A Symphony in 8 Bits

Among the great gifts I received from my boyfriend this Christmas was an interesting and unique album titled simply "Game Music." It's from a Québécoise classical violinist, Angèle Dubeau, and the 16-piece all-female string ensemble she leads, La Pietà. It features nine arrangements of music from video games.

Needless to say, this album sits at a perfect intersection of several of my interests. I love soundtrack and orchestral music; I play (and design) video games; I often enjoy creative reinterpretations of existing works; and I'm pleased when women are able to surprise people by bucking stereotypes (in this case, both classical music and video games are conventionally thought to be male-dominated fields).

I haven't played all of the games featured on this album, but it's hardly necessary to enjoy the music. For example, I have little love for shooters, but the opening track of music from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, is a fantastic attention grabber. Anyone who thinks of classical music as restrained and dry would be surprised by the aggressive and exciting sections in this well-arranged suite.

And the album stays good throughout. Though I said you don't have to have played the games featured here to enjoy it, I am certainly more drawn to the tracks from games I know well, and I imagine that would be the case for any listener. It's just fascinating to hear a reinterpretation of music you already know at a bone-deep level, invigorating somehow to essentially "hear it again for the first time."

My own personal pick for best track on the album would be a 5-minute suite from Tetris. Not only does it feature a wonderful arrangement that highlights the different qualities of different string instruments, but it actually includes snippets of all the music from Tetris. I remember playing on my Gameboy, and having the option to select from "Music A," "Music B," and "Music C." All three are interpolated into this classical arrangement.

Another clever track features the music of Angry Birds. Its theme has already been reimagined several times as Rovio releases new episodes of the Seasons version of the game, but you've still never heard the music like this. It somehow transforms the lightweight little melody into something not just playful, but oddly grandiose. And awesome. As my boyfriend aptly put it: "if this is what it actually sounded like in the game, I wouldn't ever want to turn the music off."

You can thank an interview on NPR for introducing him to this little gem. And now that he's given it to me, I'm passing the knowledge of it on to you. Whether you're a fan of Assassin's Creed Revelation, Chrono Trigger, Halo 3, or Final Fantasy... or if you just like well-executed classical music... this album has something for you. I give it a B+ overall, but if you're anything like me, there are some absolute A+ tracks to cherry pick from it.