Skyrim Concert Announced, Composer Not Involved

By Sarah Fields 30 September 2016

• bethesda
• skyrim
• the elder scrolls

Bethesda reveals an upcoming official The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim concert to celebrate the game’s remastering, but its composer warns fans that he’s not involved.

Although the world of The Elder Scrolls is always a marvel to look at and explore, a big part of what makes the series special is the musical score that accompanies each title. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is no different, with its booming Dragonborn vocals and reworked classic Elder Scrolls Main Theme. Many fans might be excited to learn that a concert will soon be held to celebrate Skyrim‘s remastered release, but there’s a bit of a hitch.

The celebratory concert was announced today on the official Elder Scrolls Twitter page, revealing that it will be held in the London Palladium on November 16th, 2016, with tickets going on sale in October. However, excitement was short-lived before controversy arose, as the composer of the music of The Elder Scrolls, Jeremy Soule, got wind of the event, and took to Facebook with his reaction.

To Celebrate the release of Special Edition, come to the London Palladium to experience #Skyrim's music live! #SkyrimConcert pic.twitter.com/WCZmVNObHM— The Elder Scrolls (@ElderScrolls) September 30, 2016

According to Soule, he wasn’t contacted or informed regarding the concert at all, and hasn’t supplied any of his music for the purpose of the concert. This is apparently a very big problem, and may yield an inferior experience for concert goers, according to Soule:

“For the record, this concert has nothing to do with me, nor are they using any of my original scores… They had to transcribe whatever notation they are performing by ear from the recordings. This is a flawed process as transcriptions are always fraught with errors.”

 

Fans of the game’s score should be aware that the concert is officially green-lit by Bethesda, which partnered with Senbla to hold the concert. However, the wording of the concert’s official description may only provide potential concert-goers with additional anxiety, as it states that the music will only be “based on the award-winning music of Jeremy Soule.” While Bethesda probably wouldn’t allow a concert to be held without some evidence that it would be done well, gamers who are looking for the authentic Skyrim music experience might not find what they seek at this concert.

The choice to leave the creator of the score out of the mix in this concert is arguably disrespectful to Jeremy Soule, and now that there’s controversy surrounding it, chances are an official statement will be released by Bethesda in the near future. It would be great if Soule could be brought in to the process and involved somehow now, but this concert has most likely been in the works for months and it may be too late for there to be major changes made.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim concert will be held in London on November 16. Tickets go on-sale on October 4th.

Source: Twitter, Facebook