On Friday, October 18th, the London Decca record label released a recording that features the world-renowned violinist, Ray Chen performing alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Cristian Măcelaru.
Called Player 1, this CD highlights themes from television, anime, and video games. Themes such as music from the Legend of Zelda, Squid Game and Pokeman Red are performed with the center piece of the disc being a spellbinding recording of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s cinematic Violin Concerto.
Player 1 also demonstrates Chen’s desire to make classical music more accessible to a wider audience. Both classical music and video games have a lot in common. There is this interaction between the performer, in this case player 1 and the audience, player 2.
As a child, video games played an integral role in Chen’s upbringing and violin excellence. He tells of how his parents would reward him with video games after practice sessions on his violin. “Video games and music has brought me so much joy, and now I am so happy and proud that I can make it a part of this album.”
The album uses video game music and themes from anime shows and movies. Narrowing down the vast possibilities of musical selections came down to Chen’s experiences. As he explains, “At the end of the day, it was the ones that spoke to me the most...the ones I grew up with...I mean the Pokeman, Pallet Town playing that... hearing the 8 bit kind of sound coming from a Gameboy to now fully orchestrated...you have 80 people on that track. It’s incredible! Childhood Ray would have been screaming.”
All the arrangements on Player 1 are lush, beautiful, and wonderful to listen to. There were four arrangers used, each taking care of a specific music medium.
The London based Benjamin Rimmer did the arrangements for Isabella’s Lullaby from the manga series The Promised Neverland and A Sadness and Sorrow from the manga series Naruto.
The English arranger and composer Andrew Skeet did arrangements of the themes from the video games music The Legend of Zelda: Tears of a Kingdom and Pallet Town from Pokeman Red.
English composer Sally Herbert arranged the Romantic Flight music from how to Train your Dragon.
And finally English composer and arranger John Langley arranged the music I Remember my Name from the television series Squid Game.
All the arrangements are marvelously played by the musicians of the Royal Philharmonic under Măcelaru. Any listener not knowing any better would be surprised to learn that this expressive, gorgeous, and rich music was originally written for late twentieth century-early 21st century film and video games. It could easily be from a mid-twentieth century composer such as Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, or Miklos Rózsa.
The CD booklet provides the mission Chen hopes to accomplish with this recording. “Player 1 aims to create a meaningful connection between the past and the present.” If this is Player 1’s goal, (in this case Chen) then mission accomplished!
The centerpiece of the disc is Korngold’s stunning and cinematic violin concerto. The juxtaposition of this cornerstone of violin literature against the film and video game arrangements successfully makes the case that no matter what the source good music is good music. As Chen states, “There is definitely this thread.... Korngold...him bringing music and the traditions of Europe over to Los Angeles and Hollywood...becoming one of the first film composers. To then influence all these great composers that went on to write for film, animation, anime, and also gaming.”
At the heart of the recording is Chen, his playing soars and sings above the orchestral texture and fully engages the listener. The melodies are beautifully played, with the RPO serving as the perfect accompaniment.
This is a recording for anyone who simply wants to hear good music and bask in the beauty of Chen’s and the RPO’s playing.
Level Up! with Player 1