Sumire Philharmonic Orchestra (菫フィルハーモニー管弦楽団), an orchestra formed by fans of the Violet Evergarden series, held an unofficial Violet Evergarden orchestra concert today at the Grand Hall of Parthenon Tama in Tokyo. The performance took place from 13:30 to 16:00, with the hall opening for admission from 13:00.
Much like the concert in 2021, it was raining heavily today, but luckily, the rain let up just before I was going to leave the house, so I managed to ride Vivi to the train station and hopped onto a train and traveled to Tokyo.
Luckily, it wasn't raining at Tama too. The concert hall is a short walk from the station. (It is actually quite near to Sanrio Puroland.)
This let me know that I was at the right place.
It is hard to imagine that this is not an official concert because even the flyers and pamphlet were so professionally done.
As you can see, the songs are from the Violet Evergarden TV series.
The concert hall itself is only slightly smaller than the one used in 2021.
I was quite lucky and was assigned a seat quite near the stage. This is the view from my seat.
You can see the typewriter that will be used for the concert.
I saw a few ladies wearing the Mayla x Violet Evergarden collab skirts,
and a few of them had their hair done like Violet's hairstyle. The hall was around 80% filled but I didn't really count. Being seated all the way up front, it was quite awkward for me to turn around to look behind to see how many people were in the hall. 😅
Before the performance, the audience was reminded to refrain from using a typewriter to take notes. I like this sense of humour.
The concert started on time, and I have included the full program further down in this post. I like how they didn't just perform the songs as per the soundtrack. I mean, for that, you can always listen to the soundtrack, or watch the Blu-ray of the 2021 concert. Instead, the orchestra added a bit of their own flavour to some of the songs. For example, "Sincerely" and "Michirube" had rock band drums added... And I am very sure they knew what they were doing when they added church bells to the ending of "Mirai no Hito e" (played during the encore). I also like how some of the orchestra members also wore the Violet Evergarden brooch or used deep red ribbons to tie their hair.
This concert also made me appreciate the music of Violet Evergarden so much more. It is not easy to have an entire series encapsulate such a broad range of human emotions, but Violet Evergarden is a series that did so beautifully, with a soundtrack to match. For example, "The Ultimate Price" started with piano, then violin, building up the melancholy, followed by a trumpet as if sounding a salute to a fallen hero... And that "Believe In" is the version of "The Love That Binds Us" with lyrics, and when put together, it becomes "Believe in the love that binds us". Anyway, I cried a few times during the performance and I really hope I didn't disturb the people around me...
The performance was also streamed live on YouTube for those who could not make it to the actual venue today. As of the writing of this blog post, the video is still available on YouTube, and I have included it at the end of this post.
Full program
Page 1
Theme of Violet Evergarden
A Doll's Beginning
Sincerely
Page 2
One Last Message
Unspoken Words
The Voice in My Heart
A Simple Mission
Page 3
Rust
Another Sunny Day
The Birth of a Legend
Page 4
In Remembrance
To The Ends of Our World
Back in Business
An Admirable Doll
みちしるべ (Michishirube)
Interlude (during which the following were played by an ensemble comprising one flute, one oboe, one cello, two violin, and one viola)
A Place to Call Home
Debutante Waltz
エイミー (Amy)
* The ensemble's performance during the interlude is not available on the YouTube stream
Page 5
Violet Snow (Short Size)
Across the Violet Sky
Those Words You Spoke to Me
Wherever You Are, Wherever You May Be
Never Coming Back
Page 6
Adamantine Dreams
Torment
The Ultimate Price
The Love That Binds Us
Believe In (Short Size)
Page 7
Inconsolable
Fractured Heart
Innocence
Letters From Heaven
Page 8
Torn Apart at the Seams
The Storm
What It Means To Love
Violet's Letter
Violet Snow for Orchestra
みちしるべ (Michishirube) (Song letters version)
* Songs in italics were not in the program
Encore
Letter (Short Size)
WILL ~Movie Version~
未来のひとへ ~Movie Version~ (Mirai no Hito e)
Link to YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbTFDOqj9Os
I think it is really so nice that fans are keeping Violet Evergarden series alive. This event reminds me of Star Wars Celebration, which started out as an event organised by fans. Hopefully, this concert will lead to something similar for Violet Evergarden, and what better form than a concert for a series that is so brought to life by its music?
Concert-related posts:
My overall thoughts on Violet Evergarden The Movie
Events:
Translations of short stories:
The Tailor and the Auto-Memories Doll (unofficial translation of 仕立て屋と自動手記人形) Gilbert Bougainvillea and the Fleeting Dream (unofficial translation of "ギルベルト・ブーゲンビリアと儚い夢")
Violet Evergarden short stories: "Logbook entry" and "Diary entry" (unofficial translation)
The Starry Night and the Lonely Two (unofficial translation of 星降りの夜とさみしいふたり)
Diethard Bougainvillea's If (unofficial translation of ディートフリート・ブーゲンビリアIf) Tellsis (Nunkish) translation:
Last line of Violet's final letter to GilbertInsights on the movie:
Audio commentary notes:
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