Distant Worlds in Portland: A Fan's First Experience
During the last weekend in April, I drove seven hundred fifty miles from Post Falls, Idaho to attend my first Final Fantasy Distant Worlds concert, which was held in the exquisite Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. The concert featured the spectacular talents of the Oregon Symphony with special attendance of the Pacific Youth Choir in supporting vocals, led by Mia Hall Miller as artistic director. Mia was introduced and greeted with applause from the crowd, but it was nothing to the thunder of hoots, hollers and cheers from fans when Arnie Roth finally entered stage.
Arnie delivered an introduction about Distant Worlds to the audience and included some brief history on the progression of the performance since its beginning in 2007. He kept his speech short; perhaps he could sense the anticipation of the crowd waiting for the event to begin. The orchestra opened with the aptly chosen Prelude to set the tone for the evening, which was immediately followed by the intensely powerful swell of Liberi Fatali (Final Fantasy VIII). Once Liberi Fatali concluded, Arnie initiated the Victory Fanfare jingle, which was received with laughter and applause from the audience.
The orchestra went on to play a perfect mixture of themes from both old and new games, including classics such as Theme of Love (Final Fantasy IV), Phantom Forest (Final Fantasy VI), and Not Alone (Final Fantasy IX). Arnie stopped and spoke to the audience for a moment about how deeply the scene from the next song had touched many of us, and there was a reverence that enveloped the room as the orchestra began to softly open with Aerith's Theme. Scenes depicting Aerith's gentle nature played on the projection screen, and it was clear that every fan in the room was reflecting back to the first time they had experienced the infamous scene of Final Fantasy VII (the clip itself was not shown as part of the montage).
Some fun and whimsical tunes like the Series Battle & Victory Theme and Chocobo Medley 2012 were played to put some pep into the night. Arnie explained that Chocobo Medley underwent a new arrangement in 2012 encompassing a combination of the past medleys that fans loved so well. He invited the crowd to sing along spelling out "C-H-O-C-O-B-O" during the medley, and the audience loved it!
Before beginning the Final Fantasy VI Opera, Arnie explained to the audience that the piece had been reworked to feature character parts, choir vocals, and a narrator to provide context, and that the act had been lengthened to nearly twenty minutes in an attempt to imitate a real operatic experience. Following his explanation, three vocalists entered stage and were introduced as Dru Rutledge (soprano) as Maria, Ian José Ramirez (tenor) as Draco, and Matthew Hayward (baritone) as Prince Ralse, and then launched into the highlight of the evening which blew me away. Near the end of the powerful performance, the narrator articulated an alternate scene depicting would have happened had Celes not been planted as Maria, which resulted in Setzer stealing her away during the wedding scene. It was all a fantastic surprise that I had not been expecting, and was performed beautifully by remarkably talented and well-chosen vocalists.
To conclude an outstanding evening, Arnie directed the ensemble to appropriately perform the Final Fantasy Series Main Theme, which was followed by a lengthy bout of cheers and applause from all. As I stood up from my seat to collect my coat, I realized with a shock that Sephiroth's theme had not been performed. Not a moment later, Arnie returned back on stage to the audience's delight and it became immediately apparent that he intended for One Winged Angel to be performed as an encore. The orchestra's performance was so suitable and fitting, perfectly timed with scenes featuring Sephiroth in both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children playing on the projected screen that it left me in awe. The choir's voices resonated within the auditorium, expanding the tone of visceral urgency within the theme as the crescendo grew louder and louder and ultimately exploded in a climax of raw emotion between instruments and voices alike. The final performance of the night ended on such a high note that fans leapt to their feet to bestow a standing ovation to Arnie, the Oregon Symphony, the Pacific Youth Choir, and the three opera vocalists who made their way back on stage to give a final bow before the lights lit up the hall and the audience took their leave.
Despite some lingering disappointment that Nobuo Uematsu was unable to conduct or attend the symphony, the overall performance was brilliantly successful and moved me more than I ever could have conceived. Before the evening began, I stepped into the theater thinking that it would be a good event to experience as a fan and nothing more. The visuals coupled in perfect unison with the resonance of the orchestra were so surprisingly powerful to me, and there were a couple of times where I simply became emotionally overwhelmed by what I was witnessing. When the orchestra began to perform Love Grows, I was taken back to being eleven years old and playing Final Fantasy VIII for the very first time without any concept of the impact it would have on my life.
As I exited the concert hall, I happened upon several cosplayers dressed up as Final Fantasy characters, and was fortunate enough to say hello to a Zidane, a Tidus, and a moogle, and heard rumors of a Squall and Rinoa elsewhere. The merchandise booth was crowded as fans muddled over what they intended to buy, but I managed to snag a copy of one of the past performances and a t-shirt to commemorate my experience. While I stood in line, I came to a decision that my favorite performances had been Love Grows (of course), Liberi Fatali, One Winged Angel, and surprisingly, The Great Estersand! The track from Final Fantasy XII paired with the visuals of the game absolutely blew me away, and though I have not yet played that particular release yet, I am all the more excited to (if nothing else, for the soundtrack alone). Notable mentions go to The Opera, Not Alone and Zanarkand.
When I left Portland a couple of days later, I popped in the CD I purchased from the performance and listened to the compositions of Distant Worlds as I began my journey back home. As I listened to the tracks, I reflected on my experience from a couple of nights prior and concluded that if I had another chance to attend a Distant Worlds performance again in the future, I would take it in a heartbeat.
Setlist:
ACT I
1. Final Fantasy Series: Prelude - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SACHIKO MIYANO
2. Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
3. Final Fantasy Victory Theme - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. ARNIE & ERIC ROTH
4. Final Fantasy VII: Opening - Bombing Mission - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
5. Final Fantasy IV: Theme of Love - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
6. Final Fantasy V: Main Theme - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
7. Final Fantasy VIII: Love Grows - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
8. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII: Light Eternal - MASASHI HAMAZU/ARR. HIROYUKI NAKAYAMA
9. Final Fantasy VI: Phantom Forest - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. HIROYUKI NAKAYAMA
10. Final Fantasy IX: Not Alone - NOBUO UEMATSU/ ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI & SACHIKO MIYANO
11. Final Fantasy Series: Chocobo Medley 2012 - NOBUO UEMATSU, NAOSHI MIZUTA, MASASHI HAMAUZU/ARR. ARNIE & ERIC ROTH
INTERMISSION
ACT II
12. Final Fantasy Series: Battle & Victory Theme Medley - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. ARNIE & ERIC ROTH
13. Final Fantasy XI: Fighter of the Crystal - NAOSHI MIZUTA/ARR. NAOSHI MIZUTA
14. Final Fantasy VII: Aerith’s Theme - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
15. Final Fantasy XII: The Dalmasca Estersand - HITOSHI SAKIMOTO/ARR. ARNIE & ERIC ROTHBERLIN
16. Final Fantasy X: Zanarkand - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
17. Final Fantasy VIII: Don’t be Afraid - NOBUO UEMATSU/ ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
18. Final Fantasy VI: Opera ‘Maria & Draco’ - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI, TSUTOMO NARATI
19. Final Fantasy Series: Main Theme - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
ENCORE
20. Final Fantasy VII: One Winged Angel - NOBUO UEMATSU/ARR. SHIRO HAMAGUCHI
