A Night in Fantasia 2007

A Night in Fantasia 2007: Symphonic Games Edition Set List

http://www.eminenceonline.com

Quote:

First Half

Final Fantasy XII - Opening Theme (composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto)
Deltora Quest - Deltora Main Title (composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto)
Romeo x Juliet - Hisyou (composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto)
Legend of Mana - Title Theme (composed by Yoko Shimomura)
Xenosaga Episode I - Gnosis (composed by Yasunori Mitsuda)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Main Theme from Metal Gear Solid 2
and 3 (composed by Harry Gregson-Williams)
Super Mario Bros. - Super Mario Bros. theme (composed by Koji Kondo)
Tekken: Dark Resurrection - Sunrise (composed by Go Shiina)
Kyou kara Mao - Hero (composed by Go Shiina)
Final Fantasy VII - Ternai-Divinity I (composed by Nobuo Uematsu)

Second half

Shadow of the Colossus - Revived Power-Battle With the Colossus
(composed by Koh Ohtani)
Shadow of the Colossus - Swift Horse (composed by Koh Ohtani)
Shadow of the Colossus - Counterattack-Battle With the Colossus
(composed by Koh Ohtani)
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade - Title Theme
Tales of Legendia - Requiem (composed by Go Shiina)
SoulCalibur III - Path of Destiny (composed by Junichi Nakatsuru)
Tales of Legendia - The Prayers Become Power (composed by Go Shiina)
Odine Sphere - Odine Sphere (composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto)
Tales of Legendia - To Deliver the Feelings (composed by Go Shiina)
Xenosaga Episode I - Zarathustra (composed by Yasunori Mitsuda)
Xenosaga Episode I - World to be Born (composed by Yasunori Mitsuda)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Orchestra Piece (composed by
Michiru Ooshima)
Kingdom Hearts II - Fantasia Alla Marcle for Piano, Chorus and
Orchestra (composed by Yoko Shimomura)

Bought my tickets a while back and the concert is coming soon! Very excited about the performance!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Please record a video, audio bootleg, anything...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm sure Eminence will get a CD out after the concert.

Right Seraph? XD

Most amazing jew boots

I hope so! The track list is fantastic. Shadow of the Colossus, Tales of Legendia songs, besides musics from recent games like Zelda: Twilight Princess, Burning Crusade etc. Amazing!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

Romeo x Juliet - Hisyou (composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto)

That alone makes me want to be there, and a copy of any resultant album.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I love the fact they're playing alot of new things along with older titles that haven't been performed live before. I mean we still got Mario and MGS, but alot of the list are stuff that was never performed by any other VGM concert group.

I like that.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

I love the fact they're playing alot of new things along with older titles that haven't been performed live before. I mean we still got Mario and MGS, but alot of the list are stuff that was never performed by any other VGM concert group.

I like that.

Yeah, that's what makes me really want to see this - quality songs that haven't been played by other groups.

There's no way I can go see it, but I'm looking forward to the CD that they will hopefully put out.

FELIPE NO

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/pres...romeo-x-juliet

Now I know why R X J music is being performed by Eminence, they recorded the soundtrack! DUH! *slaps herself*

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Fans will be very happy at the encore as well.




Especially fans of Mitsuda and Uematsu.

How ya doing, buddy?

Oh god oh GOD! You mean there's a secret encore?!

*fangirlism*

There's nowhere I can't reach.

For all of us who won't be able to attend the concerts, please give us your story of the whole experience.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

If there is a CD release I will buy it for Go Shiina alone. I'd really like to see some pictures of him at the concert, too.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I've just came back from the Saturday concert.

It was amazing.

I got all of the attending composers to sign something, either the poster or a CD I brought in.

I'm gonna try and go over every single piece in the concert, but I'm not familiar with every single one of them and its hard to remember every minute detail, but I will do my best.

First part!

