Every year Classic FM, a UK radio station, hosts a poll for its Hall of Fame. Last year there was a concentrated effort to extend the usual “classical” music selection away from Beethoven, Bach and Rachmaninov to include music from games. Not only did this succeed in getting several entries into the top three hundred, it actually produced two top five entries: Nobuo Uematsu’s Final Fantasy score, and Jeremey Soule’s Skyrim compositions took up positions three and five, respectively.
These rankings generated some debate on whether or not such pieces should be as high on the list as it was a deliberate effort by an audience who perhaps don’t normally listen to the station to stuff the ballot box. Others argued that video game music has no place amongst true classical artists.
To clarify: Classic FM’s Hall of Fame is not operated in the same fashion as some other well-known ones. For comparison, Baseball, Football, Rock & Roll or even the WWE Hall of Fame are chosen by a panel of experts, based on accomplishments, recognition or contributions to their various fields - whereas Classic FM’s Hall of Fame is a yearly endeavor, with many pieces entering every year and is (at least for the last two years) the result of a public vote.
So should videogame music be excluded from Classic FM’s Hall Of Fame? The short answer is yes with an if; the long answer is no with a but.
Let me explain…
Yes, videogame music has no place in Classic FMs Hall of Fame - but only if you define Classical as a period, rather than a genre. According to the Classic FM website, Classical music is split across four periods: Baroque (1600-1750), Classical (1750-1830), Romantic (1830-1900) and the 20th Century (1900s). By this definition alone, last year’s number five would be excluded coming from the 21st Century title Skyrim. Nobuo Uematsu would still scrape through though, with Final Fantasy 1-8 all receiving a release by the end of the 20th century.
No, music from videogames shouldn’t be excluded from the Hall of Fame. There may be a “Classical” period but the collection of the four periods has been defined as classical by Classic FM themselves, therefore “classical” refers to a genre rather than a time period.
Music has been used in movies for near a hundred years to compliment what is on screen and since 1934 a mere five years after its first creation the Academy Awards have recognized the Best Original Score. In recent years many respectable composers have dabbled in video games. An example is Gustavo Santaolalla; a two time Oscar winner for his movie soundtracks, composed the hauntingly beautiful score to The Last of Us.
Classic FM has in the past included performances of scores from movies and television shows and currently has a feature on “The 7 best classical covers of the Game Of Thrones theme” this isn’t a one-off or a paid for special promotional piece to tie in with the new series as they also offer a guide to the best pieces of music throughout the entire series so far.
Similarly, the BBC’s Proms, which is an internationally renowned annual event consisting of a series of “classical” concerts each year, has devoted entire nights to movies and TV shows without much objection. The guiding principal of the Proms has been to reach a wider audience by offering more popular programs, adopting a less formal promenade arrangement, and keeping ticket prices low. There hasn’t been a videogame Proms yet, but I would be highly surprised if there isn’t one within the next ten years - it would certainly appeal to a wider audience.
If Classic FM wants their Hall of Fame to contain pieces of artistic merit compared to that of a videogame, then that is their choice. If they deem that videogame music isn’t in the spirit of the Hall of Fame, it’s their list; ergo, it’s their rules. However, if you start restricting the list to pieces from the time that Classic FM have defined themselves as the “classical” period of 1750-1830, then the top twenty of 2013 would be near non-existent:
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 - 1873-1943 - Romantic DQ
Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending - 1872-1958 - Romantic/20th Century DQ
Nobuo Uematsu’s Final Fantasy Series 1959-20XX - 20TH Century DQ
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis - 1872-1958 - Romantic/20th Century DQ
Jeremy Soule’s The Elder Scrolls - 1975-20XX - n/a DQ
Ludwig van Beethoven’s - Piano Concerto No. 5 (‘Emperor’) - 1770-1827 - Classical 1
Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variation - 1887-1934 - Romantic/20th Century DQ
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto - 1756-1791 - Classical 2
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (‘Pastoral’) - 1770-1827 - Classical 3
Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere - 1582-1652 - Baroque DQ
Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto - 1887-1934 - Romantic/20th Century DQ
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (‘Choral’) - 1770-1827 - Classical 4
Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 - 1838-1920 - Romantic/20th Century DQ
Gustav Holst’s The Planets - 1874-1934 - Romantic/20th Century DQ
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture - 1840-1893 - Romantic DQ
Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace - 1944–20XX - 20TH Century/N/A DQ
Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings - 1910 -1981 - 20TH Century DQ
Johann Pachelbel’s Canon - 1653 -1706 - Baroque DQ
Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor - 1841-1904 - Romantic/20th Century DQ
Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings - 1946-20XX - 20th Century / N/A DQ
With diversity like this, to not include videogame music, simply because it’s from a videogame, would be tantamount to snobbery or elitism in the worst possible way. The gaming community can’t really call foul on this though, as the community as a whole has committed essentially the same mistake. How often is the phrase “that doesn’t count, it’s just a…” heard, when describing a casual game, gamer or console?
The results of Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2014 are due in the next week or two. It’s worth noting that since last year’s poll, they have adjusted the format: this time, it’s a head-to-head rather than a straight vote. However, there was still an option to add your own composer - so time will tell.
As an aside, should you ever get the chance to see a live orchestra perform, you should grab it: nothing quite compares. Recently, I have had the pleasure of hearing both Danny Elfman’s music from the films of Tim Burton, and Fantasia, in a live setting. Both were wonderful.
Stewart Loosemore
@Stigweird85
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