Ganon plays the bones.
After intermission the orchestra and choir resumed with their energy restored and ready for action with "Ganondorf's Theme", (yet another) medley, this time of Ganon's Ocarina of Time themes, starting with Ganon on the organ as you approach him in his tower followed by the two final battles against him. The organ appeared to be pre-recorded and there were some odd frame-dropping technical glitches at the start of the footage, but the timing of the cut-scene and gameplay visuals and orchestrated music were again expertly done, and the sheer novelty of an actual choir backing the final battle theme from Ocarina of Time made this entry thoroughly enjoyable.
Dungeon Crawling
The Final Dungeon
"The Legend of Zelda: Selected Shorts Suites" was another of the concert's more unexpected highlights. This was a grab-bag medley of sorts that paid tribute to many of the less celebrated themes from the series through the series' life. The arrangement began with the original Legend of Zelda dungeon theme, which quickly morphed into the final dungeon theme from the same game (the originals were pretty short loops, after all!). The old-school magic continued two selections from A Link to the Past, "Lost Woods" followed by the light world dungeon theme. The medley then ventured into obscure-land with a smattering of fun songs from N64 scenes: inside a house in Ocarina of Time, playing a mini-game, the Hyrule castle courtyard (why did the audience cheer for this horrible part of the game?!), the argument in the Clock Town mayor's office, and the same town's milk bar. The selections were not advertised in the concert program, certainly making this a fun medley for fans (and hosts) of Radio Trivia!
Lost in the Woods
This gem was succeeded by what should have been an enjoyable selection: "Gerudo Valley." Unfortunately, without a guitar the arrangement fell flat—it just didn’t have the memorable flair associated with this song. The arrangement was a poor fit for the song, which came off as a plodding and stiff. The silver lining in this piece was the visual accompaniment, which included some humorous visuals such as the freeing of carpenters and their subsequent prancing.
An Unremarkable Valley
Fortunately, that weak performance was followed by one of the best of the night, the "Hyrule Field from Ocarina of Time." Hyrule Field is well known for its several context-sensitive segments that are intertwined differently depending on the in-game action. It is a busy, complex composition that was a very good fit for the performers and instruments. The orchestra navigated tricky transitions between uplifting, dissonant, and relaxing motifs in a rendition of the song that was true to the source material yet far more vibrant.
Dueling Harps
The performers continued their momentum with the less bombastic but equally impressive "Great Fairy's Fountain Theme"—featuring dueling harpists! The piece began with the harps by themselves. The two harpists were on opposite sides of the stage, creating an impressive stereo effect as they alternated playing the main melody and countermelody, and the notes echoed off the acoustic walls of the Pantages Theater. The harps were eventually joined by a single flute, and as the song progressed the choir also lent their talents. The arrangement and performances were absolutely beautiful and something that can only be fully experienced live.
Midna and the Wolf
The ensemble returned to the most recent console entry in "Twilight Princess Symphonic Movement." Like the Wind Waker arrangement with the similar name, this was an enjoyable review of the GameCube/Wii game and its storyline artfully accompanied by well-timed visuals. It started with the title screen before venturing into "Midna's Theme" (featuring oboe), "The Sage's Theme" (featuring the choir), and other selections before a crescendo to the final Ganon battle followed by the ending sequence in which Midna and Link part ways.
Very Nice
The choir shows their collective chops.
The official set concluded with a tasteful rendition of the classic "The Legend of Zelda Main Theme Medley", starting in the style of the light march found on the title screen in the NES original before blossoming into the upbeat adventure song found in several of the game's entries. While hardly the most clever or enjoyable song of the evening, this obligatory piece managed to sneak snuck in a few classic jingles, such as the iconic "secret" tone sequence and the title screen fanfare from A Link to the Past.
