous Sephiroth Reborn, separated into four phases, in Chapter 14, "End of the World".
"Sephiroth Reborn - Advent" plays during the first phase against Sephiroth Reborn, fought by Cloud. Once Cloud cripples the body of Sephiroth Reborn, "Sephiroth Reborn - Transfiguration" plays during the intermission cutscene, until it switches back to "Sephiroth Reborn - Advent" when Cloud climbs the body and begins the second half of the phase.
"Sephiroth Reborn - For Aerith" plays during the second phase against Bahamut Arisen Whisper and Sephiroth Reborn, fought by three party members.
"Sephiroth Reborn - Embrace Your Dreams" plays during the third phase against Sephiroth Reborn, fought by Zack.
"Sephiroth Reborn - Second Advent" plays during the fourth and final phase against Sephiroth Reborn, fought by three party members.
The five movements of "Sephiroth Reborn" are tracks 11 to 15 of disc 7 on the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Original Soundtrack.
"The Three SOLDIERs" (３人のソルジャー, Sannin no Sorujā?) is a shorter arrangement of "Sephiroth Reborn - Second Advent" without the chorus that plays during the first battle against Sephiroth before Sephiroth Reborn, fought by Cloud and Zack. It is track 9 of disc 7 on the original soundtrack.
Arrangement album appearances[]
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestral Arrangement Album[]
"Sephiroth Reborn Symphony" (リバース＝セフィロス 交響曲, Ribāsu-Sefirosu Kōkyōkyoku?, lit. Rebirth-Sephiroth Symphony) is an orchestral symphony orchestrated by Sachiko Miyano that appears as track 10 on the album, conducted by Hirofumi Kurita and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Live performances[]
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour Live 2024.09.08[]
The orchestration of "Sephiroth Reborn Symphony" by Sachiko Miyano is performed in the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth orchestra word tour. The concert held on September 8, 2024 at PACIFICO Yokohama National Convention Hall in Kanagawa was recorded live and released on the album, conducted by Arnie Roth and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Barzz.
"Sephiroth Reborn Symphony" is track 7 of disc 2 on the album.
Behind the scenes[]
When composer Masashi Hamauzu first talked with Motomu Toriyama about which music he would be in charge of, he said, "Please leave out Sephiroth's music ("One-Winged Angel")." He did not mean that he dislikes the piece, but that Sephiroth's music had been arranged many times. It is a fully realised piece, so he did not think it was something he could come up with any more ideas for. But before he knew it, he ended up being in charge of the Sephiroth battle near the end of the game. He was a bit unsure at first, but since this was the first time he would be arranging Sephiroth's music entirely on his own, it was not as difficult as he had imagined.
There was the feeling of, "It would be so cool if Sephiroth's melody played right here," so in a way, incorporating it was easier than creating a new melody from scratch. If he had been a bit younger, he might have worried, "Am I allowed to mess with it this much?" But after being in the line of work for so long, he has developed a sense of balance—he knew how far he could go without crossing the line. He focused on how to twist and play with the theme to make it interesting, and he thinks he managed to create something uniquely thrilling for the game. Also, this is not limited to the music for the Sephiroth battle—it is always an enormous challenge to be tasked with a final boss theme. He has done so many late-game and final boss tracks before, and each time it is tough. Having more experience does not make it any easier. He cannot just repeat what he did before—he has to do something different. When he worked on "Arbiter of Fate" for Final Fantasy VII Remake, he honestly thought that if he made a boss theme this massive and long, he would not be able to write another boss theme for the second part. At that point, he genuinely believed he had already used up all his ideas."[1]
Etymology[]
Səphīrōth (סְפִירוֹת, medieval Hebrew form of Sephirot; also spelled Sefirot), is a plural noun in Hebrew; the singular is Sephirah (also spelled Sefira). The Sephiroth are described in the Kabbalah as the manifestations of God that allow Him to manifest in the physical and metaphysical universes. Sephiroth also means "counting" (of numbers).
Rebirth refers to reincarnation, the philosophical or religious concept that an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each biological death.