Merregnon
Merregnon is a series of works combining orchestral music and fantasy fiction that have been intermittently produced as both live music concerts and album releases since 2000. The latest, third instalment is "Merregnon: Land of Silence", which was released as a concert film in 2021, before worldwide live performances were announced in 2022. All projects were created, directed and produced by "Merregnon Studios" founder Thomas Böcker ("Symphonic Game Music Concerts", "Symphonic Fantasies — Music from Square Enix", "Final Symphony — Music from Final Fantasy"). "Merregnon" productions have drawn in numerous international musical collaborators known for their work in video games including  Yoko Shimomura ("Street Fighter II, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XV"), Chris Hülsbeck ("Turrican, The Great Giana Sisters, ") and Yuzo Koshiro ("Streets of Rage, ActRaiser, Shenmue"). Merregnon: Land of Silence. "Merregnon: Land of Silence" features original music by Yoko Shimomura and a story by children’s author Frauke Angel. The symphonic fairy tale in arrangements by Yasunori Nishiki and Jonne Valtonen was created "to introduce families and younger audiences to the wonders of orchestral music" in the tradition of Saint-Saëns' "The Carnival of the Animals" and Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf". Lightly animated illustrations of characters and plot points  accompany the music and narration. The work was first performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stockholm Concert Hall in 2021, conducted by Andreas Hanson. The concert saw the production of a film, with the video made available free-to-view online in Autumn 2021. Worldwide live performances are planned from 2022. While "Merregnon: Land of Silence" has an educational background, Böcker is particularly concerned with the entertainment aspect, one reason why the project draws on the aesthetics of video games and anime to appeal to a modern audience. Shimomura believes that those efforts are helping to "tackle  some of the misconceptions around classical music." In Böcker's view, the story is a symphonic fairy tale of "courage, perseverance, solidarity and above all, freedom." A year before the premiere of the actual orchestral concert, Shimomura released on her official "YouTube" channel the piano piece "The Messenger" from "Merregnon: Land of Silence" in an arrangement by Michael Fuchs, performed by Mischa Cheung. A trailer announcing the release of the concert film, including a commentary by Shimomura, was posted in 2021 on the "YouTube" channel "NinotakuTV". In addition, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra made available further six videos in which  the composer talks about her ideas and her approach to her work on the respective themes for the characters in the story. Reception. "Merregnon: Land of Silence" was given wide press attention, including the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", being described as a "symphonic anime" and an interview with Shimomura, where she expresses her hope that people will "encounter classical music in an everyday and casual way", with "Merregnon: Land of Silence" as part of it. "Deutschlandfunk" spoke with Böcker in a radio feature entitled ""Music education with a video game composer"", and "Klassik Radio" elaborated on the fact that "Merregnon: Land  of Silence" is intended to introduce children playfully to the orchestral world, on an "enchanting adventure journey" in a "symphonic anime fairy tale for the entire family." Böcker was invited to write a guest article for "Gramophone" about orchestral music and its power to inspire audiences young and old. In it, he emphasises the importance of a family concert that "entertains and promotes immersion", because according to him, "it awakens an enthusiasm that leads to spontaneous engagement with the subject, without any finger-wagging or other overtly educational components." In an extensive article on "Wired", Shimomura and Böcker were joined  by Stefan Forsberg, executive director of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Forsberg points out that music by game composers is "a part of the daily lives of so many people around the world", and the author notes that "Merregnon: Land of Silence" could provide "a welcome hand for struggling concert halls." In a webinar hosted by the "German Embassy in Tokyo", Shimomura, Böcker and Angel talked about the process leading up to the concert "Merregnon: Land of Silence". ""New Directions in Orchestral Music"" aimed to explore how orchestral music can remain a relevant topic in the public awareness. Merregnon, Volumes  1 and 2. In 1999, Böcker's interest in game music prompted him to approach composers around the world and invite them to collaborate on his original "Merregnon" CDs. "Merregnon, Volume 1" was released in 2000, distributed by "synSoniq Records", featuring orchestral music and narration, as well as an accompanying booklet with text and illustrations. Music from "Merregnon, Volume 2" premiered at the first ever "Symphonic Game Music Concert" outside Japan in Leipzig, Germany, also produced by Böcker, before the full work was released one year later in 2004 by "Totentanz Records", distributed by "SoulFood / Sony Music". In 2005, "Merregnon , Volume 2" was published in the Japanese market by "Dex Entertainment", distributed by "Sony Music Japan". "Merregnon, Volume 1" used almost no live instrument recordings for its soundtrack, while "Merregnon, Volume 2" featured 74 orchestra musicians. For most of the composers, this was new territory, so the project's music director for the second volume, Andy Brick, had to ensure that "everyone delivered a score that the orchestra could properly perform." Brick states that synthesizers and samplers, as in volume 1, "can do a lot that you just can't do with real instruments." His task was to help the  composers transfer their sound visions to the orchestra. Volume 1 and 2's principal composer, Fabian Del Priore, who developed many of the musical themes, confirmed that it gave him "a lot of experience in orchestration, notation and score writing." Reception. Both albums were highly praised by critics. The first CD was commended for its appeal in that it "impressively shows how pompous melodies and complex themes are able to attract especially young people", according to the German magazine "Amiga Plus". The website "Epic Sound" noted that "Merregnon" "brings together some of the brightest young talents in the composing world  and Music4Games" attested that the project "sets new standards in the world of videogame music." German gaming network "Krawall" found that "hardly has any music CD ever succeeded in creating such opulent pictures in the mental eye." A verdict that "PC Joker" joined in its review: "This disc is a hit!" The second CD received much acclaim as well, with the gaming website "DemoNews" writing that it was "simply breath-taking", magazine "Nautilus" admiring its professionalism and going on to say that "fans of the music from big silver screen epics will find a new treasure in "Merregnon 2"." "MacLife  went on to report game music of Hollywood quality", while music magazine "Astan", in addition to praising the music ("sounding like an epos to one of the big movies, like Troy and Gladiator"), described the booklet as "luxurious" and "simply beautiful and expensively designed." This was echoed by "MangasZene" ("a lovingly designed booklet"), additionally highlighting the "first rate music." The German gaming website "4Players" dedicated a large special to "Merregnon 2" over several months, where various interviews were conducted with Böcker and the composers. According to Böcker, working on the two "Merregnon" albums was a "hallmark moment" that eventually led  to the development and production of his "Game Concerts" series.