From a 4K Limited Collector’s Edition to upcoming theatrical re-release, Interstellar’s tenth anniversary has brought about a flurry of activity. One of the more unique permutations of renewed interest and celebration is organist Roger Sayer’s Interstellar 10 Concert Tour, presented in Canada by the Royal Canadian College of Organists.

 

As the organist featured on Interstellar’s soundtrack, there’s no question that Sayer has the goods to bring Hans Zimmer’s score to life. In Toronto, he is paired with an instrument equally up to the task: Metropolitan United’s pipe organ is the largest instrument in Canada, featuring 8,333 pipes and 500 miles of wire.

 

While the film’s deluxe edition soundtrack runs a tad over 90 minutes, Sayer’s Interstellar Suite rightly condenses to a 30-minute highlights package. To begin the concert, Interstellar 10’s program features Richard Strauss’s “Sunrise” from Also sprach Zarathustra, followed by three movements of Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Though these choices may be a little on the science fiction nose, one expects them to be appreciated by film aficionados and classical music fans alike.

 

Coming through Met’s organ, the ferocity of “Mars” and joy of “Jupiter” are delightful. But it’s in the sweetness of
“Venus” that Sayer’s musicality shines, his soul laid to bare for an audience giving rapt attention. Sayer’s arresting performance of Holst’s second movement serves as prelude to some of the Interstellar Suite’s most memorable moments.

 

Interstellar 10 is augmented by a featurette ‘Making of Interstellar Soundtrack’ screening, followed by both a facilitated and audience Q&A prior to intermission. The audience question-and-answer period showed Sayer to be a rather candid, knowledgeable and warm individual, a not unimportant factor for the performance of a score which sought to shirk off the trappings of genre and aim squarely at the heart.

 

As explained by the organist, his Interstellar arrangement is an attempt to bring six organ parts into one, given his inability to play six organs at once. The result is admirable, if at times an imperfect lock.

 

Tracks such as “Cornfield Chase” and the indomitable “Stay” remain not just distinct but stirring, a reflection of the deft touch already showcased in “Venus.” One feels the organ ably capturing the spirit of those tracks, no small feat considering the soundtrack’s ensemble features 34 strings, 24 woodwinds and four pianos.

 

There are limitations, however. Despite all the power of the organ and precision of the organist, “Mountains” and especially “No Time for Caution” don’t quite hit the mark, lacking a prerequisite oomph and rousing intensity. Worry not, because Sayer’s “Detach” and “Where We’re Going” bring the concert home with aplomb.

 

The musical experience is only enhanced by having such a gorgeous space in the Metropolitan United Church as its backdrop. As the Interstellar score soars, you can’t help but move upward with the music, looking upon the beautiful stained-glass of the chancel.

 

To know the Interstellar score is to know how central the organ is within it. Through it, audience members are made to feel the weight and force of human aspiration, that, as Cooper says in the film’s teaser, “… our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, that our destiny lies above us.” Hans Zimmer uses the organ to evoke hope and horror, dread and destiny. From start to finish, it drives home each and every one of Interstellar’s emotional beats. As a result, the score is one still resonant and lauded.

 

Here, with Roger Sayer and the Interstellar 10 Concert Tour, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience that heart of Hans Zimmer’s score. For the cross-section of Christopher Nolan diehards, classical music patrons, and organ devotees, do not let this concert go gentle into that good night.