Video Games Live

By Richard Brewer 

A useless fact that you may or may not want to know about me is that I always read the Metro on my way to work in the morning. The majority of this paper is fairly useless information that will make no difference to the way I live my life. Sometimes, however, there a couple of little gems. 

On Wednesday, in the section called Scene (Music, Film, TV and Comedy), there was an article titled “Video games set to thrill harmonic”. Despite the rather cheesy title, the article actually describes a new event which fuses video gaming and a live orchestra. As a fan of both entities, this is an extremely exciting venture. A great deal of music written for video games is fantastic, and even warrants CD releases as its own entity (the LSO actually recently recorded the soundtrack to The Final Fantasy series for symphony orchestra). 

 

Video Games Live will hit the UK this week before headlining none other than the Royal Albert Hall next year. It is labelled as an “immersive concert of scores from classic games, performed by a live orchestra”. The orchestra will simply play one big medley of soundtracks from a variety of different games, satisfying all types of gamers. It won't just be a standard concert, though; Video Games Live will use a huge LED display snowing sections of the games as the medley moves through the different soundtracks. The show even boasts the opportunity for one lucky participant to play a game live on stage, whilst the orchestra will follow their movements in real time. For a gaming enthusiast, this will be an absolutely exhilarating experience; logistically, it could be slightly challenging for the orchestra and conductor. But that's not for us to worry about anyway.

In my opinion, the most important aspect of this scheme is the attraction it will hold towards the younger generation. Music education is, as ever, a huge problem; initiatives such as the BBC's “Ten Pieces” are attacking this problem, with the majority of their efforts concentrated on primary school education. An area that is perhaps slightly neglected though is 14-19 year olds. A project such as Video Games Live is arguably a perfect solution for a great number of those in this age bracket. The vast majority of teenagers use video games, spending hours playing them, and in turn listening to the music. Without them knowing, they have become fans of the music; with Video Games Live, perhaps they will see classical music in a better light than before! 

 

With the ongoing battle with music education, initiatives such as Video Games Live will no doubt make a difference. Granted, it isn't Mozart and Beethoven, but it's a start; it's within the classical music genre and could even inspire audience members to pick up the Violin. We must continue to challenge the limits of classical concerts, without challenge, who knows what could happen. 

To find out more about Southern Sinfonia please visit our website, Facebook or Twitter page.

"Creative and Playful" - Further Classical Interpretations on Modern Songs

By Chris Billingham  

You may remember at the end of January I wrote an article about the way classical instruments (or indeed any instrument) and different arrangements can be used to enhance a song, change its tone and make it appeal to completely different audiences. A number of people told us that they enjoyed the article and loved watching and listening to alternative versions of the songs chosen. This was all the encouragement I needed to select 5 more covers that reflected and stimulated discussion surrounding this theme!

‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis performed by Noel Gallagher with Crouch End Choir and Wired Strings 

No matter what genre is being played and no matter who is playing it, the Royal Albert Hall is still an incredible venue to host concerts. However despite it’s iconic look and feel adding to a number of rock concerts over the years (The Killers released a live DVD filmed at the venue that is particularly good), something about its design and atmosphere cries out for classical input. The fact that Noel Gallagher is accompanied by Crouch End Choir and Wired Strings and performing in this setting makes this version of the iconic song so effective. Whilst it isn’t necessarily a reimagining of the song and there is also still undoubtedly a place for the rawness of the original version, this version manages to feel very special, like people were always meant to hear it played in this way.

‘I Want You Bach’ – “Jackson 5’s funky “I Want You Back” mashed-up with 5 illustrious themes written by J.S. Bach” performed by The Piano Guys

Yep. Bach meets Jackson 5. The combination we were all dreaming off before the talented and imaginative Piano Guys made our wishes a reality! I contemplated saving this until the end of the article because of its sheer uniqueness and quirky nature. However, in many ways the fact that this is such an alternative interpretation makes it a nice contrast to Noel Gallagher playing Wonderwall! The Piano Guys state in the description for this video that “What if the harpsichord from the 1770s hit headlong into the talk box from 1970s? What if J.S. Bach and Jackson 5 met up and just jammed? Would they jive? Can you dig it?” which in many ways perfectly captures the joy of experimenting with music and songs that are already ingrained into peoples consciousness to create something fun and enjoyable for all audiences.

‘All About That Bass’ by Meghan Trainor performed by Postmodern Jukebox featuring Kate Davis

 
If you like your covers arguably more sophisticated than the Jackson 5/Bach mash up then the above video may be more enjoyable for you. Postmodern Jukebox is known on both YouTube and the live circuit for their clever and different interpretations of modern pop songs. The original version of ‘All About That Bass’ has an upbeat and catchy rhythm that translates perfectly into this jazz interpretation. The fact that Kate Davis is both playing the bass and singing perfectly leads you not being able to look away. As the comments on the video state, the above is creative and playful. 

