Before I went on a vacation, away from writing for Soundtrack World, I went to another VriendenLoterij concert in Amsterdam. This one focused on music from video games, with Eímear Noone as the conductor and host. I wanted to attend because when Eímear Noone comes to the Netherlands for a concert, it is not something I want to miss. I have met Noone twice over the years. The first time was during Fimucité in 2017, and she was the first person who was kind enough to grant me an interview. She was very kind, open, and wonderful. I have conducted many interviews in the years after, and I wonder how these would have gone if my first interview experience had not been that rewarding. During that Fimucité edition, she also showed off her amazing capabilities as a conductor, and I could see that she understood the music that needed to be performed very well. It was great to see her again at the Krakow FMF half a year later. So I was looking forward to seeing her perform again.
When I entered the concert hall of Het Concertgebouw, I was delighted to see that the concert was practically sold out. The hall was filled with a variety of people, ranging from families, students, and, of course, some older game music enthusiasts like me. It was also amazing to witness how Noone descended the well-known stairs in Het Concertgebouw in one of her iconic outfits, which she always wears on stage.
The program contained well-thought-out music from games of various genres, which Noone had curated. Some pieces were already known works that others had arranged, but quite a few were arranged by herself or her partner, Craig Stuart Garfinkle. There were also some original works from them: “Malach, Angel Messenger” from World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor and a suite from Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2. In addition to Noone and Garfinkle’s original works, I have heard some familiar music at concerts like these, including music from World of Warcraft, Journey, The Last of Us and Fallout 3. Still, luckily, these are ones that I can appreciate hearing multiple times. The ones I had not heard live before were also a treat to listen to, like the theme from Starfield or the exciting battle music from “Wesker Battle” from Resident Evil V, including using a trash bin as a percussion instrument. The highlights for me, though, were the pieces sung by vocalist Aisling McGlynn, who was invited to the concert by Noone. She sang God of War: Ragnarok’s “Blood Upon the Snow” and the theme from Ori and the Will of the Wisps beautifully, but my favorite piece was when she sang “Legends Never Die” from League of Legends, beautifully performed together with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.
The concert was a fantastic evening full of entertainment. Eímear Noone showed us that she is a fantastic conductor and can lead the orchestra to an outstanding performance. She was also a lovely host, talking to the audience between the pieces. It is a shame that a choir would add so much additional costs and production complexity to a concert, because some pieces would have benefitted from having one present, including her own “Malach, Angel Messenger,” but also “Blood Upon the Snow.” What the orchestra could have used for that last song was the enormous taiko drum that was present on stage. The instrument was being played on in other pieces during the concert, but was not used for this song, while it can be heard clearly in the original, and is an iconic instrument for composer Bear McCreary. It is something very minor and probably something that only I would have noticed, but it would have made me extremely happy if it was used.
I already knew that Noone is a fantastic human being who understands game music well. On social media, Noone stated what a privilege it was to have walked down the iconic stairs from one of the best venues in the Netherlands. However, it should have been the other way around: We had the privilege of her wanting to come over to our country, to showcase to us how fantastic music for games can be.
Concert information
Where: Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
When: August 22, 2024
Orchestra: Antwerp Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eímear Noone
Vocalist: Aisling McGlynn
Program
- Jason Hayes – Suite from World of Warcraft
- Austin Wintory – “Nascence” from Journey
- Darren Korb – “No Escape” from Hades
- Inon Zur – “Main Theme” from Fallout 3
- Pinar Toprak – Suite from Fortnite
- Gareth Coker – “Main Theme” from Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Yasunori Mitsuda – Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition
- David Wise – “Mining Melancholy” from Donkey Kong Country 2
- Utada Hikaru – Suite from Kingdom Hearts
Intermission
- Loeffler / Ichinose / Wise / Masuda / Kondo / Miyazaki / Nakatsuka / Siegler – Nintendo Reimagined
- Craig Stuart Garfinkle – Suite from Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2
- Gustavo Santaolalla – “All Gone” from The Last of Us
- Kōta Suzuki – “Wesker Battle” from Resident Evil V
- Inon Zur – Suite from Starfield
- Marcin Przybylowicz – “Lullaby of Woe” from The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
- Eímear Noone – “Malach, Angel Messenger” from World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
- Grant Kirkhope – Suite from Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
- Najand / Seaver / Trante – “Legends Never Die” from League of Legends
- Bear McCreary – “Blood Upon the Snow” from God of War: Ragnarok (encore)
