Ys Dramatic Concert

The substantial selection of early Ys arranged albums can generally be easily categorized. You've got the "Music from Ys" original sound versions, the Renewal re-synths, the Symphony Ys trilogy, the Perfect Collections. Ys Dramatic Concert, however, falls under none of these and thus may have slipped under some people's radars. My own advice to Ys fans would be to aggressively seek and pursue it, as it's one of the better arranged albums available for the original Ys.

The music in Ys Dramatic Concert consists of three performance styles - piano quintet (piano, viola, cello and violins), full orchestral (by the "Ys Symphonic Orchestra") and rock. None of these are actually recorded live in concert as the title would suggest. Rather they're all studio productions, mixed freely together under the concept of creating a single "Dramatic Concert" of Ys music.

The orchestral and piano quintet arrangements fit perfectly together and indeed do creative a dramatic selection of music. As arranger Michio Fujisawa freely admits in the liner notes, these arrangements have a strong classical influence. However, rather than drastically altering the Ys themes themselves, Fujisawa mostly leaves them in their original states but interlaces them with original classical segments. This is apparent from the outset in the album opener "Ys", which begins with a heavy, foreboding intro clearly based on Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries", before moving on to orchestral renditions of "Feena" and other Ys themes. (Additional classical composers attributed in the liner notes include Dvorak, Mozart and Mahler.)

I wouldn't say any of the orchestral arrangements of staple Ys themes in Dramatic Concert are their definitive versions, but they're unique enough that even those that have been frequently arranged before remain fresh. Massive opening salvos for "The Last Moment of the Dark" (in "Dark Fact") and "First Step Towards Wars" (in "Adol Christin") establish those arrangements' relevancy from the very beginning, while the ominous main melody of the first and the uplifting chorus of the second remain as thrilling as ever. By freely mixing classical segments with multiple Ys themes in "Remembering Feena", Fujisawa gives us the most substantial arrangement available of the pretty but often under-developed "Rest in Peace" theme. The somber arrangement of "The Morning Grow" in "Ys Requiem" is completely different from the sugary original, and even the venerable "Feena" theme manages to sound somewhat unique to other versions, thanks to a solitary piano segment midway through its arrangement.

The performance in the full orchestral pieces is certainly not one of the most elegant you'll hear, but as a channel for Fujisawa's distinctive arrangements it gets the job done. The brass has the same sharp sound as in Symphony Ys, and though the effect becomes abrasive in the "Battle Field" arrangement for "Tower of the Shadow of Death", in other tracks the effect is thankfully not so extreme.

Complementing the arrangements of existing Ys themes is an array of original themes that I've not heard in any other Ys album, found mostly in the piano quintet pieces. Fujisawa makes several references to the Ys anime series in the liner notes, so perhaps they are arranged or directly imported from there. In any case, these new themes very much deserve a place next to their more established counterparts in the series canon. "Goban's Theme" has a classical sound similar to Fujisawa's Perfect Collection "new age" pieces, but a rising, uplifting string climax makes it far more engaging to the listener. "The Mineans" leaves an even stronger impression, thanks to a perfect piano and string arrangement of its righteous yet slightly tragic theme.

The rock pieces in Dramatic Concert are neither trademark Falcom "power rock" nor the hard rock common in other series. I'd liken these short instrumentals to early '80s pop-rock, and prefer to just disregard them altogether. Original compositions like "From Minea Village" boast high production values but don't have the melodic focus expected of Ys music, and even the better arrangements, like the moderately edgy version of "Beat of the Terror" in "Battle Battle Battle", contrast too starkly and compare too poorly to the orchestral tracks surrounding them. (I've retagged my own rip of the CD to relegate the rock tracks to the end, and it's been a much more enjoyable experience since.)

Mediocre rock arrangements aside, Ys Dramatic Concert is one of the more consistent Ys arranged albums available. With classic Ys themes and some excellent original compositions at the core of always unique arrangements, Ys fans are bound to find something to like. Symphony Ys '95 remains the essential orchestral album for the original Ys games, but Ys Dramatic Concert joins the original Symphony Ys as a worthy compliment.