-To start, the opening Sakimoto pieces were excellant. The performance was spot on and I can hear every part of the orchestra clearly, and we all know that's important from his compositions. The main theme of FF12 was great, though the last part of the battle scene in the FMV was cut out, so the piece ends at the end of the fanfare like motif when Lord Rasler raised his sword to the army. The brass was excellant throughout the night, as I tend to find them the weakest in alot of Live symphony concerts back in Hong Kong, and it showed in FF12 and Colossus pieces. The percussion in the beginning was also played well, and its more forward, loud and dominant than what we heard in the OST.

-Romeo X Juliet, well , if you're gonna hear a piece from this anime soundtrack, what better than to hear it straight from the same people who performeed in the soundtrack?

http://anime.goo.ne.jp/special/gonzo...move480_1.html

This pieces was peformed, (Minus the You Raise Me up orchestral), called Hisyou. It sounded just like the above link, and the footage on the big screen accompanied it well. It was swelling with excitement and emotion throughout that piece.

-The came Legend of Mana title theme. The haunting piece that I loved from years ago. The pianist Kumiko Ito performed very well, the opening notes play the haunting and nostalgic melody, and the strings were JUST right in the crescendos. Hearing this live is way better than listening to it on the CD.

-Next we have Gnosis, or what I like to call "Mitsuda goes John Williams". This cinematic orchestral piece, wow, hearing it live is very powerful, the brass right in the beginning was just raw power to me. The strings were soft and suspenseful, and yet was able to play the main theme with sheer volume and dramatic tension. The end note on this piece was LOUD, just like it should be.

-Next comes good ol' MGS. I've heard this theme arranged and played in VGL and was really impressed, they had a synth bass going and the orchestra was great. Eminence, while not having a synth, had a drum kit, and boy the drum beat was awesome. Then we have a acoustic guitar solo as the video on screen shows The boss and Snake's last fight. The bittersweetness of the story is shown in Zane Bank's playing as we hear the MGS theme take on a more melancolic tone on the guitar. The theme then ends on a sadder tone with a military like drum beat in the background.

-Super Mario, the arrangment is the same as any previous live concert, though I have to say the pizzacato on the strings were very precise and clear, something which to me is rare thanks to symphonies in Hong Kong. Well performed as always.

-Tekken was a good track, though wasn' too memorable for me personally, but it was performed well. I don't care too much for Tekken so it didnt stick to me.

-Kyou kara Mao was an anime I caught when I visited Tokyo and it was interesting and funny. The music reflected the excitment in the adventures the characters took and it had a fanfare like tone to it. Eminence played it with much excitement as one would see in a parade.

-Final Fantasy VII - Ternai-Divinity I was I believe the first track to use the chorus, and its epic. Sounded just like the recorded one on the OST, but this time its in live acoustic. Great end to the first part of the concert.

Intermission!

Ill use this space to talk about the composers comments to the audience. My mind can't remember every single one of their words, and the majoirty of them talked about the pieces that were performed.

-Sakimoto came out and commented that they need to bear with a "crappy translator" as Yura himself put it. (It was fine Seraph! Not crappy at all!) He stated that 2 pieces, Odins Sphere and Deltora quest are games that aren't even out in Japan, so you can say this is a world premiure of the music from both games. Incidently, Deltora Quest is based on a book by an Australian author. He hopes we enjoy his music.

-Mitsuda stated that World to be Born was suppose to be used in the 3 Xenosaga games, well at least probably the following 2. But when he was taken off the project, the track had to be scapped from the games, but he's glad the audience is able to hear it.

-Yoko commented on how nostagic it is to hear Legend of Mana again, since that theme was composed 8 years ago. She also commented that the KH2 staff roll was doubled in length due to the heavier production, so the challenge was to compose a suite that was able to fill up that much time. She hopes the audience won't be bored due to the length. ( As if! MORE KH2 I SAY!)

