Out of commonplace to an unpredictable world. “Music Journey”, according to Mamoru Hosoda.
Mamoru Hosoda: who became one of the representative animated film directors of Japan by drawing international attention out of the blue with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars. We know each of his works is steeped in his passion and preference for music. Then I raise my voice here to show that Studio Chizu Music Journey Vol. 1 – Cinematic Orchestra 2022, a recording of the live performance of well-known pieces from Hosoda’s films is one of the best to be listened to by music fans too.
VARIOUS ARTISTS Studio Chizu Music Journey Vol. 1 – Cinematic Orchestra 2022 Sony（2023）
Studio Chizu – Cinematic Orchestra was the first concert produced by Hosoda’s headquarters Studio Chizu at the Tokyo International Forum last August. 30 pieces from 6 films, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, Mirai and Belle, were performed by Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony with Hirofumi Kurita. Also, musician Masakatsu Takagi made his appearance to play the piano, and theme-song artists such singers as Hanako Oku and Ann Sally appeared for this special occasion. The orchestra concert, known as “okekon” now, is just one of the most popular concert styles with music playing along with impressive scenes on a huge screen. However, hot feelings from the performance with five thousand seats sold out immediately, are sufficiently delivered by the CD.
Under bright summer sky. Quiet common days in verdant sites. Tones of peaceful homes. To represent these situations with sounds, Hosoda worked with musicians of ideas such as Takagi, Akihiko Matsumoto, and Taisei Iwasaki. The latest Belle, where so many sounds are planted, employed multiple composers in one film with Iwasaki as the main composer, Ludvige Forssell, and Yuta Bandoh. The work makes the psychological and emotional gestures of the characters quite visible and develops a new perspective of Hosoda.
As a young man, Hosoda encountered the animated film Beauty and the Beast, and especially found the composer, Aran Menken who changed impressions persisted in previous Disney as he remarked, made his mind to survive in the animated film production. I am looking forward to the next “music journey” planned by a film director who has followed the footsteps of the composer inviting young to a new world.
