The hero of songs

It was a performance that gave “dressing up for a night out” a whole new meaning.

On Nov. 6, while millions were glued to the American election, the Jubilee Auditorium offered up a much more appealing alternative to the night with The Legend of Zelda – Symphony of the Goddesses.

Many came out in cosplay form, and to the unaware eye it might have seemed like a lot of people missed the memo about Halloween being over. To the hundreds of Zelda fans lucky enough to have tickets to the sold-out event, it was just another addition to what was, for the most part, a stellar show.

For decades, Koji Kondo and the rest of the gang at Nintendo have treated fans to brilliant scores to accompany their video games. Very recently they have begun to get the recognition they deserve, with shows like Video Games Live and Symphony of the Goddesses.

With game footage streaming in the back of the show, fans were able to relive favourite moments. Photo courtesy: Nintendo

The show, which featured the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, was directed by Irishwoman Eimear Noone, who tours with the production as it goes from city to city. She talked a little about how she admired the passion that fans of Zelda have, as it mirrored her passion to be a conductor at the age of seven.

To honour the audience, she conducted with a baton similar to that used in The Wind Waker.

It was very impressive to learn that she tours to work with the local musicians, and she seemed to be at ease with the quality musicians Calgary has come to love.

An added bonus was the visual aspect to the show, as a large projector in the back played game footage that synced up almost impeccably when it wasn’t alternatively showing the musicians hard at work at their craft.

It was an effort that came together very quickly, according to CPO bass clarinetist and Mount Royal faculty member Stan Climie.

“I was hired about a month in advance. We don’t get any music when we are hired,” Climie said. “Often what happens with the music is you are given a website address and the password. On the website there are titles for each piece of music in the show and when you open them there are individual files for each instrument and you print your own music.”

“When you get to the first (and only) rehearsal there is a binder with all the music.”

For only having one three hour rehearsal, the show exceeded expectations. For diehard fans who have listened to the music more than they probably should, they might have noticed different dynamics at certain moments from CD to the live performance, but nothing that would take away from the show itself.

Climie revealed that the orchestra “didn’t actually make it through all of the music at the rehearsal so they were sight reading the last number at the show,” but you’d have to have a Deku stick up your ass to be unforgiving to the musicians.

In fact, the only real downside to the show had nothing to do with the music at all. Instead, it was Jeron Moore, the creator of the show, who kept on interrupting the performances to talk with the audience with his awful banter and forced jokes.

The real treat was when he kept on telling the audience that “the next piece will be our last,” and then ended up giving himself four standing ovations.

For fans of the Zelda series, though, he came across as Navi the Fairy, the memorable yet annoying companion to the series’ best-selling game, The Ocarina of Time.

It is doubtful that was his intent, but he gave an incredible, unintentional impression nonetheless.

Overall, it was a fantastic performance that showed fans just one of the many reasons why the game series has become such a staple of our lives.