Monsters, Mark, Murray, MSO and Ben.

With added Alliteration failure it seems … Anyway, this post if all about my experience at the absolutely superb Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular! I’ve already talk about it on my podcast: http://whoisthemancast.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/who-is-the-man-podcast-episode-40-so-very-spectacularly-symphonic and I added a post about it with pictures to the shows site: http://whoisthemancast.wordpress.com/2012/02/07 but, I’m just seriously geek out about it here!

Now, I’ve posted pictures on the net, played clips on the podcast, shared a video about it, but I haven’t talk enough about the music itself! And the hunour of having Murray Gold, Ben Foster, and Mark Sheppard come, not only to Australia, but to Melbourne – the closest of the major Australian city to us – to play with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and take up their respective roles of hosting/conducting/composing and sharing the roles of being brilliant/funny/completely superb!

So the list of the pieces played is varied and lovely, but all of them placed perfectly throughout the concert so we didn’t get too excited, depressed, or geekily happy! Between the pieces being played not only did we have Mark Sheppard hosting but we had a clip of Matt Smith saying hello to Melbourne and telling us to enjoy the show, which we did! Now to the list of pieces played, and I realize me just listing them is nothing like hearing them played live, but bare with me.

The Madman With A Box was the first thing we heard – well, the first piece. When we first got in there we heard the interior T.A.R.D.I.S sound accompanying the Doctor Who Logo with the light pulsing in time with the sound effects – and they it played over clips of the Time Vortex on loop not to make that sound bad, because it added to the clips they played with the next piece: An Untimely Arrival. They played this one after Mark Sheppard introduced himself and then the piece (which he continued to do throughout) and while we heard it they played clips of the T.A.R.D.I.S flying through space, then hurtling towards Earth, flying over London, crashing into Amelia’s (or Aunt Sharron’s) garden then going into the kitchen and acting out that fun scene.

Then there was one of my favourite all time pieces of music, and my Mum’s favourite Doctor Who pieces, I Am The Doctor which, in it’s own right, is amazing. But hearing it played live in front of you by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, in a huge theatre filled with like-minded, Who loving excited fans watching cool clips on BIG screens is one of the best things I’ve experienced! My finger were moving as if I was playing it on the piano by the way…

Following the brilliant I Am The Doctor, we had Amy’s theme….um… Amy. It was a different version than what is available on the season 5 soundtrack, it has more choir in it and it’s played even more to break the heart, which was amazing! I would love a copy of it! They’ve used it on the show much more than the other versions now.

After that we had two Suites (although only one had the word Suite in the title) A Stitch In Time and the Almost People Suite. A Stitch In Time included music from The Impossible Astronaut, The Curse Of The Black Spot, The Doctor’s Wife, and The Wedding Of River Song.

Then there was an interval.

Then when we went back in, The Daleks had taken over and made Ben Foster – their slave composer conduct – conduct Battle In The Skies from Victory Of The Daleks.

After that we had another of my all time favourites The Majestic Tale Of A Madman With A Box, which was truly incredible to hear live, one of the best parts of the day!

After that we had another piece from a collection of episodes from season 5, Liz ,Lizards, Vampires And Vincent, which they put together at the Proms and it works really well. It as pieces from The Beast Below, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, Vampires In Venice, and then Vincent And The Doctor. It was a bit like smaller version of the journey that the entire Symphonic Spectacular was.

Following said journey we had a Closing Time Suite. I didn’t notice how much briliant music there was in Closing Time. I’ll have to watch it again to do research. It has some exciting stuff for the encounters with the Cybermen – two of which stood in door either side of the theatre, backlit, with a cloud of smoke coming behind them – a very comic feel for scenes like when Graig was in the underwear section of the store, and then some very touching music when The Doctor told Graig and Stormy about his upcoming death, and when River was put in the Spacesuit.

Then, speaking of Spacesuits, they played The Wedding Of River Song, a very beautiful piece from the episode of the same name. While this was happening someone in an Apollo Spacesuit came on stage and did thing like threaten members of the Orchestra by holding it’s hand up just like when it shot The Doctor.

Then, we experienced what the 2010 Doctor Who Prom goers experienced when the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra played This Is Gallifery, (Our Childhood, Our Home. As they didn’t call it in the programme, but that’s what it’s called on the soundtrack) and Vale Decem, we had all The Doctor’s regenerations to date, on the big screen in front of us! With big cheers for every one of them! Oh, and Tennant fangirls, your screams hurt my ears… only playing with you.

The last piece on the program is the Pandorica Suite, which they also put together for the Proms, it wounded brilliant!

I say the last one of the Programme. Because after the show was meant to end, Murray Gold himself came up on stage to thank us for coming (although we should have thanked him), introduced their encore, The Song Of Freedom. For which he accompanied the Orchestra buy playing piano. As soon as he sat down at the keyboard I start a round of applause (I couldn’t help it!) which sadly wasn’t continued towards the end of the piece – which happened at Proms – so we didn’t clap along, I tried to get people to though, I did!

And last, but not least, we had the theme tune, with bit of every opening sequence played on the screens.

So to sum up, hearing the music I listen to almost everyday, played live by a wonderful Orchestra, conducted by the man who does it for the soundtrack, and played by the man who, now, I’ve been told not to have heroes, but the man whose music for the show that inspires me in so many ways can, and did on Saturday, have me in tears of overwhelming excitement, extreme heartbreak or awe inspiring joy is most definitely a hero! Also, all the hard work Ben puts into it also needs mentioning, both of them are my heroes! Thank you both, if you ever read this!

Oh, and if you’d like the complete list of what was played, here you go:

The Madman With A Box

An Untimely Arrival

I Am The Doctor

Amy

A Stitch In Time

Almost People Suite

Abigail’s Song

The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe Suite

*Insert interval here*

…

(and we’re back)

Battle In The Skies

The Majestic Tale Of A Madman In A Box

Liz, Lizards, Vampires And Vincent

Closing Time Suite

The Wedding Of River Song

This Is Gallifrey/Vale Decem

Pandorica Suite

The Song Of freedom

The Doctor Who Theme

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