-Go Shiina literally has no comment, he came on, said the Australian chant "Aussie Aussie Aussie!" (Oi Oi Oi from us) said he doesnt have much to say, told us to enjoy and then left, it was rather comical.

-Though not as comical as Koh Otani, he waltzed on stage and brandishes a katana, strikes a pose, then claims to be the "Last Samurai". Then states that he's happy that SOTC is being performed by such a great group and thanks the audience support.

-Junichi Nakatsuru commented that the Soul Calibur piece performed was composed 8 years ago (again?), and back then the hardware was very limiting, but he always heard it in full orchestral in his mind, and now he's able to hear it performed the way it should be.

-Shiro Hamaguchi commented how he supported and arranged Uematsu pieces in FF, and how one of the pieces that will be performed tonight was collaborated almost a decade ago. (Hint hint to encore?)

Intermission's over, now on the the 2nd part!

-Three pieces from Colossus, and all of them were peformed well, though the strings felt weird to me due to the lack of reverb as I heard in the OST, but that's a techinical issue that shouldn't apply to a live performance. Despite the lack of studio magic, the strings did well despite all the intense high notes, and the brass also shined out here.

I'm gonna use this opputunity to say the joy of having the front row seat was being able to see Yura's facial expressions when he played first violin. Whether is an intense epic moment in Gnosis or Colossus, or playing a melancolic solo in other pieces, you can tell from his facial expressions just how much the music makes him feel and how much work and heart he has put into it. I salute you Seraph (Yura) !

-Next came WOW Burning Crusade title piece, it was a serene and epic at the same time, interesting mixture of feelings. The music accompanied the video images well in this track. It was a good performance.

-The Legendia tracks were all excellant, whether is the sad Requiem or the more epic Prayers become power. Listening to it in full orchestral live treatment felt rather different from what I've heard in the OST, though I must confess I only listened to it once and can't remember much of it before the concert. But it was damn good. The chorus sung so well.

-Yura gets a solo in the theme from Odin Sphere, and wow, Sakimoto wrote an excellant main theme, it feels simplistic and soft, but builds up to a more epic and complex sound, and Yura's playing practically rivaled any angelic singing you have ever heard.

-Soul Calibur Path of Destiny is exactly what its called, a slow journey into a epic destiny, with fanfares and dramatic moments in the piece, and all the parts played their part well in it. Very very well done.

-Zarathustra had an organ in it, and the playing was superb. (Player name escapes me, help Seraph!) Powerful and dramatic, and the orchestra part that comes later gave the same feelings.

-Then came World to be Born, which is a very slow pieces that gives the impression of birth to something beautiful and great. The strings and choir sang long sustained notes and we hear the glockenspiel and the piano sprinkle out its opening motif like stars appearing in the sky. It slowly crescendoes to a louder higher point, pure epicness. The ENDING of this piece was a surprise, instead of soprano singers singing in angelic tones, we have Yura playing their part solo, yet the voice of his violin was just as angelic as the original version in the OST. It was beautiful, and it makes me wish the concert CD will just magically appear in the merchandise stand even more.

-The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, despite NOT being the Zelda main theme we all know and love, was a great one. It showed the story filled with twist and turns through its notes and it ended with a great flair, and the video was in perfect sync with the ending as we see Link lift out the Master Sword from its shrine and held it up in all its glory, just like the music was.

Then comes the finale, the one I've been waiting ALL night.

-Kingdom Hearts II - Fantasia Alla Marcle for Piano, Chorus was very well performed by both chorus and orchestra, however, being a major KH2 fan I had some nitpicks.

A: The piano kept getting overshadowed by orchestra in alot of places where the main motif was being played by the piano, particularly when we got to Deep Dive's "Another Side " track, I can barely hear it.

B: When Destati was sung, the chorus sung "Ahs" and not the lyrics, which was a little disappointing as this was a highlight of the suite and KH in general. Ah well.

