The power of a soundtrack

Article published by Alba Nogueras in the Digital Newspaper Núvol on April 12, 2024.

As we write these lines, tickets for the "Video Games in concert!" program at the Palau de la Música Catalana are completely sold out. It is a production by the Vallès Symphony Orchestra that will have a single concert - on Saturday, April 20th at 6:30 p.m. - featuring the voices of the Cor Jove Amics de la Unió and directed by Adrián Ronda. This proposal, in collaboration with Games & Symphonies, will feature some of the most emblematic video game soundtracks of all time, combined with a production of lights and projections on a large screen. In the program, we find names such as Baldur's Gate 3, Final Fantasy, Undertale, Blasphemous, Uncharted, Civilization VI, The Last of Us, Assassin's Creed, Journey, Horizon, Celeste, RiME, Shadow of the Colossus, Dying Light 2, Skyrim, God of War, Starfield, Diablo, Uncharted, World of Warcraft, Warcraft, and Starcraft.

Ronda, a director specialized in this type of repertoire and concerts, anticipated in the presentation press conference: "It is the first time in Spain that a video game music concert is programmed within the regular season of an orchestra. It was about time and it is appreciated," he commented, because this type of concert "has been successful abroad for many years and will change the perception of this type of music." In addition to featuring the singers who starred in the original recordings of Horizon - the German Julie Elven - and RiME - the Madrilenian Mirella Díez -, there will also be other honored guests: the composers of the soundtracks of Baldur's Gate 3 - the Bulgarian Borislav Slavov -, of Blasphemous, in a new suite for choir and orchestra to be premiered then, - the Sevillian Carlos Viola - and of Journey - the American Austin Wintory, who will also direct the work.

A music to vindicate

Music has the power to transport us through time and space, to take us back to where we first heard it; it is capable of evoking an emotional state, a distant landscape, or, why not, an imaginary world. Knowing where these melodies come from, understanding the story they are telling us, or grasping the reasons that led the composer to write them, helps us appreciate them more deeply, to capture more layers of meaning. That's why Raul, from the Cor Jove Amics de la Unió, proposed to his director, Marta Dosaiguas, to make a PowerPoint for his classmates: "I said it half-jokingly, but she thought it was okay and I encouraged myself! It was very funny." Thus, the initial skepticism of the group turned into enthusiasm: "then, in rehearsal, they recognized the characters I had explained to them, or they understood better the reasons behind the character of each piece and it made them funnier, they connected more."

"Studying these works has been an emotional roller coaster," says Xema, clarinetist of the OSV, "because they take you back to a time of childhood and adolescence, in moments of shared play with siblings or friends who may live far away." Both knew many of these melodies, and interpreting them with the choir or with the orchestra is a way of revisiting them: "they are all very emotional, but I really like the music of Undertale, I have it saved on Spotify, or the song of Dovahkiin, from Skyrim, I fell in love with it even before playing the game," says Raul, "or the one we do from Assassin's Creed, which is Ezio's Family, is also very impactful because it appears at a key moment in the game, when the relationship between the protagonist and his brother is discovered." And surely that of Final Fantasy - the soundtrack of IX will be performed - will also draw strong applause from the audience: "it is the one I identify with the most, it was one of the first video games I played and it takes me back to that moment of innocence," says Xema. "It tells a very beautiful love story, they are songs that are never forgotten, that come to you in your daily life, or that help and encourage you in tougher times." And although both find the program's selection to be spot on, they do agree that including The Legend of Zelda would have rounded out the choice.

Knowing the story or having played the video games, therefore, helps to better appreciate these works, but what is clear is that they can be of interest to everyone: "it is music that is intended to move, to encourage the player to move forward, to strive to improve. Music that is very well done and that is comparable to that of many classical or modern composers," says Xema. "Although there is less prejudice nowadays, there are still people who see it as niche music," says Raul. "But if you like movie music, you will probably also like video game music, which is very well crafted and often very complex, with many contrasts."

In both cases, we conclude that if more video game music concerts are not programmed, it is probably due to ignorance: "People know who Hans Zimmer or Ennio Morricone or John Williams or Howard Shore are," says Raul, "but they see the world of video games as distant." "As in movies, often video games also tell a story," Xema reflects, finally: "but, unlike movies, as a player you spend many more hours with those characters, and you identify much more with them, because you are the one who controls them." And he ends with a completely encouraging comment: "I hope more concerts are held with this program, because it is music that conveys the feeling that you can do anything, as if you were a superhero! [Laughs] And I believe that everyone should be able to believe, at some point, in being a superhero or superheroine."

Related Concert

Finished

2023-24

Video Games in Concert!

04.20.2024 | 06:30 pm

Palau de la Música Catalana

Symphonics at the Palau