20, 2004. The original release bears the catalog number SSCX-10047 and the reprint SQEX-10035. Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack PLUS sold over 4,100 copies. It was very well received, with reviewers finding the tunes to have "great dynamics" and "incredibly well made", and that the "orchestrations work wonders with Uematsu's incidental music." It reached #58 on the Oricon charts. Piano Collections: FINAL FANTASY IX Piano Collections: Final Fantasy IX is a collection of Final Fantasy IX music composed by Nobuo Uematsu, arranged for the piano by Shirō Hamaguchi, and performed by Louis Leerink. It spans 14 tracks and covers a duration of 53:44. It was first released on January 24, 2001, in Japan by DigiCube, and subsequently re-released on July 22, 2004, by Square Enix. The original release bears the catalog number SSCX-10048 and the re-release bears the catalog number SQEX-10027. The album well received, with reviewers finding the album "enjoyable" and "a pleasant surprise", although they did find some of the arrangements to be "a bit on the simple side". Melodies of Life "Melodies of Life" is the theme song of Final Fantasy IX, and consists primarily of two themes that were frequently used in the game itself, the Overworld theme (Crossing Those Hills), and a lullaby that is sung by Dagger. It was performed by Emiko Shiratori in both the Japanese and English versions, arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi, and composed, like the rest of the game, by Nobuo Uematsu. The lyrics were written by game director Hiroyuki Ito (credited as Shiomi) in the Japanese version and Alexander O. Smith in the English version. The song was released as a single by King Records on August 2, 2000, and contains both the English and Japanese versions, an instrumental version, and a bonus track named "Galway Sky". The single covers a duration of 23:17 and has a catalog number of KICS-811. Melodies of Life reached #10 on the Oricon charts, and sold 100,000 copies. Legacy The Black Mages have arranged four pieces from Final Fantasy IX. These are "Hunter's Chance" and "Vamo' Alla Flamenco" from the album The Skies Above, published in 2004, and "Assault of the Silver Dragons" and "Grand Cross" from the album Darkness and Starlight, published in 2008. Additionally, Uematsu continues to perform certain pieces in his Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy concert series. The music of Final Fantasy IX has also appeared in various official