Best Joe Hisaishi
Skye Severy
Turns out, I was good to go and had plenty of time to schedule my audition, and after a couple technical issues I had it planned for the end of April. I sang Vittoria Mio Core, a male standard Italian Aria. Despite totally fumbling on my sight reading (I have a hard time with that without context to listen for), I was let in on the spot. Totally ecstatic, I shared the news with my friends and prepped for rehearsal 2 weeks later.
The next night, we met at the concert venue, reviewed some troublesome spots, and mid-way, we saw him walking in. The maestro Joe Hisaishi walked in with his daughter and two assistants, introduced himself, then stepped up to conduct us.
On Thursday night, after some small surprise musical changes in our scores, we did a (almost) full run of the concert. We opened the next day, so we better be able to do a full run by then. It went great, and during our break in the middle, I decided to try and find an opportunity to present my letter to him.
The choir room was downstairs, but we went upstairs. We found a door to the lobby, made friends with the head usher, found a much larger bathroom than the one we had been using, and at the top found a door marked Do Not Enter. We went back down, and a few minutes later the pizza arrived. I had one too many slices of pesto, and shortly thereafter, we met back to focus, and went on stage.
The crowd sitting out there was huge. The theater has a 3000 seat capacity, and there were no empty seats by the time we started. In the audience was one of my friends from school and some Youtubers (The Dex) I follow who were guests of honor at Fanime.
On Sunday, there were two performances, but I could only attend the matinee, as I was the lead panelist for The Ocarina Panel at Fanime that night. I first went to the convention to meet my friends David and Roxy who had just arrived from Los Angeles, then walked to the performing arts center. Our call time was 1:30 for a 2 PM concert, and after even more small musical changes, we took our places.
Everything went as smoothly as it possibly could, and there was even a surprise change in one song. At first, it was just a solo piano piece with Joe, but his daughter Mai joined in as a familial duet.
We filed on stage, lined up, and the impact that this was our final concert hit us. This was the first time pre-concert jitters hit me. Moments later, Joe walked on stage to his usual applause, and the concert began. There were more hiccups than average across all the musicians and technicians this performance, likely due to the jitters we all were feeling, but we had the best 2nd half we had ever done. Just like every night, the packed audience ended with multiple standing ovations, but the total applause lasted around 10 minutes between the finale and each encore.
As essential a component of the magic surrounding Studio Ghibli films as director Hayao Miyazaki, Joe Hisaishi ranks as one of the greatest living composers. It's been eight years since Hisaishi's first and only concert here. In celebration of his long overdue return on May 4 to 6, we've picked out our favourites compositions.
Haunting and solemn while invoking the sense of tenderness one associates with true friendhsip. It's amazing how well this piece prefaces the story beats of Ghibli's 1987 masterpiece, Laputa: Castle in the Sky. The music wastes no time in instantly engaging the viewer, emotionally preparing them for what's ahead.
About as close to perfection as you're likely to get. In contrast to the fantastical, mythical elements of Spirited Away (2001), this tunw that plays through the movie's intro feels grounded and more representative of the film's emotional elements. It's devastatingly sad.
A composition that knowingly winks at the pseudo-Victorian setting of Howl's Moving Castle (2004) while still oozing all that signature Ghibli charm. The song has a regal playfulness that's reflective of Howl's charisma.
Princess Mononoke (1997) has one of Hisaishi's best soundtracks. In this song, the composer incorporates a range of influences and creates something that sounds grander than certain more inconic, stripped back Ghibli themes.
A large part of this is thanks to the incredible scores that each of these films brings with them. Soundtracks form the subconscious emotion of a movie. Most people don't even remember the score, but it plays a huge part in determining the emotion of a scene. They range from beautiful, to haunting, to downright catchy. Most of the work has been done by the incomparable composer, Joe Hisaishi, who has composed eight different Studio Ghibli films. His work, among others, is part of what makes these movies great. Here are the best of the best.
