UPDATED!one winged angel ftw
Jun. 17th, 2007 03:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderpigMmm, a long time since I used the 'concert' tag! I'm so happy to use it again - ah my baby come here to Papa!
PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was absolutely awesome. Thanks GameAxis for the tickets!
More tomorrow when I get pulled away from my DS but highlights were obviously One-Winged Angel, the heart-rendering Kingdom Hearts Arrangement (using Utada Hikaru's song as the main theme) and the Final Fantasy rock-symphony - I think the title was... I can't remember at the moment. But I'm very very sure it was a Black Mages piece. Like AWEOME. If Uematsu was here to perform it with the Black Mages, I'd die happy.
Overall, kudos to the Singapore Festival Orchestra and Choir for a wonderful performance. The pieces were no easy feat (wtf the chords were freakin' complex on some arrangements, like the composer was drunk or something) and it took a lot of effort and practice to deliver such a performance. From a musician to musicians, thank you very much. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
One thing though, I think proper concert etiquette should be taught to all school-going kids and like adults too. Some people I feel, didn't even show the basic respect for the performers and the Conductor. Like what's up with that? These people put in hours of blood and sweat to give you this concert - the least thing you could do is show them a little respect by sitting properly. You don't have to sit like some uptight faggot from the upper ranks of the Army, but at least sit up. Dude.
Anyway, :D excellent stuff. Come back here some time later for a more detailed commentary on the concert. A.k.a give me time to remember the repertoire!
So here's the concert repertoire:
So I arrived at the Esplanade around 6:30pm 'cause I hitched a ride from my good ol' father who was heading to town to run some errands. Being incredibly early, I sauntered up the stairs to the concourse (ah the joys of being early lays in walking really pompously) and plonked myself at one of the benches. Brings back memories of the last time T04 was at the Esplanade and I ran to the next bench for some good times. That's all in the past now.
Well yes, I plonked myself down and whipped out my DS for some Phoenix Wright lovin' time and at around 6:45pm and with the growing crowd, I got up and walked up to the performance area where Yuzo Koshiro was beginning to DJ his stuff from Wangan-Midnight and Streets of Rage.
I'm not one for techno and electro-beat music - just electronica in general - but maybe it's my personal bias towards game music because the themes he was mixing and remixing on the spot sounded really good. I was bouncing my head along to the beats as each song weaved into the next - odd choral arrangements blending in perfectly into the next techno-heavy sounds. Awesome stuff.
'slike nearing the end of his DJ-ing session, Leon gives me a call and I get my Final Fantasy poster autographed by Uematsu Nobuo.. (Here's where I carefully pry open the poster and joke about how if I open it any wider, people will attack me for it :D() ) I probably can die happier now. This is going to be a family heirloom I tell you! An autograph by Uematsu himself! To me, it's like getting an autograph from Mozart himself! The Mozart of the Game Music world!!! Okay, I'm fangirling now. But seriously, for the things he's done for the industry (not to mention him helming the kickass Black Mages), he's one of my idols.
Mm alright, it's like almost time for the concert to start so I make a few frantic calls to Rachel Law's sister and ask if she's coming any time soon, because the concert's starting in 10... 5... 3 minutes. It's a personal preference but I like to be in the concert hall at least 10 minutes earlier from my past band concert going experiences and all. So I was kind of worried when it was 1 minute to the start and she still hadn't showed up. Still, for the most part there was Leon who was waiting for his friend あのテメエ男！談話の間よに突然消えたんだ！so we kind of waited for people together. Yeah. It was kind of boring and stuff. I end up leaving the ticket at the information counter because I cannot be late and there is no way I'm going to miss a single part of this concert so I rush it by the skin of my teeth and quickly scramble into my seat, right next to FHM's Gamergirl.
So anyway, back to more important things.
The lights dim and the Concert Master a.k.a mister First Violin begins tuning the orchestra to the oboe. The whole orchestra begins to tune and mmm, whoever said that the classical music scene in Singapore is dead (technique-wise) should go and hang themselves. The SFO in my honest opinion, was up to calibre.
Arnie Roth comes on stage and gives us a brief introduction to the concert and then the orchestra launches into the Uematsu's Fanfare. Good stuff, but not particularly impactful because while at the moment you get swept up in all the brassy fanfare, the effect wears off after a while. But it was a good opener to the concert itself, I have to say.
I have to admit that I haven't played most of the games on the repertoire, even though I've been obsessing over a number of them for quite some time. The Legend of Zelda comes to mind! I never actually played it, but reading all the UK game magazines when I was in primary school kind of got me hyped up enough to contemplate begging my parents to order an official Zelda ocarina for my birthday. :D()()
Still despite the unfamiliarity of some games - I've heard of all of them, but actually sitting down and playing them is a totally different thing - I really enjoyed the music. Especially the ones that i have played before. Dude, listening to the Super Mario Bros theme made me think back to when I had it on the Super Famicon.
Yes. I did have a Super Famicon. And a Sega Mega Drive. And a Sega Saturn. I told you I was brought up as a console gamer. The Royal Family of Gaming Geeks. LOL. I jest. I'll probably go more on my gaming history in a post next time.
What I loved the most about this concert, was the fact that the pieces brought back memories of may I say, a much more happier childhood. When all I cared about was nothing but playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Game Gear. Seriously kids, the Sega Game Gear was one of the best "1st generation" handhelds ever. I actually had this kickass Sailormoon cartridge that whiled away all the times when I was super bored.
Listening to the Sonic the Hedgehog theme was like remembering him going on the loop-de-loops on the pixelated courses, grabbing all the power rings and doing his spins. Duuuuuuuude. <33 I remember having a huge crush on Sonic. HAHA.
The Lost Odessey, Shenmue and Blue Dragon suites/themes were much more epic. Less whimsical than your usual Nintendo fare (Nintendo music does seem more whimsical and carefree than others...) but extremely powerful. When you bring in the virtuoso of the strings, the effect is like wow. I'm a staunch brass/concert/symphonic band supporter but sometimes winds just can't replicate that sound the strings can make. It's special. It's a magical moment.
I know Doris would've wanted to be around for the MGS Theme. She's the number one MGS fan I know and ahaha she might actually weep in her seat if she was there to listen. But she's off in Malaysia climbing mountains. ): Where is my GamerFriend!!!
But frankly speaking, the piece that made me want to cry was the Kingdom Hearts suite. I haven't played Kingdom Hearts yet (don't worry I'm going to buy it now that my PS2 is alive and kicking and I have time) but I'm dreadfully in love with the soundtrack. The updated and modernized Disney tracks are <3. When the strings started to play the Hikari in the cantabile-esque manner, I started to tear inside. It's a beautiful theme, and like I mentioned above, extremely heartrendering. You can hear and feel the sheer longing and when the strings start singing どんな時だって/ただ一人で/運命忘れて/生きてきたのに/突然の光の中、目が覚める/真夜中に . Even now when I remember it I feel like crying, for the sheer beauty of the song, for the fact that it was played so beautifully. There must have been some musicians in the orchestra who might have felt indifferent to the song, but as a whole, the entire orchestra just delivered a spectacular and unforgettable rendition of the suite. I still shiver when I think about it.
Arnie Roth's incredibly candid throughout all his introduction to the pieces, but you can tell that he's really happy to be here and conducting. He introduces the last piece before the intermission as what was originally a rock-piece and I immediately thought of Uematsu's Black Mages. So it's Dancing Mad <333. But any arrangement originating from the Black Mages, even though now arranged in the orchestral version, is kickass. It's very bass-heavy, if I remember correctly. Great way to end the first half.
I scoot outside during the intermission to make some calls then I make my way back and duke it out in the courtroom with Phoenix Wright on my DS. The GameAxis people start filing in nearing the end of intermission and I get props from Battousai and er I think Sal? (I HAVE NO IDEA, I APOLOGISE) for my ninja stunt earlier in the office tha morning like "So who did you come with?"
"A ninja always works alone!" I implore.
"But ninjas work in pairs!" Battousai goes, as he shuffles to his seat.
"My partner's outside! I'm in here enjoying myself. >D"
And its like dude, everyone's telling their friends/brothers/etc that my ninja act was "impressive" and I'm that "ninja who was in the office earlier". How's that for infamy!
The second half of the concert can probably dubbed the "western" half, with most of the pieces originating from games from the West rather than good ol' Japan. Arnie Roth gives us a quick introduction to Takenobu Mitsuyoshi again who bounds onto stage with a Sonic plushie (YEAH SONICCCCCCC) and seats himself at the piano, launching into a very Engrish rendition of "Let's Go Away". There is only one word to describe this guy: Efferverscent. He's really charming, and is really cheerful and warm. He was seated just two rows in front of me (ZOMGGG GODLIKE PRESENCE!) and mmm. I wanted ot like reach out and grope him or something. After his solo on the piano - extremely l33t piano-playing skills put me to shame - he throws the Sonic plushie to the crowd in the direction of Q21, the seat which I could have taken instead!!!!!! I was like GAAAAH MY SONIC PLUSHIE NEVER TO BE!!
Oh well.
The Elder Scrolls and Chrono Cross suites were the usual epic game scores that they are, very big sounds with wonderful oboe and english horn solo parts. But personally I liked the World of Warcraft suite :D. Do not be fooled! Calling it the "World of Warcraft" suite in my opinion, is a literal World of Warcraft, not merely referencing to the MMORPG that's all the rage now. So WoW players, if you've never played Warcraft 3, you probably won't recognize the opening strains and probably more than half the piece. It made me proud of completing Warcraft 3. I was like "dude, this is cool. I've heard all this music in-game before!!! and I've never played WoW even!". Yeah. ;D
The Halo suite made me think of the Master Chief going "lolollollllollololol gaygaygaygaygaygaygay" which kind of ruined the whole majestic, cyber-punk kind of feeling the orchestra was going for. =A=;;;
I didn't feel much for the Castlevania suite because I never played it, and the music didn't do too much for me by this time, when all the grandoise of the previous pieces kinda made me go o_O.
Then it's Nintendo to the rescue with their Legend of Zelda suite which the great flute solo at the beginning mimickign Link's ocarina playing. Good ol' N64.
AND DUDE. ONE WINGED ANGEL FOR THE FINAL PIECE. I was kind of disappointed that Swing de Chocobo wasn't performed but when Arnie Roth announced One Winged Angel as the last song, I let out an audible "Yes!!" escape from my mouth. Epic, really. The choir did a good job on the whole latin chorus effect. The whole "veni veni venias" and the ennunciation of "SEPHIROTH" made me give a thumbs up. Still, I don't understand with the rather simple rhythm of the piece, some people in the audience couldn't really keep time - as in, their hands/fingers were all over the place. Like er.... dude, it's not that hard. =A=;; Still! Ah!!! One-Winged Angel!
The Conductor waffles a bit with the stage right and the stage, and then finally comes back out after quite a while and launches into the encore piece: Revenge of the Shinobi.
Hence the GameAxis competition of the whole "be a ninja" thing. :D
So overall, it was an unforgettable performance - I don't regret going alone, and it was really great just being by myself and enjoying the music and nothing else. There's something about performing on stage that leaves an undeliable mark on one's self forever. I felt like was displacing myself onto the musicians and imagining that I was the one doing that oboe solo, I was the one playing that clarinet. While I love my saxophone family to death, I sometimes am bereaved that the saxophone has almost no place in classical orchestra, save for some arrangements by Alfred Reed.
It's late, I've written alot and I should sleep so that I can blog about the GE Zouk event later. 'slong!
PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was absolutely awesome. Thanks GameAxis for the tickets!
More tomorrow when I get pulled away from my DS but highlights were obviously One-Winged Angel, the heart-rendering Kingdom Hearts Arrangement (using Utada Hikaru's song as the main theme) and the Final Fantasy rock-symphony - I think the title was... I can't remember at the moment. But I'm very very sure it was a Black Mages piece. Like AWEOME. If Uematsu was here to perform it with the Black Mages, I'd die happy.
Overall, kudos to the Singapore Festival Orchestra and Choir for a wonderful performance. The pieces were no easy feat (wtf the chords were freakin' complex on some arrangements, like the composer was drunk or something) and it took a lot of effort and practice to deliver such a performance. From a musician to musicians, thank you very much. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
One thing though, I think proper concert etiquette should be taught to all school-going kids and like adults too. Some people I feel, didn't even show the basic respect for the performers and the Conductor. Like what's up with that? These people put in hours of blood and sweat to give you this concert - the least thing you could do is show them a little respect by sitting properly. You don't have to sit like some uptight faggot from the upper ranks of the Army, but at least sit up. Dude.
Anyway, :D excellent stuff. Come back here some time later for a more detailed commentary on the concert. A.k.a give me time to remember the repertoire!
So here's the concert repertoire:
Play! A Video Game Symphony Fanfare
Super Mario Bros. Suite
Shenmue and Shenmue II Sedge Tree
Lost Odyssey Main Theme
Sonic the Hedgehog Suite
Metal Gear Solid Main Theme
Blue Dragon Main Theme
Kingdom Hearts Suite
Final Fantasy VI Dancing Mad
*INTERMISSION*
Daytona USA ("Let's Go Away" as performed by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi)
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Suite
Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger Suite
World of Warcraft Suite
HALO Suite
Castlevania Suite
Legend of Zelda Suite
Final Fantasy VII One-Winged Angel
*ENCORE*
The Revenge of the Shinobi (as voted on the GameAxis polls)
So I arrived at the Esplanade around 6:30pm 'cause I hitched a ride from my good ol' father who was heading to town to run some errands. Being incredibly early, I sauntered up the stairs to the concourse (ah the joys of being early lays in walking really pompously) and plonked myself at one of the benches. Brings back memories of the last time T04 was at the Esplanade and I ran to the next bench for some good times. That's all in the past now.
Well yes, I plonked myself down and whipped out my DS for some Phoenix Wright lovin' time and at around 6:45pm and with the growing crowd, I got up and walked up to the performance area where Yuzo Koshiro was beginning to DJ his stuff from Wangan-Midnight and Streets of Rage.
I'm not one for techno and electro-beat music - just electronica in general - but maybe it's my personal bias towards game music because the themes he was mixing and remixing on the spot sounded really good. I was bouncing my head along to the beats as each song weaved into the next - odd choral arrangements blending in perfectly into the next techno-heavy sounds. Awesome stuff.
'slike nearing the end of his DJ-ing session, Leon gives me a call and I get my Final Fantasy poster autographed by Uematsu Nobuo.. (Here's where I carefully pry open the poster and joke about how if I open it any wider, people will attack me for it :D() ) I probably can die happier now. This is going to be a family heirloom I tell you! An autograph by Uematsu himself! To me, it's like getting an autograph from Mozart himself! The Mozart of the Game Music world!!! Okay, I'm fangirling now. But seriously, for the things he's done for the industry (not to mention him helming the kickass Black Mages), he's one of my idols.
Mm alright, it's like almost time for the concert to start so I make a few frantic calls to Rachel Law's sister and ask if she's coming any time soon, because the concert's starting in 10... 5... 3 minutes. It's a personal preference but I like to be in the concert hall at least 10 minutes earlier from my past band concert going experiences and all. So I was kind of worried when it was 1 minute to the start and she still hadn't showed up. Still, for the most part there was Leon who was waiting for his friend あのテメエ男！談話の間よに突然消えたんだ！so we kind of waited for people together. Yeah. It was kind of boring and stuff. I end up leaving the ticket at the information counter because I cannot be late and there is no way I'm going to miss a single part of this concert so I rush it by the skin of my teeth and quickly scramble into my seat, right next to FHM's Gamergirl.
So anyway, back to more important things.
The lights dim and the Concert Master a.k.a mister First Violin begins tuning the orchestra to the oboe. The whole orchestra begins to tune and mmm, whoever said that the classical music scene in Singapore is dead (technique-wise) should go and hang themselves. The SFO in my honest opinion, was up to calibre.
Arnie Roth comes on stage and gives us a brief introduction to the concert and then the orchestra launches into the Uematsu's Fanfare. Good stuff, but not particularly impactful because while at the moment you get swept up in all the brassy fanfare, the effect wears off after a while. But it was a good opener to the concert itself, I have to say.
I have to admit that I haven't played most of the games on the repertoire, even though I've been obsessing over a number of them for quite some time. The Legend of Zelda comes to mind! I never actually played it, but reading all the UK game magazines when I was in primary school kind of got me hyped up enough to contemplate begging my parents to order an official Zelda ocarina for my birthday. :D()()
Still despite the unfamiliarity of some games - I've heard of all of them, but actually sitting down and playing them is a totally different thing - I really enjoyed the music. Especially the ones that i have played before. Dude, listening to the Super Mario Bros theme made me think back to when I had it on the Super Famicon.
Yes. I did have a Super Famicon. And a Sega Mega Drive. And a Sega Saturn. I told you I was brought up as a console gamer. The Royal Family of Gaming Geeks. LOL. I jest. I'll probably go more on my gaming history in a post next time.
What I loved the most about this concert, was the fact that the pieces brought back memories of may I say, a much more happier childhood. When all I cared about was nothing but playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Game Gear. Seriously kids, the Sega Game Gear was one of the best "1st generation" handhelds ever. I actually had this kickass Sailormoon cartridge that whiled away all the times when I was super bored.
Listening to the Sonic the Hedgehog theme was like remembering him going on the loop-de-loops on the pixelated courses, grabbing all the power rings and doing his spins. Duuuuuuuude. <33 I remember having a huge crush on Sonic. HAHA.
The Lost Odessey, Shenmue and Blue Dragon suites/themes were much more epic. Less whimsical than your usual Nintendo fare (Nintendo music does seem more whimsical and carefree than others...) but extremely powerful. When you bring in the virtuoso of the strings, the effect is like wow. I'm a staunch brass/concert/symphonic band supporter but sometimes winds just can't replicate that sound the strings can make. It's special. It's a magical moment.
I know Doris would've wanted to be around for the MGS Theme. She's the number one MGS fan I know and ahaha she might actually weep in her seat if she was there to listen. But she's off in Malaysia climbing mountains. ): Where is my GamerFriend!!!
But frankly speaking, the piece that made me want to cry was the Kingdom Hearts suite. I haven't played Kingdom Hearts yet (don't worry I'm going to buy it now that my PS2 is alive and kicking and I have time) but I'm dreadfully in love with the soundtrack. The updated and modernized Disney tracks are <3. When the strings started to play the Hikari in the cantabile-esque manner, I started to tear inside. It's a beautiful theme, and like I mentioned above, extremely heartrendering. You can hear and feel the sheer longing and when the strings start singing どんな時だって/ただ一人で/運命忘れて/生きてきたのに/突然の光の中、目が覚める/真夜中に . Even now when I remember it I feel like crying, for the sheer beauty of the song, for the fact that it was played so beautifully. There must have been some musicians in the orchestra who might have felt indifferent to the song, but as a whole, the entire orchestra just delivered a spectacular and unforgettable rendition of the suite. I still shiver when I think about it.
Arnie Roth's incredibly candid throughout all his introduction to the pieces, but you can tell that he's really happy to be here and conducting. He introduces the last piece before the intermission as what was originally a rock-piece and I immediately thought of Uematsu's Black Mages. So it's Dancing Mad <333. But any arrangement originating from the Black Mages, even though now arranged in the orchestral version, is kickass. It's very bass-heavy, if I remember correctly. Great way to end the first half.
I scoot outside during the intermission to make some calls then I make my way back and duke it out in the courtroom with Phoenix Wright on my DS. The GameAxis people start filing in nearing the end of intermission and I get props from Battousai and er I think Sal? (I HAVE NO IDEA, I APOLOGISE) for my ninja stunt earlier in the office tha morning like "So who did you come with?"
"A ninja always works alone!" I implore.
"But ninjas work in pairs!" Battousai goes, as he shuffles to his seat.
"My partner's outside! I'm in here enjoying myself. >D"
And its like dude, everyone's telling their friends/brothers/etc that my ninja act was "impressive" and I'm that "ninja who was in the office earlier". How's that for infamy!
