Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy

Square kicked off E3 this year with a very special event: the first Final Fantasy game music concert in the United States. Titled "Dear Friends - Music from Final Fantasy," the two-hour concert featured music composed and produced by Nobuo Uematsu, performed by the Los Angeles Philarmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale.

The sold-out event took place in LA's newest landmark, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in front of a mixed crowd of videogame geeks, press, and music enthusiasts curious enough to buy up the sought-after tickets within the first three days of the concert's announcement.

Conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the concert opened up with a riveting rendition of Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy VIII, the cacophonic horn accents and xylophone runs perfectly complemented by the vocal stylings of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. After the slow, sweeping coda, the event's host, James Arnold Taylor -- better known to US gamers as the voice of Tidus from Final Fantasy X -- appeared on stage to address the audience and announce the next set of pieces.

The next piece, Zanarkand from FFX, was set to scenes of Yuna "sending" (taken from the CG scenes from the game) displayed on two large overhead screens. With its soft harp and string sound and melancholic grand piano, the fan favorite was the perfect prelude for what was to come: Terra's Theme from Final Fantasy VI. Echoing the most recognizable of Final Fantasy themes, Terra's Theme brought life into the audience with its marching beat and strong brass -- only to be once again trumped by the piece that followed. "Theme of Love" from Final Fantasy IV, the slow and emotional ballad showed its full range thanks to an expertly played oboe lead, backed by a carpet of warm strings that made the original Super Nintendo arrangement sound meek and cold by comparison.

The next piece, "Dear Friends" from Final Fantasy V with its haunting oboe and beautiful guitar accompaniment didn't fail to impress either, even if the latter was regrettably drowned out by the rest of the orchestra ever so often. After a forceful rendition of the Spanish-tinged "Vamo' Alla Flamenco" from Final Fantasy IX (complete with castagnettes) and "Love Grows" set to footage from the fireworks scene in Final Fantasy VIII, the concert paused for an intermission.

Things kicked off strong again right away, with the emotional Aeris's Theme and the playful "Not Alone" from Final Fantasy VII and IX, respectively. One of Uematsu's latest compositions, the dance-like "Ronfaure" from Final Fantasy XI perfectly proved that the Japanese composer's music is more than just accompaniment to slick visuals and the tried-and-true gameplay of the series. Without any video scenes to go along with it, Ronfaure still conjured up thoughts of vast and majestic lands. If anything, the concert was once again proof that Final Fantasy just wouldn't be the same without Uematsu's compositions. Like program music composers like Mussorgsky, Uematsu manages to paint landscapes with notes.

The last three pieces of the concert all helped to build up to a memorable climax. In a medley of melodies from the first three games, the performers masterfully went from the most familiar of all Final Fantasy pieces, the "crystal theme" (Prelude) to an animated variation of the Chocobo theme. Then came a new (as of yet unnamed) theme from the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children DVD movie, a slow piano and orchestra piece with oboe and clarinet interludes that recalled themes from FFVII. The concert concluded with the original Final Fantasy theme -- and another of many standing ovations for the ensemble, Harth-Bedoya, and Uematsu himself, who appeared on stage in a traditional Japanese yukata, geta clogs and tabi socks. After thanking the orchestra and conductor, the humble composer introduced himself amusingly with the words "I am Nobuo Uematsu."

What happened next can only be described as a Final Fantasy fan's wet dream. Following a heartfelt thanks to FF fans throughout the world, Uematsu was joined by artist Yoshitaka Amano and producer Hironobu Sakaguchi. Uematsu concluded with "There are no borderlines to music" and exited under deafening applause and cheers from the audience. But the concert organizers had one more ace up their sleeve. Not waiting for the applause to ebb down, Miguel Harth-Bedoya swept around and faced the orchestra with a smirk on his face. The stage was bathed in orange light and Sephiroth appeared on the screens overhead. The choir kicked in, horns and timpani in full force: One-Winged Angel (Sephiroth's Theme from FFVII). The young audience roared and the concert ended a complete success.

Though the event was overall weighted heavily toward music from the later games in the series (not surprising, given that Final Fantasy's US success story really kicked off with the seventh game in the series), we walked away impressed with the performance, the presentation, and the timelessness of Uematsu's compositions. Here's hoping the choice of venue and talent will help validate videogame music as an artform and lead to more concerts of this caliber.

Look for information on Square-Enix's games as part of IGN's ongoing E3 coverage later this week.