The film also has one of the most ethereal and moving singing sections in any Studio Ghibli film with the track, "Nausicca Requim". Primarily used in a flashback sequence, this song is extremely effective at pulling the heartstrings as Nausicaa's empathy for monsters is revealed in her childhood. It's used several times in the film to stir up those emotions again. This score is not only one of the best Ghibli soundtracks, but is also one of the best scores for an animated movie from the '80s.
The film was handled by a crew of Studio Ghibli's younger animators and writers. It's not as polished as other classics, but it stands out in its own right thanks to a mature film that ambigiously handles the sexuality of its main characters. The music would be composed by Shigeru Nagata, who wasn't a Ghibli regular, and has only one other composing credit to his name. Thankfully, the score is fantastic in addition to the movie being great. It has an almost jazzy aesthetic to match the slice of life story, and there's some great use of synth as well. It's not a traditional score, but it's hard to imagine this movie without it.
The opening track alone, "Deep Sea Pastures", is one of the most beautiful pieces in an animated film, not just a Studio Ghibli film. It creates this great sense of mystery and wonder, and perfectly sets the modern fairy tail vibe that Ponyo does so well. It feels as if it's constantly rising towards a climax, and it finally breaks the surface as the title of the movie is revealed.
The film itself is pretty standard Studio Ghibli, with gorgeous animation and impeccable writing. However, it's the soundtrack that takes this from being a good movie, to being one of the best that Studio Ghibli has to offer. That's the power of an incredible soundtrack.
Spirited Away is considered to be the best Studio Ghibli movie by many critics. It goes without saying that the soundtrack is easily one of the best as well. The score, much like the movie, is darker in tone and has a very eerie cadence to it. The story follows Chihiro, as she and her parents are mysteriously transported to the spirit world. The music that plays when she first starts to explore this exciting, and equally terrifying, world is a perfect representation of the characters' feelings. The world unfolds with each note, and finally near the end of the track she's seen just how different the spirit world can be. That town is even being brought into the Ghibli Park in Japan.
Howl's Moving Castle is all about magic. From the characters, to the story, to the steampunk-inspired castle that the characters call home. All of this comes together with another incredible score from Joe Hisaishi. Howl himself is an interesting character with tons of mystery and intrigue. It would make sense that his main theme would reflect that nature. The main piano theme, "Merry-Go-Round of Life" is one of the most iconic pieces ever written for a Studio Ghibli film. It captures that light, floating magic that made Howl's Moving Castle a success.
The film stars a pretty incredible English-speaking voice cast consisting of Christian Bale, Billy Crystal and Emily Mortimer. The Japanese voice cast is spot-on as well. Joe Hisaishi would go on to win Best Music at the Tokyo Anime Awards.
Princess Mononoke is the biggest Studio Ghibli film in terms of storytelling scope. It's a high fantasy, set in Japan that is ripe with great folklore and magic. The track, "Journey to the West", may be the quintessential Joe Hisaishi piece. It perfectly captures the raw fear and wonderment that Ashitaka has as he leaves his village for the first time and heads out into the unknown. The world becomes instantly bigger for him, and the song swells to meet that anticipation.
Studio Ghibli movies are all about magic and wonderment. Their sense of scale is only matched by the heart of their characters. Joe Hisaishi has understood this from the start, and Princess Mononoke is the perfect realization of that motif. Princess Mononoke will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year.
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Mamoru Fujisawa, perhaps best known by the professional alias of Joe Hisaishi, is a master of multiple genres including European classical, Japanese traditional, ambient electronic and minimalist music, yet brings them all together under a truly distinctive signature sound. Since 1984, his unique style has become synonymous with the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, having composed the soundtrack for all but one of the revered studio's feature film animations.
One of Japan's most celebrated and prolific composers, the talented muso brings his works for these films to US shores this fall for a series of special concerts, leading a full orchestra and choir through some of his best loved compositions for Princess Mononke, Porco Rosso, My Neighbour Totoro and Academy Award winner Spirited Away amongst others. Video compilations from the films accompany the music during what is sure to be an evening filled with nostalgia, whimsy and exquisite music.
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