Overview

Koji Kondo is known for composing two of the most famous themes to ever appear in a video game, the themes of Mario and Zelda, Nintendo's flagship series. His score to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, one of the highest rated games of all time, was a classic though held back by poor synth.

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony provides us with a more enjoyable rendition of several pieces from the soundtrack. Gone is the poor synth, and in its place is a small string ensemble. Now, while this album is enjoyable, there isn't much on the arranging side of things; most tracks were simply transcribed for the ensemble and musically sound near identical to the originals. Most of the performances are near perfection, and the stylistic range is enjoyable.

Body

The album starts off appropriately with "Title Theme." While fairly simple in arrangement, this piece is beautiful for the way it emphasises the melodic and atmospheric qualities of the original piece. Added to the string quartet is a piano, and the full ensemble makes for a peaceful and enjoyable listen.

Some of the tracks are underwhelming, such as "Lon Lon Ranch," "Hyrule Field," and especially "Ganondorf." The former two are bland and very repetitive, while the latter is simply an abomination to music itself. It is nothing but a minute of a rising chromatic melody line. Extremely boring, and the album would have been much more enjoyable with a different theme in its place.

In contrast to those, however, is the amazing (and that only begins to describe it) "Gerudo Valley." One of the highlights of Ocarina of Time was this very piece of music, and hearing it live is a gift to the ears. It is here in all of its glory; the gorgeous melody overlaid over the pulsing undertones and the beautiful harmonies. This one tracks is alone worth the album.

The "Zelda Medley" is another highlight of the album. One of the few pieces where arranging is really involved, it takes several classic Zelda themes and combines them together for a nostalgic and enjoyable listen. One of the more fun pieces on the album is "Goron City." Consisting primarily of light pizzicato strings, it keeps your attention well. After the pizzicato comes a very full section of all strings playing normally, and the contrast is beautiful.

Summary

Overall, how you like the album depends on what you want to hear; if you want to hear your favorite Ocarina of Time melodies faithfully arranged for strings, then this is for you. If you would rather here new interpretations of the pieces, this will sorely disappoint.

Overview

Looking for Zelda music performed by an orchestra? Well, look no further! This arranged album of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is your ticket to orchestrated Zelda music... sort of. The "orchestra" is mostly a string ensemble, which is not bad by any means, but just not full enough to be an orchestra. There are a couple of additional instruments every so often in some tracks such as a guitar, an ocarina (duh!), and a piano, but overall, the orchestra is a rather small ensemble.

Body

All that said, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony isn't bad at all for what it is. All the musical arrangements are excellent, and they remain faithful to the original compositions. I was pleasantly surprised with all the tracks, due not only to how identical they sounded to the originals, but to how fluently they were performed. The vocal performance on "Lon Lon Ranch" is beautiful (and it sure beats listening to the synthesized voice on the original game soundtrack). I wasn't so sure at first about "Zora's Domain", "Gerudo Valley", and "Goron City" all being performed by an orchestra (these pieces were never intended for a symphony orchestra), but they pulled it off well. A very nice surprise.

Out of the thirteen tracks on this album, two are medleys of various themes. "Ocarina Medley" features all 12 of the Ocarina songs (yes, even the duet performances with Sheik, such as "Minuet Of Forest" and so on). They are all arranged brilliantly and beautifully flow with one another for each transition. I didn't think this would be possible (the Ocarina songs are more like brief fanfares than songs), but the track works out well.

The last track (and arguably the best) is a treat for Zelda fans. Titled "The Legend of Zelda Medley", this track contains various melodies from *all* the previous Zelda games (such as The Legend Of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, A Link To The Past, and Link's Awakening). All are performed, of course, by the string ensemble. This track brings back fond memories and is the highlight of the album. In fact, after listening to it more than once, I am wishing that there will be future album compilations of Zelda music — Link's Awakening and The Adventure of Link perhaps?

Summary

Overall, this arranged album is above average. It may not have as full of an orchestra as one might expect, but thanks to the amount of music (and the memories — there's a really cool booklet with history on the Zelda games, notes on the arranged versions, and messages from the creators), The Legend Of Zelda Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony is quite enjoyable.