Symphonic Fantasies brings the music of popular videogames of the developer Square Enix into the big concert hall.
Soundtracks from Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Secret of
Mana, Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross
were rearranged for orchestra, choir and soloists and were performed in two exclusive concerts at the Arena Oberhausen and the Cologne Philharmonic Hall in September 2009.
Conducted by Grammy-winning artist Arnie Roth and supported by the soloists Rony Barrak (percussion) and Benyamin Nuss (piano), the 120 musicians of the Cologne WDR Radio Orchestra and WDR Radio Choir presented an unforgettable experience to the audience.
The orchestra versions of the original songs were written by Jonne Valtonen, who did a great job at the predecessor Symphonic-Shades - Hülsbeck in Concert already. To fans of the early PC demoscene he should be well-known by the name Purple Motion (Future Crew).
In order to capture the impressive dynamics of the 120 performing musicians in best quality, the multitrack-recordings of the concert were edited and mixed at the WDR Studios. For the final touch the material passed the mastering process at the famous London Abbey Road Studios. The CD comes with an elaborately designed 16-pages booklet.
CD tracklist (about 73 minutes runtime)
01
Fanfare Overture (Jonne Valtonen)
02
Fantasy I: Kingdom Hearts (Yoko Shimomura)
Dearly Beloved, The Other Promise, A Fight to the Death,
Hand in Hand etc.
03
Fantasy II: Secret of Mana (Hiroki Kikuta)
Fear of the Heavens, Into the Thick of it, The Oracle,
Prophecy etc.
04
Fantasy III: Chrono Trigger/Cross (Yasunori Mitsuda)
Chrono Trigger, Scars of Time, Battle with Magus,
Prisoners of Fate etc.
05
Fantasy IV: Final Fantasy (Nobuo Uematsu)
Prelude, Bombing Mission, Battle at the Big Bridge,
Phantom Forest etc.
