The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses – The Second Quest
Posted on June 07 2013 by Legacy Staff
Last night, this Columnist had the honor of attending the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses (again)! I attended last year when it came to my hometown of Atlanta, GA, and I was fortunate enough to do so again this year. There were two main differences from this year’s, compared to last year’s. Well, three, if you count the fact that I actually got good seats this year and didn’t have a Triforce banner hanging in my face the whole time. But I digress. The two main differences are: 1) Last year, I wasn’t a writer for Zelda Informer and Gamnesia, so I didn’t take notes or pictures. 2) This opening night in Atlanta, GA, was the first show of the second season, or, as it was dubbed: “The beginning of the Second Quest.”
Rather than being a review of the symphony, as our own Colin McIsaac has already published an incredible review of the Symphony of the Goddesses, this article will serve as a comparison of both the first and second seasons. I won’t being going into a much detail as Mr. McIsaac did in his piece, but rather showing you what’s new about the Second Quest tour.
The show this year was conducted by Eímear Noone, the traditional conductor for the symphony. Last year, Eímear Noone was unable to attend the Atlanta performance, so our symphony was conducted by Susie Seiter, who orchestrated the music of the 25th Anniversary CD that was included in the Limited Edition bundles of Skyward Sword. Ms. Seiter did a wonderful job conducting the symphony in 2012. This year, however, we got to experience Eímear Noone. I am fortunate enough to have gotten to experience both conductors, and see the unique style that they brought to the Symphony of the Goddesses.
The show began just as last year, with an orchestrated remix of the many variations of the classic Zelda theme, Hyrule Field, Ganon’s theme, and Zelda’s Lullaby. The screen flashed many scenes from the various games that would be shown that night, including A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess, plus a few surprises. Also depicted was the rise of Ganon through the ages, preparing us for how the Hero clad in green (or blue, or red, or, if you were the fourth wheel of your group of friends, purple) would rise to challenge The Prince of Darkness and slay him.
Composer Chad Seiter and producer Jeron Moore would take to the stage in a similar fashion as last year, introducing themselves and the journey they would be taking us on that evening. You could tell by their smiles that even though they had done this nearly 50 times before, it still excited them to no end to bring us the fabulous music from The Legend of Zelda.
We were also informed that that night, June 6th, 2013, just so happened to be the 20th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which was released June 6th, 1993, in Japan. With that, the symphony opened to a beautiful rendition of the Link’s Awakening theme, including variations of the village theme, field music, dungeon, and boss battle themes. This was the first time that that particular score has been played for a public venue. I’m not sure if it was a one-night-only composition, but I hope anyone else who attends the Second Quest gets to hear the beautiful new addition to the symphony.
In keeping with the handhelds, another new addition to the symphony was the inclusion of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The Hero, instead of wearing blue and orange pajamas, dons a conductor’s outfit and take to the rails to slay Malladus the Demon King, that game’s incarnation of Ganon. Needless to say, though it will be stated a lot in this article, the piece was beautifully orchestrated, and magically composed.
After the new additions to the symphony were introduced, the classic symphony began. For anyone who’s attended the symphony, or read any reviews on it, then you know what’s coming next. The symphony would include four movements spanning the history of The Legend of Zelda. The Symphony of the Goddesses is presented as a story depicting the rise of Ganon, the Hero clad in green who would oppose him, and Link’s subsequent victory over The Prince of Darkness. It was meant to convey the feelings one has the first time playing a Zelda game — going through the trials, dungeons, and bosses, and eventually challenging and destroying Ganon.
The first movement was a rendition of the most popular Zelda game to date, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The score was the same as last years’, but that did not ruin the magic that the symphony held. The music was beautiful, and the feelings in conveyed were unforgettable. The piece ended with a small reference to Majora’s Mask as the iconic and terrifying mask flashed on the screen for a moment, foreshadowing what was to come later in the evening.
The 
second movement consisted of pieces from the Gamecube’s first Zelda title, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Of course, the score was masterfully presented as the boy in his blue and orange pajamas would take to the high seas to rescue his little sister. The interesting thing about this piece was that, of course, the score would be conducted with a replica of the Wind Waker itself. Though a staple of the symphony, I don’t remember Susie Seiter using this particular prop last year in the Atlanta showing of the Symphony of the Goddesses. It was nice to see the Wind Waker in action accompanying this particular movement this year. I even managed to snap a somewhat decent picture of it!
