I have discovered a few new composers that I really like. At the moment I only have one album by each of them. The three albums are The Cat Returns/Neko no Ongaeshi (Yuji Nomi), Last Exile (Dolce Triade), and Haibane Renmei (Kou Otani). I find them all pretty different. The Cat Returns is orchestral, Last Exile is a mixture of Celtic and brass songs (not sure how to explain it) and Haibane Renmei is mainly piano and strings.
The Cat Returns is a movie created by Studio Ghibli (originally a short) which is based on a fictional story written by the main character (Shizuku) of another movie Whispers of the Heart. That sounds confusing doesn't it. Let me explain. Whispers of the Heart (Studio Ghibli) came out in 1995 and was written by Hayao Miyazaki. It is about a girl named Shizuku who is a writer and day dreamer. During the movie she writes a story of which is shown for a few minutes during the film. The story is the basis of The Cat Returns.
Got it now? Good, now to the music. The soundtrack is wonderful! Apart from Haru's reccurring theme most of the albums tracks are different. The one song that stands out is kaze ni naru written and sung by Ayano Tsuji. Ayano sings the song while playing a ukulele and I can't help but whistle whenever I here the song. Incidentally, my young children love the soundtrack and this morning I played a midi song of kaze ni naru and Aidan (3) picked it out immediately! He started looking for the DVD that we rented at least two months ago :) During supper me and the boys listened to the entire soundtrack and on each song Caleb (6) told me, based on the music, what was happening in the movie. Kids are amazing. Well OK, my kids are amazing, hehe :)
Haibane Renmei is special to me right now because my wife is learning to play the soundtrack on her flute (I love her so), and I am in the middle of watching the series. Free Bird and Refrain of Memory are beautiful songs and Otani did a great job of connecting the songs to the show. They just stick in your head! He has been active since the 80's composing scores from the Godzilla series, Gundam Wing and of note (especially for my brother-in-law) the PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus. I will have to check out the last one, as of yet I have not played the game and therefore can't comment on the music.
On a side note, Tree (my wife) is doing a fantastic job playing the Haibane Renmei songs and I can't wait until her Irish flute arrives so she can start playing some Last Exile :) Of course that means I have to find the sheet music for Last Exile. So far I have only found one song. If you know of any transcriptions please let me know.
The final composer is not a composer but a group, Dolce Triade. There is little information out there regarding the group so I can only assume that they formed solely for the creation of this soundtrack. Dolce Triade is made up of composers Hitomi Kuroishi, Maki Fujiwara, and Yuki Yamamoto. Masatsugu Shinozaki's Strings group performs most of the music on the soundtrack with various others helping out. As I mentioned earlier it is very Celtic including the opening techno theme Cloud Age Symphony sung by Okino Shuntaro. Nine of the songs on the two CDs are sung by either Hitomi or Shuntaro. Although Hitomi isn't the best at singing in English her voice more than makes up for it.
Wow that was a long post...sorry ;)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
How are ya alchemist! It is too bad you stopped watching Last Exile. You may want to give it another chance because it starts to get amazing in the final 10 episoes or so. Overall it is my favourite anime I ever watched.
I'm on the last episode of Haibane right now, it's beautiful.
You're English is fine Frenchy :)
Hi treebob
Haibane still is one of my most favorite animes and soundtracks! The extended version of the Free Bird song, Ethereal Remains, or Alies Grises are just wonderful. If you havn't finished watching then wait for the firework scene at the end of episode 12, this lovely small track played there is missing on the CDs.
Dolce Triade really did a great job on the Last Exile soundtrack. It just fits perfectly.
I just play the "Lost Friend" track which is my favorate.
I really would like to hear how your wife plays Last Exile songs on the flute :) What songs is she practicing?
I looked for MIDI versions but didn't find anything (I wonder because there is so many stuff for Gibli movies).
I have finished the series, and I loved it. The song you are talking about sounds like Alies Grises maybe. I will have to check when I get home. The ending song isn't on the CD either but that is no big lose.
At the moment my wife is only playing Lost Friend (Last Exile)and she isn't able to play much becasue the sheet music isn't made for flute and goes kinda nuts. She can do the first minute and some parts after that. When she gets her Irish flute (on order) I am going to try and find some of the sheet music for Morning in Norkia, Workin on the Cloud, To the Race, Braving Willing etc...
Theresa is very good at playing Free Bird and Refrain of Memory. They are both beautiful.
I have seen no midi's either but I have the mp3's. Currently Lost Friend is the only sheet music I have found.
I want to find some good Hisaishi for her to play but I can't decide. Any suggestions?
@alchemist
Hi al!
Last Exile is really worthwhile watching to the end.
The story is developing and I remember I couldn't wait to see the next episode. Very interesting idea of a hour-glass world.
For Full Metal Alchemist I also only know the music so far. Someday's Dreamers is definitively also a very good movie. I like the piano track by Takeshi Haketa very much.
Anyone heared the Mai-HiME soundtrack? I just say Yuki Kajiura at its best.
Do you know any sites that host mp3's and other types of large files? I know many that host pictures but that's it.
Do you mean Orchestra Stories? The one that has half commentary? I love that one.
I'm glad you liked it!
What is the web address for the file hosting site?
Hi again Treebob: I absolutely love the soundtrack for Haibane Renmei! Besides, it is such a different story, and so strange. Here in my region, the final DVD has not been released yet, just about to, and I am dying to know what's gonna happen. It's all a wee bit melancholy, isn't it? Music and images, I don't know. But I love it.
Another anime soundtrack that is really great is "Paranoia Agent". The composer is Susumu Hirasawa - who's also responsible for the haunting music of "Millenium Actress" (another Satoshi Kon's film). You'd probably enjoy these.
Cheers,
a.
It is very beautiful I agree, but I won't spoil the ending for you. We can chat about it when you are done.
I will try and check out the music for the ones you listed.
Post a Comment