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen performed by Newton Faulkner 

  

I grew up listening and watching footage of Queen thanks to my father’s love of the 1970s rock band. As well as watching concerts such as their stunning performance at Wembley Stadium I was lucky enough to see Brian May and Roger Taylor perform with Paul Rogers at Hyde Park. At all of these Queen used video and audio to present the orchestral section of this song. It wasn’t performed live, presumably because of its complexity. However in this interpretation Newton Faulkner performs the whole song. With nothing but a guitar. In front of potentially 50,000 people. In the rain. Whether you like Newton Faulkner or not this is undeniably impressive. The enjoyment and crowd reaction (especially 3.56 minutes into the video) highlights how enjoyable live music can be, whether it’s a full orchestra or one man and a guitar. Whilst the comments section on this particular video debates whether it is so effective because of Newton’s talent or Freddie Mercury and Queen’s song writing, I think it’s a combination of both. Actually I think it doesn’t matter – this is brilliant either way.

‘Supermassive Black Hole’ by Muse performed by Viktoriya Yermolyeva (vkgoeswild) 

Truth be told I could have picked any cover by vkgoeswild, her introduction video explains that when she was growing she performed Bach, Beethoven and a number of other composers. However as she grew up her attention turned to rock and heavy metal music. Her YouTube channel is now full of videos of her performing interpretations of Slipknot, Guns N Roses and Foo Fighters. All these performances showcase fantastic playing and the complex musicality behind heavy metal and rock music. I simply chose this cover of Supermassive Black Hole because it is a particularly complex piece and well… my Southern Sinfonia colleague Richard is a big fan of Muse! At the time of writing the vkgoeswild channel has received over 87,000 views, showcasing if nothing else the popularity of piano music and alternative interpretations of popular songs.

If you would like to get in touch with your favourite videos of covers on classical instruments visit our Facebook, Twitter or Website to contact us.

Don’t forget that two-time Tony Award nominee Jason Carr will be joined by Dame Felicity Lott and Melvin Whitfield for our next café concert ‘Jason Carr and Friends’ which takes place on March 27^th at 1.00pm in the Corn Exchange Newbury. Later that evening in St. Nicolas Church, Newbury at 7.30 we will present ‘Classical Celebration II’, a concert that will see us perform Elgar, de Souza and Mozart. Visit our website or links highlighted in this paragraph to purchase tickets.

The Bristol Proms – Exciting and Affordable

By Chris Billingham 

No matter how far you have to travel, incredible live performances and new musical experiences are always worth journeying too. However, it has to be said that it is a particular thrill when they are on your doorstep (even more so if they come in at an affordable price!). You can therefore imagine our excitement when Alison Balsom signalled the launch of this year's Bristol Proms with a fanfare performance at Paddington Station.

Taking place just up the road from us in Bristol, The Bristol Proms aims to invite  “world-class artists to exploit the classical repertoire in an informal, accessible atmosphere” (quote taken from the Bristol Old Vic website). Now in its third year, the festival has previously delivered some fantastic evenings and this year it looks set to do the same when it takes place at Bristol's Old Vic Theatre from July 27th - August 1st 2015.

Looking through the line up (which can be found here) there are a number of performances to get excited about. Daniel Hope headlines the opening night with an evening that looks at the rivalry between Tchaikovsky and Brahms. Milos Karadaglic, who The Sunday Times described as “probably the biggest classical-guitar phenomenon since John Williams in the 1960s and Julian Bream a decade below” combines artists in an evening entitled ‘From Bach To The Beatles’. Particularly exciting to me personally is the ‘The Night Shift Pub Crawl’ which will see the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment lead its audience on a pub crawl around Bristol (locations currently unconfirmed). As well as musical performances there will also be discussions; six talks take place with Jonathan James (subjects include ‘Beethoven Unwrapped’ and ‘A History Of Classical In 60 mins’) and John Suchet will interview John Rutter. It really is worth visiting the website and taking a look at all events.

The reason we are so excited about The Bristol Proms is their commitment to not only putting on interesting shows but shows that are affordable to everyone. Tickets are available from £5 and events such as the pub-crawl with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will hopefully entice younger people and new audiences to the event. I’m not suggesting that young people need pubs to be involved to find something appealing! But it’s undeniably that a social event and something that could be considered informal is no doubt appealing. The barriers that have been put in place from high ticket prices and particularly formal atmospheres begin to come down, making classical music accessible to all. The importance of this can never be overstated.

As well as finding out more about The Bristol Proms we would also encourage everyone to attend our upcoming concerts! Two-time Tony Award nominee Jason Carr will be joined by Dame Felicity Lott and Melvin Whitfield for our next café concert ‘Jason Carr andFriends’ which takes place on March 27^th at 1.00pm in the Corn Exchange Newbury. Later than evening in St. Nicolas Church, Newbury at 7.30 we will present ‘Classical Celebration II’, a concert that will see us perform Elgar, de Souza and Mozart.

To find out more about Southern Sinfonia please visit our website, Facebook or Twitter page.