Quote:

http://www.fflyrics.com/kh.html#d

Destati! Tendi la mano Awaken! Extend your hand
E' giunta l'ora, destati The time has come: wake up
Le porte verranno schiuse The doors will open again

Su rimembra tu trepida Come on, remember, anxious one
Su sveglia! Ehi ricorda Come on, wake up! Remember

Destati, destati Awaken, awaken
Forza, tendi la mano Here, extend your hand
Destati, destati Awaken, awaken
E' giunta l'ora The time has come

E ancora una volta And once again
Apriranno le porte They will open the door

(repeat)

Eh? Come? Non lo vuoi? Huh? What? Don't you want it?
Tuttavia t'appartiene But it belongs to you
Cio che hai perduto That which you have lost
Diventera uno!

Despite the above, it was still an amazing experience to hear this live, and the ending note was so damn epic, powerful, emotional and just plain awesome.

Then comes the surprise, TWO encores!

-First is... Time's Scar from Chrono Cross. Wow. Yura again demonstrates why he won awards in violin competitions. While the flute played the first part with again the amazing Zane Banks on guitar, Yura played the rest of the main theme with just as much flair as the original. The middle quieter part was so melancolic and nostalgic at the same time, and the way Yura played the vibratos in the notes... God, its just heavenly. It was as beautiful and as sweet as Kid's smile from the opening cinematic as she turns and smiles to us.

-Then we came the piece Shiro hinted in the comments. Yes, the piece we heard so many friggin times in various concerts and concert CDs, One Winged Angel.

Though this time, after hearing it in VGL Live, I preferred Emienence's version. The chorus was clear, loud and precise in their singing, no overshadowing by orchestra despite how loud it got in the end. The percussion with the clapper was LOUD, which was good cause it made me jump a bit, just like good ol' Sephy does. The strings did an excellant job with the softer notes, showing the suspenseful tone as the chorus cries "Sephiroth!" over and over. And a great big grand final note in the end that left us wanting more and more despite the fact we KNOW its over.

After a standing ovation by a very pleased audience (pleased being an understatement), everyone went on to line up for the autographs. All the composers and performers were very patient and kind.

-And I like to give kudos to Yura for A, regonising me when I introduced myself, and B, said something nice about me to Sakimoto san! God I must have been blushing hard then.

-Yoko was surprised and seemed impressed when I asked her to sign the complete 9 disk KH OST set. I told her that what she did for KH was amazing and its probably my fav game music ever.

-Go Shiina was VERY surprised when he saw I bought the Legendia OST. He asked Hamagichi san to ask me where I managed to get this when Australia doesn't even HAVE the GAME. I told them I got it from Hong Kong. Shiina san seemed to be very happy and pleased.

Everyone else like Otani and Mitsuda san were all very nice. And they all looked awesome too. Shiina and Mitsuda's hair stood out to me. And Yura's as well! (Rock on!)

Overall, it was one of the best concerts I've ever been, it rivalled Video Games Live and the Lord of the Rings symphony in terms of performance, production, and enthusiasm. I hope I get a chance to see more concerts from Eminence in the future, and anyone who has a chance to see one, GO AND SEE IT!!

PHOTOS of signed items coming soon! NO photos of the composers as I myself am camera shy, and I don't wanna hassle them for photos.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Wow, it sounds excellent. How long was the entire concert? I'm thinking about going for the Melbourne concert in hopes of catching sight of my favorite composers.

And, er, did the composers speak English? Dumb question, but I'm just wondering

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

-Go Shiina literally has no comment, he came on, said the Australian chant "Aussie Aussie Aussie!" (Oi Oi Oi from us) said he doesnt have much to say, told us to enjoy and then left, it was rather comical.

-Though not as comical as Koh Otani, he waltzed on stage and brandishes a katano, strikes a pose, then claims to be the "Last Samurai". Then states that he's happy that SOTC is being performed by such a great group and thanks the audience support.

