Black Panther in Concert

Last night I was so happy to be back at Abravanel Hall for this season's first Utah Symphony concert.  The movie Black Panther was shown on the big screen while the orchestra performed the dramatic score by Ludwig Goransson.  I love this movie (it is one of my favorites from the MCU) and it was so much more immersive hearing the music performed live as I watched T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) return to Wakanda after the death of his father to become king only to have Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) challenge him for the throne in order to use vibranium-enhanced weapons to fight oppression around the world.  The score features the West African instrument known as the tama, or "talking drum," so the orchestra was joined by soloist Massamba Diop who actually played the tama on the original recording.  It was so interesting to watch Diop because the tama is an hour-glass shaped drum with two drumheads connected by leather tension cords and it was held between his arm and body which he would use to squeeze these cords to control the pitch as he hit the drumheads with his hands.  I would sometimes pay more attention to him than to the images on the screen!  The sound of the tama represents T'Challa/Black Panther and I loved hearing it in conjunction with a dramatic fanfare by the horns during key moments, such as the coronation, the car chase in Busan, the challenge, and the final battle with Killmonger.  I also loved the theme for Killmonger (one of the best villains in the MCU) which incorporates a mysterious piano melody accompanied by a harp and I was particularly moved by the variation played in the scene where Killmonger finally sees the sunset in Wakanda.  The most emotional moments are when T'Challa visits his father on the Ancestral Plane and the themes played by the strings, especially the cellos, during these scenes are beautiful and a bit mournful.  I really enjoy these films in concert and Black Panther is now my favorite because the score is one of the most exhilarating I've heard the Utah Symphony play in this series.  I highly recommend getting a ticket for tonight's performance (go here).

Note:  The other films in the series are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Frozen, and Casablanca with special performances of Love Actually and How to Train Your Dragon.  I'm looking forward to all of them (go here for more information and tickets).