Distant, Shining, Yellow Star
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
"Distant, Shining, Yellow Star" is a medley from Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe that plays when plays when viewing the "Credits" cutscene in the Theater. It was arranged by Yuki Shimooka.[1]
Composition[edit]
"Distant, Shining, Yellow Star" is a calm and sweet theme in D-flat major. It starts out with a slow 4/4 acoustic variant of "Planet Popstar". It has sustained string chords with a gentle vibrato and harp arpeggiatos on the first beat of each bar. The melody is played by tubular bells, then in lower registers by a flute seconded by a high bassoon. Violins continue for the modulating section, and the flute rejoins when the harmony stabilizes. After this, a change in meter, character and instrumentation signifies the arrival of a new theme: "Sky Tower", uniquely in triple meter (3/4) and also acoustic, but in its original key. The piano and marimba opening sets the stage for the main section, where the piano takes the lead with occasional woodwind remarks and string accompaniment. Violins play the second section of "Sky Tower" with a cello counterpoint. The violins give way to a viola and then the cello, and the phrase is then repeated by the piano. All the instruments of this part conclude the theme together.
Transitioning seamlessly, "Northeast Frost Street" continues the medley. It retains its original acoustic instrumentation and pulsation of 3, but is also transposed to D-flat major with B-flat minor elements. This is in contrast to the original's predominantly minor key, which alternated with occasional major harmonies. The piano provides the accompaniment for this section. The bassoon takes the lead for the melody's first iteration, then followed by a flute, and then a guitar with marimba. Different woodwinds and eventually brass play the rising phrase of the second section. A percussive pause follows, giving a small break before the climactic tutti in F-flat major. The guitar reprises its role from the original theme, then seconded by the piano. The key modulates back to D-flat major. However, rather than looping from the first variant of "Planet Popstar", this theme is now modified to fit 6/8, the time signature of "Northeast Frost Street". The piano now takes the accompanying role, and the second, previously string section now gains properties of the "Sky Tower" variant of this track. The track itself loops properly from the "Sky Tower" segment onward.
Trivia[edit]
- The three themes that make up "Distant, Shining, Yellow Star" were composed by Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando and Yuuta Ogasawara, respectively, while the track itself was arranged by Yuki Shimooka. Interestingly, the order of these themes' debuts coincides with the order of the composers' first works in the Kirby series.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 黄色く輝く遥かな星よ kiiroku kagayaku harukana hoshiyo |
A Distant Yellow-Shining Star |
| Traditional Chinese | 黃色閃耀的遙遠星球啊 huáng sè shǎn yào de yáo yuǎn xīng qiú a |
The Distant Star of Sparkling Yellow |
| Simplified Chinese | 黄色闪耀的遥远星球啊 huáng sè shǎn yào de yáo yuǎn xīng qiú a | |
| Dutch | Afgelegen gele ster | Distant yellow star |
| French | Étoile dorée, distante et lumineuse | Golden, distant, luminous star |
| German | Golden-gelber Stern im Fernen | Golden-yellow star in the distance |
| Italian | Una stella gialla, lontana e splendente | A distant and shining yellow star |
| Korean | 노랗게 빛나는 머나먼 별이여 nolahge bichnaneun meonameon byeol-iyeo |
The Distant Star Shining Yellow |
| Portuguese | Estrela amarela brilhante e distante | Shining yellow and distant star |
| Spanish | Una estrella amarilla brillante y distante | A distant and shining yellow star |