It sounds to me like these two experiences more than warrant the price of tickets. Oh sure, live VGM is being played too, but if I knew that two awesome composers were going to do wacky things like this, I'd probably go just to see their antics. =p

But I guess "Live VGM" is an understatement - sounds like there were a bunch of exciting performances and arrangements. I'm especially interested in the Odin Sphere arrangement and the performance of Time's Scar. I thought Seraph did an amazing job with the recent Radical Dreamers arrangement, and these seem just as professional. So, hopefully, all of us who missed out on this concert will get to eventually hear it on a CD or something.

Sounds like some great stuff, in any case. Eminence is seemingly becoming much more professional, so I suppose it's only a matter of time before they end up playing in the United States (that is, if they have an interest in this sort of thing). If it does happen, I'll definitely be there on the first chance I get.

How ya doing, buddy?

Kairi Li: Thank you for the report! Very appreciated. The Colossus pieces, Xenosaga and Chrono Cross would have been my favorites. Better be a CD and/or DVD release of this concert soon.

So, did you go all the way from Hong Kong just for this concert?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm so jealous of you Kairi. I was going to go there, but I've yet had the passport. My friend is in Melbourne too, that doubly made me sad. Thanks for the awesome report. Looking forward to the pics.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Haha, awesome. I only found out about this tonight, by pure chance (was searching for Treasure Hunter G music, and I hit the Eminence site).

Totally awesome that this is happening in Australia! I'm so chuffed.

I would be buying tickets as I type, but I'm unfamiliar with the majority of the music, plus Mitsuda-san won't be attending the Melbourne concert.

I'm just hoping that they work something similar out next year!


Also, it's worth mentioning a second "Night in Fantasia 2007" anime-themed concert will happen in similar fashion, later this year. They also take fan requests for the later anime concert at the current VGM concert into consideration for deciding what's played!


Oh, also, there's another VGM concert happening in Australia too- Play!, at the Sydney Opera House. Some good stuff there too

Any actual Australians here who went? (As in, people who live in Australia?)

Kairi, I'm totally jealous. But awestruck too

- Spike

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Kanji

Sounds like some great stuff, in any case. Eminence is seemingly becoming much more professional, so I suppose it's only a matter of time before they end up playing in the United States (that is, if they have an interest in this sort of thing). If it does happen, I'll definitely be there on the first chance I get.

Yes, we took the step to become a professional production company around the time of the Passion concert, and since then our organisation and quality has improved dramatically. Eminence is now where it wants to be, and we look forward to continuing our efforts for the fans and composers alike.



Photos by Kenneth Ho. No hotlinking please.

Im busy with the Melbourne concert still. But maybe we can work out some footage exclusive to gamingforce :P I really want everyone to hear our MGS arrangement (among the rest of course)... we'll see after the tour finishes.


P.S.
The melbourne concert is still happening, so please dont talk about encore songs until thats finished. :P Encores are always at the discretion of the conductor, so they will be different from concert to concert.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Lol, I myself am actually attending the Melbourne Concert which is on this Friday evening. Sounds like its going to be quite good, however I'm not familiar with Shadow of the Colossus.

Most amazing jew boots

Then get familiar with it. Seriously, it's worth it.

I was speaking idiomatically.

ANIF '07 Media anyone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UAIz-WMTKA (rehearsal: Go Shiina and Yoko Shimomura? can be seen about 30 seconds in ::D)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfKA4b5SFq4 (MGS theme)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNH1xfFaXEo (Odin Sphere)

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

God I still need to upload those autograph images... I'll do that soon.

And everyone must listen to the MGS theme above. Best arrangement EVER!!

FELIPE NO

I loved the chorals in the back when we watched it that Friday. "Tenrai" in concert was awesome (especially when we found out that the soprano singers were all little boys. THE LACK BALLS THE LACK OF HUMANITY!).

To the people that went to the Melbourne concert, what'd you do with the free World of Warcraft CDs? I sold mine to some high school suckers.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?