Up next was an intermission. I used the time to check all of the StreetPasses I had accumulated on the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass Mii Plaza. It’s always nice to take your 3DS to an even like this, as you are able to make incredible progress in Puzzle Swap and in Find Mii. I was finally able to get the coveted “StreetPass 100 Mii’s in one day” accomplishment!
When the symphony returned, we were greeted to a rendition of Gerudo’s Fortress from Ocarina of Time. This piece was part of one of the three encores that we were treated to last year. And, normally, this piece is presented as an encore. This reporter was left wondering what that meant, and what we would be in store for the rest of the evening.
The third movement was from my personal favorite Zelda title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Chad Seiter came onto the stage and told us how he’s always seen Zelda as sort of a “western,” by which he means a lone hero rises to the challenge, and stands up to the ultimate evil from which everyone else cowers. Because of this, the Twilight Princess orchestration had hints of western music intricately woven into the score. And, of course, being that Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game to date, the piece was magical and inspiring for me.
The fourth and final movement was from many people’s first Zelda, and a fan favorite considered one of the best Zelda games, and one of the best video games ever made, even after over 20 years. The final movement was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. This was the climax of the entire symphony, showing Link defeating Agahnim, and
eventually overthrowing Ganon, and contained a recap of highlight from the earlier pieces, as well as having the classic Zelda theme woven in as well. A truly beautiful finale for a truly beautiful symphony.
But wait, there’s more!
Last year, Chad Seiter and Jeron Moore came back on stage to convince us that the show was over, only for us to find out that there was an encore in store! This year, word had gotten around about the production and presentation of the show, and everyone was expecting the encores, so they didn’t even try and kid us.
Just as Symphony of the Goddesses tradition dictates, the first encore we were treated to was from cult classic The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. This dark and gritty Zelda provided a stark contrast to the lightheartedness from Ocarina of Time. Many gamers found Majora’s Mask off-putting when it first released in October 2000, but hardcore Zelda fans still found the game fascinating, and were enamored with the new direction the game took, as opposed to Zelda tradition. Whether a fan of Majora’s Mask or not, one cannot deny the magic that the piece brings to the symphony, and the delight the beautifully composed score brings to fans of Zelda and to fans of music.
I stated earlier that those in attendance for the opening night of the Second Quest of The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses in Atlanta, GA, got to hear Gerudo’s Fortress, traditionally an encore piece, much earlier in the evening. But, what does that mean for the encore? Well, it meant there were new additions to the encore, as opposed to last years’! One of the most requested pieces from the 25th Anniversary CD was strangely absent from the symphony last year. Well, the composer and producers listened to the fans, and this year we were treated to the new addition of Dragon Roost Island from The Wind Waker! Dragon Roost Island’s theme is a fan favorite, and one of the most well known and iconic of all Zelda themes, and is now included in the Symphony of the Goddesses. The producers sure know how to make fans happy and get their money’s worth!
As for the final encore, it was a piece from a game that had never been in the symphony before. Nintendo had asked the producers to not include music from this Zelda title, as it had only been out for a short while. The final piece of the evening was The Ballad of the Goddess from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The namesake of the entire symphony is derived from the Goddesses who created Hyrule and the Triforce, and their theme is featured prominently in Skyward Sword. The orchestration was missed greatly last year, and it was gratifying to be able to expierence it this year. In the middle of the score, there is a piano solo of Fi’s Gratitude. That is the part in Skyward Sword that made this Columnist shed manly tears of manlyness, and I could feel tears welling up again as the music moved me and brought back memories and feelings of Fi’s sacrifice for Link and all of Hyrule.
It’s crazy how music is what puts the button on things. The Legend of Zelda would be a fantastic and engrossing tale without it. But it is made all the more powerful because of composer Koji Kondo’s magnificent score on top of it. It’s what makes fight scenes more intense, and emotional scenes bring you to tears. It can inspire feelings of love, hate, affection, sorrow, fear, and depression. That is the power of music, and that is the power of The Legend of Zelda.
Just like Colin McIsaac before me, I am forced to give this performance 5 out of 5 Reggies.
Go and check out the performance for yourself! Tickets are on sale now all over the country. Here you can find all of the scheduling details, history, and all information on The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.
