i just need to gush about the third sanctuary (the song) real quick
every time i listen to it i'm just so struck with how beautiful it is. i am aware of all the memes about the crazy time signatures, and it seems that's what the piece is most known for - don't get me wrong, i love picking apart all the time signature changes and syncopations (which i will), and they also serve to drive the story of the piece forward! but there's so much more to it than that too
it starts off so unassuming. oh, this is just second sanctuary, isn't it? but wait, the key seems a little off, and the rhythm a bit, too... is that 9/8? and then it hits you in the face with the A section in 11/8! you're thrown into this off-balance rendition of the sanctuary motif, but there's a strange beauty to it, much like the third dark world itself. everything seems on the verge of tipping over, but you can't help but marvel at the holy light filtered through the glass panes of the prophecy.
then it takes you into the B section (5/8). the synth is droning, and the time signature drives you forward - the way the drums split the bar into 2/8 + 3/8 always makes me feel like i am stumbling forward, barely catching myself every other step. and then the legend motif appears, soaring above the ostinato. parts of the melody are played offset from the rhythm established in the drums, which reinforces that "off" feeling. here in the third sanctuary, all our heroes can do is press forward in the face of the prophecy, even if they must stagger.
and now we are returned to our A section, but not quite... let's call it A'. the downbeat has changed, and there are a couple sneaky bars of 12/8 which leave you disoriented. things are becoming more chaotic, and the world seems to crumble around you. if you fall here, you may never get up again. just as you grow accustomed to it, we switch back into the B section, back into the legend motif. is this all there is? does enduring the chaos only invite the inevitability of the prophecy?
but then, just when you think we might return to our A/A', everything except the top strings/synth stops in a moment of calm for the transition. it's still in 5/8, but with the lack of percussion, you can hardly count the passage of time. you hold your breath. there may be a light at the end of this tunnel, yet.
and finally, we reach the final section. it crashes into you like a wave as the bass and percussion come back in all at once. it's the only section to not start with the i chord, instead following VI-VII-i-v, which makes it sound completely different. it's also such a beautiful chord progression and it tugs at your heartstrings; after spending so much time mostly hovering around the i chord, this section feels so euphoric. the time signature here is 12/8 and 11/8 alternating - with the stability of 12/8 and the instability of 11/8, we are still a bit unsteady, but there's a feeling of being anchored in between. and man, that melody is just so gorgeous and full of hope, and it only gets more heavenly when the synths begin to play a variation of the legend motif. i just love the choice of synths here, the way that they're layered just sounds so full!
it feels like a moment of clarity, breaking through the uncertainty. yes, the prophecy still looms ahead, but we've found hope and courage and purpose in spite of it all! this last section genuinely makes me tear up sometimes
uh yeah. i really love the third sanctuary. thank you toby fox. i'm going to go listen to it again now
