good performance with minor productiondrawbacks
I like the overall songs, but some of your orchestral isntruments tends to be too silent, especially in the beginning, try to bring them out more if possible. I loved the choirs that presented a whole new take on the song, but then again, some instruments faded behind it. The percussion isn't much to comment on, it's a constant tick, tick, tick, maybe you could be somewhat more dynamical with it and really make the song your own? I haven't listened to the original in a while now, but this sounded exactly as i rememebred it, with a few exceptions like the choirs, you could really step up and make this song your own!
As for the 16bit vs orchestral discussion, you should definitely make the two pieces separate, and majorly review the work on your 16 bit track and switch out the instruments that doesn't fit in their respective positions. I mainly talk about the bigassbrass which doesnt treat the melody nicely. Try using another waveform for that purpose. I like the creativity you showed in the second part though, 6/10 , 3/5