Aerith’s theme 0:00 - 0:16
Words Drowned By Fireworks 0:32 - 1:09
Words Drowned By Fireworks, Cloud and Aerith’s theme mixed in randomly 1:09 - 3:22
Fireworks begin 3:20 - 4:30
Aerith’s Theme: 4:30 - 4:48 (Aerith’s them turns into a solo violin, ends sadly)
Cloud’s theme 4:49 - 5:10 (solo violin)
Aerith’s theme 5:09-5:11 Aerith’s theme briefly interrupts Cloud’s theme
Cloud’s theme picks up stronger than before 5:17 - 5:50
Aerith’s and Cloud’s theme mixed together again 5:50 - 6:10
Tifa’s Theme 6:10 -
Aerith’s theme interrupts Tifa’s 6:18
Tifa’s theme again 6:22
Cloud’s theme (Aerith’s theme very briefly) 6:30 - 6:35
Tifa’s theme 6:35 - 6:53
Aerith’s Theme 6:53 - 6:58
Tifa’s theme 6:58 - 7:06
Cloud’s theme briefly 7:06 - 7:11
Tifa’s theme 7:11 - 7:20
Cloud’s theme: 7:21 - 7:27
Tifa’s Theme 7:28 -- 7:34
Aerith’s Theme: 7:35 - 7:50
Cloud’s theme: (Aerith theme faintly mixed) then turns into a solo violin 7:51 - 9:08
Aerith’s theme 9:09 - 9:31 (loud)
Twinkling Aerith’s Theme 9:32
Cloud’s theme 9:54 - 10:03
Aerith’s theme again 10:05 (sounding sad)
Aerith’s theme starts to sound more happy and uplifting 10:24
Cloud’s theme 10:47 - 10:54
Loud drums 10:55
Sephiroth’s theme 11:07 - 11:29
Cloud’s theme 11:30
Aerith’s theme 11:34 - 12:07
Loud interruptions (Sephiroth) mixed in with Aerith’s gentle theme (it’s like Aerith’s theme is battling Sephitoth’s 12:08 13:38
I tried to mark down when I heard each theme, if I’m missing some parts please give a listen and tell me when you hear each song. Jonne Valtonen (the symphony arranger) said he combined Aerith’s theme, Cloud’s Theme, Words Drowned by Fireworks, and Tifa’s theme all throughout the piece.
I even checked his arrangement notes and
And as you see, Tifa’s notes do get sandwiched between Aerith’s theme. And when Cloud’s them does play during Tifa’s, it’s a slow, solo violin that lasts very very briefly.
Even more interesting than that, Jonne said this about Cloud and Aerith’s date:
"Cloud, which is the hero, and Aerith, WHO IS THE LOVE INTEREST, goes on a date in an amusement park. And things get heated up a bit but it gets interrupted by the fireworks in the game. This is a very sweet and innocent scene for these two youngsters [that] sort of are falling in love in a way."
In the same discussion he says:
And in the end, in my version, there's debate on forums, BUT CLOUD CHOOSES AERITH. And when they almost have each other, Sephiroth interrupts and turns everything into dissonance..."
This dude went and wrote a clerith symphony and square enix was completely okay with it. (Nobuo called him a genius). Just give it a listen and you’ll see how much Cloud + Aerith is played in this.
What’s strange though. Is that on the official website, it says:
In my opinion, “love” and “loss” clearly refers to Aerith (already confirming clerith), while “uncertainty” refers to Tifa, since players can choose to optionally like her instead after Aerith dies. It says this part of the symphony is about Cloud being “undecided” in his feelings, but if you listen to it, it ends with Cloud and Aerith’s themes being combined, showing the listeners that Cloud chose Aerithb again. It’s clear that who Cloud ultimately chooses is Aerith, despite what options some players may choose. Because no optional scenes with Tifa ever erase this from happening at the end of the game:
