Then you’re there. At Eminence: A Night in Fantasia 2007, Melbourne.
Eminence was founded by Hiroaki Yura in 2003 (interviewed earlier this month by PALGN) with an objective of bringing orchestral music to new cross-sections of society, particularly the youth. Symphony orchestra attendance has been declining for many years now - it's becoming increasingly difficult for the state-based orchestras to draw new attendees under the age of forty. Rather than try and appeal by boring with Bach and meddling with Mozart, Hiroaki decided to focus on entirely new material - anime, movies, and games.
It was a punt - when Hiroaki started in 2003, the market potential for such an offering was a complete unknown. However, judging by the virtually sold out event at Hamer Hall last night, they’re succeeding - for many, this night was their first at Hamer Hall, playground of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. And, that’s something Hiroaki would be proud of.
Hiroaki Yura.
While Eminence has increasingly broadened the scope of their performances over the last few years, the focus of A Night in Fantasia 2007 was the games. And what a focus it was. With arrangements for Final Fantasy XII, Super Mario Brothers, Tales of Legendia, Deltora Quest, Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Xenosaga, there was something for almost everyone.
With the notable exceptions of Super Mario Brothers and Xenosaga, rather than re-hash retro hits, Eminence focused on more recent titles. In what was probably a wise attempt to broaden their overall repertoire and audience exposure, only one Final Fantasy-related piece was played. No One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII, despite Sydney having been graced with the performance, but won’t someone please think of the artists! I’m sure there’s only so many times one can willingly play it...
Performances were backed by a live feed from two cameras, giving everyone a chance to see the orchestra close-up. This was admittedly a little clumsily managed at times and slight overkill given the size of Hamer Hall, but still a nice attempt to keep things interesting and move away from the normally static orchestral experience. These live shots were interspersed with footage from each of the games, reminding us why we fell in love in the first place. Not enough footage, but copyright probably had something to do with that.
The Australian Childrens’ Choir provided vocal backing, and ended up being a show in their own right, really - when the blurry shots of the orchestra grew somewhat tedious, you could always watch the kids falling asleep. To the kid in red in the second row, second from the house left, I’m looking at you. And, to the kid in the first row, sixth from the house left, it’s probably a good idea to listen when someone twice your size behind you pokes you in the back and tells you to shut up. Not sure I’d want to be him after the concert was over.
Guests of honour included Junichi Nakatsuru (Time Crisis 2, Soulcalibur), Go Shiina (Mr. Driller, Tekken: Dark Resurrection), and Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII, Deltora Quest). Each was invited on stage to provide their thoughts on Australia, Melbourne, the music, and their creativity in between renditions. While Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts II, Street Fighter II) intended to attend as well, she was unfortunately unable to make it due to unforeseen circumstances.
Sadly, Shirou Hamaguchi (arrangements for Final Fantasy VII, One Winged Angel), Kow Otani (Shadow of the Colossus, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing), and Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Chross, Xenogears) were also unable to make it to Melbourne. Instead, footage of their comments from the Sydney leg was played.
The clear winners of the evening (apart from the audience and the lucky draw winners) were the Super Mario Brothers medley and the Metal Gear Solid 2 / 3 theme, both of which got the audience borderline cheering. The Metal Gear Solid march was especially stirring - not only did the footage match the emotional content of the music, but the orchestra clearly enjoyed playing it.
The overall quality was surprisingly good - the Shadow of the Colossus themes were delivered with great enthusiasm and technical quality, and the Xenosaga themes were delivered with technical excellence. The overall balance (especially the percussion and vocals) was slightly out at times, but probably not enough to be noticeable by the majority of the audience. After all, the evening wasn’t so much about perfect rendition as it was recreation and reminiscence.
The final piece was the Fantasia Alla Marcle for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra from Kingdom Hearts II, by Yoko Shimomura. Credit must really go Nicole Brady for some absolutely amazing arrangements - the air was positively electric during the finale. The night ended with not one but two encores – Chrono Chross, and a second performance of the Metal Gear Solid theme. Apparently Melbourne’s special. More special than Sydney, anyway.
However, it was the small touches of the evening that really made it. Hearing the Hamer Hall organ play the Final Fantasy VII victory music as they gave away the lucky draw. Seeing so many people attending who would probably never have otherwise experienced live orchestral music. Hearing some smartalecs in the back boo and hiss good naturedly when the PlayStation 3 was announced as a sponsor. Walking into a room where every seat had a promotional trial version of World of Warcraft embedded. Hearing Junishi Nakatsuru talk and realising what an open, honest, and humourous man he really is.
As the final notes died, I saw something I’ve seen rarely in Hamer Hall. A standing ovation. Short of the grand masters, that’s not something that’s typically associated with classical music. Hiroaki has done Australian musicians an important service - if there’s anything that contradicts the belief that orchestral music isn’t relevant to anyone below 40, it was that.
Maybe the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra could learn a thing or two.
I didn't know some of the music though (Shadow of the Colossus), but that didn't matter. Their next event should be great, an Anime themed performance!
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