The second half of the concert can probably dubbed the "western" half, with most of the pieces originating from games from the West rather than good ol' Japan. Arnie Roth gives us a quick introduction to Takenobu Mitsuyoshi again who bounds onto stage with a Sonic plushie (YEAH SONICCCCCCC) and seats himself at the piano, launching into a very Engrish rendition of "Let's Go Away". There is only one word to describe this guy: Efferverscent. He's really charming, and is really cheerful and warm. He was seated just two rows in front of me (ZOMGGG GODLIKE PRESENCE!) and mmm. I wanted ot like reach out and grope him or something. After his solo on the piano - extremely l33t piano-playing skills put me to shame - he throws the Sonic plushie to the crowd in the direction of Q21, the seat which I could have taken instead!!!!!! I was like GAAAAH MY SONIC PLUSHIE NEVER TO BE!!
Oh well.
The Elder Scrolls and Chrono Cross suites were the usual epic game scores that they are, very big sounds with wonderful oboe and english horn solo parts. But personally I liked the World of Warcraft suite :D. Do not be fooled! Calling it the "World of Warcraft" suite in my opinion, is a literal World of Warcraft, not merely referencing to the MMORPG that's all the rage now. So WoW players, if you've never played Warcraft 3, you probably won't recognize the opening strains and probably more than half the piece. It made me proud of completing Warcraft 3. I was like "dude, this is cool. I've heard all this music in-game before!!! and I've never played WoW even!". Yeah. ;D
The Halo suite made me think of the Master Chief going "lolollollllollololol gaygaygaygaygaygaygay" which kind of ruined the whole majestic, cyber-punk kind of feeling the orchestra was going for. =A=;;;
I didn't feel much for the Castlevania suite because I never played it, and the music didn't do too much for me by this time, when all the grandoise of the previous pieces kinda made me go o_O.
Then it's Nintendo to the rescue with their Legend of Zelda suite which the great flute solo at the beginning mimickign Link's ocarina playing. Good ol' N64.
AND DUDE. ONE WINGED ANGEL FOR THE FINAL PIECE. I was kind of disappointed that Swing de Chocobo wasn't performed but when Arnie Roth announced One Winged Angel as the last song, I let out an audible "Yes!!" escape from my mouth. Epic, really. The choir did a good job on the whole latin chorus effect. The whole "veni veni venias" and the ennunciation of "SEPHIROTH" made me give a thumbs up. Still, I don't understand with the rather simple rhythm of the piece, some people in the audience couldn't really keep time - as in, their hands/fingers were all over the place. Like er.... dude, it's not that hard. =A=;; Still! Ah!!! One-Winged Angel!
The Conductor waffles a bit with the stage right and the stage, and then finally comes back out after quite a while and launches into the encore piece: Revenge of the Shinobi.
Hence the GameAxis competition of the whole "be a ninja" thing. :D
So overall, it was an unforgettable performance - I don't regret going alone, and it was really great just being by myself and enjoying the music and nothing else. There's something about performing on stage that leaves an undeliable mark on one's self forever. I felt like was displacing myself onto the musicians and imagining that I was the one doing that oboe solo, I was the one playing that clarinet. While I love my saxophone family to death, I sometimes am bereaved that the saxophone has almost no place in classical orchestra, save for some arrangements by Alfred Reed.
It's late, I've written alot and I should sleep so that I can blog about the GE Zouk event later. 'slong!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-06-15 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-16 02:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-16 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 01:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 08:05 am (UTC)it was really good! but then again, if you just blast the upcoming cd in your ears i think you'll get the similar effect. :D()()
no subject
Date: 2007-06-27 04:33 am (UTC)Ah well.. climbing mountains wasn't all that bad... but baba the next time Play comes here you will be my date ok (note that i'm giving you no option).
AND HAVE YOU BOUGHT C&C3! :) Haha. If not you can wait till your birthday and I'll get you a copy (you can wait for the cobwebs to form).
Благодарю за блог
Date: 2011-06-06 10:47 pm (UTC)