Unknown Soldier
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Last year was actually the 15th anniversary of the ongoing Final Fantasy concert series Distant Worlds, but this is the first time I was able to attend one.
The concert is always about 2 hours long with an intermission at the halfway mark, and there is a somewhat rotating series of musical pieces played. This means that the Distant Worlds you might attend will not have the exact same playlist as another concert that someone else attends. There have now been over 100 performances of this concert series worldwide over the past 16 years.
Certain songs are in the "always play" category. So if you attend, you will always hear Zanarkand from FFX and One-Winged Angel. I think Liberi Fatali from FFVIII is always performed as well but I'm not positive on that. Interesting to note: The version of One-Winged Angel they perform is the Advent Children version of the piece. The version of Zanarkand is arranged for a full orchestra, since the original piece in FFX is a piano solo.
Susan Calloway, notable as the vocalist for many of the themes for FFXIV, travels with this concert series but does not always perform. She was not at the one I attended, unfortunately. Instead, different FFXIV instrumental pieces are used as replacements for concerts she does not perform at.
Anyways, it's a selection of different pieces from the 35+ years history of Final Fantasy, played by a traveling live orchestra. After 100 of these performanced, they have it pretty well figured out. Concert creator and chief conductor Arnie Roth typically conducts almost all of the concerts, including the one I attended.
Since the selection of songs varies per concert, you might or might not hear exactly your favorite song from Final Fantasy, and they do not announce the exact playlist of each concert ahead of time. The one I attended ended up having several extra songs from FFXIV, which made me happy, but had no music from FFXII and FFXVI at all. Both of those games happened to have some of my favorite soundtracks in the franchise's long history, but that's how it goes.
In general, they pick good venues for these concerts, but you should pay attention to which concert hall or arena they use for the one that is coming near you. If the acoustics in the auditorium suck, you won't have a good experience. My local concert was held in a well-known concert hall used for other orchestral concerts and operas, so the sound field was favorable and Final Fantasy music played by a live orchestra sounded great. YMMV.
The concert is always about 2 hours long with an intermission at the halfway mark, and there is a somewhat rotating series of musical pieces played. This means that the Distant Worlds you might attend will not have the exact same playlist as another concert that someone else attends. There have now been over 100 performances of this concert series worldwide over the past 16 years.
Certain songs are in the "always play" category. So if you attend, you will always hear Zanarkand from FFX and One-Winged Angel. I think Liberi Fatali from FFVIII is always performed as well but I'm not positive on that. Interesting to note: The version of One-Winged Angel they perform is the Advent Children version of the piece. The version of Zanarkand is arranged for a full orchestra, since the original piece in FFX is a piano solo.
Susan Calloway, notable as the vocalist for many of the themes for FFXIV, travels with this concert series but does not always perform. She was not at the one I attended, unfortunately. Instead, different FFXIV instrumental pieces are used as replacements for concerts she does not perform at.
Anyways, it's a selection of different pieces from the 35+ years history of Final Fantasy, played by a traveling live orchestra. After 100 of these performanced, they have it pretty well figured out. Concert creator and chief conductor Arnie Roth typically conducts almost all of the concerts, including the one I attended.
Since the selection of songs varies per concert, you might or might not hear exactly your favorite song from Final Fantasy, and they do not announce the exact playlist of each concert ahead of time. The one I attended ended up having several extra songs from FFXIV, which made me happy, but had no music from FFXII and FFXVI at all. Both of those games happened to have some of my favorite soundtracks in the franchise's long history, but that's how it goes.
In general, they pick good venues for these concerts, but you should pay attention to which concert hall or arena they use for the one that is coming near you. If the acoustics in the auditorium suck, you won't have a good experience. My local concert was held in a well-known concert hall used for other orchestral concerts and operas, so the sound field was favorable and Final Fantasy music played by a live orchestra sounded great. YMMV.
