Ultimate Hisaishi and Kajiura Piano Sheet Collection

So many people have been asking me for the Yuki Kajiura and Joe Hisaishi music sheets again so here they are :

DOWNLOAD THE ULTIMATE JOE HISAISHI PIANO SHEET COLLECTION HERE!

DOWNLOAD THE ULTIMATE YUKI KAJIURA PIANO SHEET COLLECTION HERE!

The Ultimate Joe Hisaishi Piano Sheet Collection

After the Ultimate Yuki Kajiura Piano Sheet Collection, it's time for the Ultimate Joe Hisaishi Piano Sheet Collection (223 sheets to be exact!). I've been gathering these for some years now, and I can say without hesitation that these are the best anime piano sheets out there. First of all, Joe Hisaishi's songs are timeless and just beautiful. Second, most of these sheets are the original piano sheets, and none of the transcribed stuff that isn't as good and generally over-simplified.

DOWNLOAD THE ULTIMATE JOE HISAISHI PIANO SHEET COLLECTION HERE!

That's why my favorite sheets in this collection are the ones from Hisaishi's piano albums (Piano Stories, Encore, Etude...). They're just wonderful to play and a couple of the songs in these albums are either from the Miyazaki movies or from the Kitano movies. So I would advise anyone to start with these sheets before venturing to the other stuff... My favorite songs to play are Innocent (Laputa), The Wind Forest (Totoro), Ashitaka and San (Mononoke), Fantasia (Nausicaa), Sixth Station (Spirited Away), Friends (Porco Rosso), One Summer's Day (Spirited Away)...

In this collection you will find songs from:

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind OST
• Laputa: Castle in the Sky OST
• My Neighbor Totoro OST
• Kiki's Delivery Service OST
• Porco Rosso OST
• Princess Mononoke OST
• Spirited Away OST
• Howl's Moving Castle OST
• Joe Hisaishi meets Kitano Films
• Piano Stories I
• Piano Stories II
• Piano Stories III
• Piano Stories IV
• Encore
• Etude - A Wish to The Moon
• My Lost City
• Parasite Eve OST
• Le Mecano de la General OST
• Pretender

Jazzin' for Ghibli - A Remix of Hisaishi Tunes

For all the Joe Hisaishi and Ghibli fans out there, Jazzin' for Ghibli is a remix album that was released one year ago. It mostly features Hisaishi tracks (except one) with a twist of Jazz, Chillout and Hip Hop. In some tracks, you'll find it hard to recognize the original song, but they all make for great music...

Tracklist:

01 Sal / ano natsu he (Spirited Away)
02 Sal feat. Agape / kun wo nosete (Laputa: Castle in the Sky)
03 DJ Davi / ashitaka to san (Princess Mononoke)
04 DJ Ryu (Jag Soul) / kaze no tani no Nausicaa ~opening (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)
05 Novo Tempo / kaze no toorimichi (My Neighbor Totoro)
06 KGO / umi no mie ru machi (Kiki's Delivery Service)
07 Sal / teru no uta (Tales from Earthsea)
08 Nack / Nausicaa Requiem (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)
09 Sal / maruko to jiina (Porco Rosso)
10 Morphil / jinsei no Merry-Go-Round (Kiki's Delivery Service)

7.5/10 Joe Hisaishi's melodies are already so brilliant, that half of the work is already done, hehe. In any case, these remixes are very good. I love the hip hop track No. 2 with rapper Agape. It sounds awesome... A lot of the other tracks sound like ambient or chillout music that could come straight out of Cafe Del Mar or Hotel Costes album! Another good point, is that most of the artists didn't just lay some beats on the already existing songs, but really became inventive! So, the result is of course quite impressive...

Here's a little sneak-peek:

Joe Hisaishi Live - Studio Ghibli Concert 2008 Video

2 weeks ago I wrote a post about the Joe Hisaishi Live Concert commemorating 25 years of collaboration between the 2 geniuses that are Hayao Miyazaki and Joe Hisaishi (here). Today I give you the video of this amazing concert. It is without a doubt one of the most exciting and beautiful concerts I have ever seen in my entire life! It is so breathtakingly awesome that I won't be reviewing it song by song as I initially wanted to. I think that just watching the videos is enough to make you love it!

I managed to find most of the concert on youtube except some songs from the Laputa and Porco Rosso segments and some of the movie presentations...

Track List

01 - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
02 - Mononoke Hime
03 - Kiki’s Delivery Service
04 - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
05 - Laputa: Castle in the Sky
06 - Porco Rosso
07 - Howl’s Moving Castle
08 - Spirited Away
09 - Tonari no Totoro
10 - Encore - Princess Mononoke

WATCH ALL THE SONGS HERE (well nearly all of them):

01 - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind


02 - Mononoke Hime


Click here for the rest of the videos:

03 - Kiki’s Delivery Service


04 - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea




05 - Laputa: Castle in the Sky


06 - Porco Rosso


07 - Howl’s Moving Castle




08 - Spirited Away




09 - Tonari no Totoro




10 - Encore - Princess Mononoke

Joe Hisaishi Live - Studio Ghibli Concert 2008 Album

On August 4 and August 5 2008, Tokyo's Nippon Budokan complex hosted a concert program of music pieces created by Studio Ghibli's Joe Hisaishi for the 9 films directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Hisaishi was accompanied by a 200-piece orchestra and 400 chorus singers. The event, titled "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Movie Opening Commemoration" also commemorated 25 years of cooperation between Miyazaki and Hisaishi. The two began working together in 1983, when Hisaishi wrote the music for the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind movie image album. Hisaishi went on compose the scores of every one of the full-length films that Miyazaki directed since then, and pieces from all of them were featured during the concert. (source)

A live CD of the event hasn't been released yet, but I have the unofficial Live Album of the concert, and I can tell, it's something you don't want to miss! Hisaishi is literally a god among anime composers and in general film composers... And it's the first time he has done a concert of this magnitude, with all his greatest Ghibli songs... If you enjoy Miyazaki's masterpieces, then you will probably enjoy this Live Album as well!!

Track List

01 - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
02 - Mononoke Hime
03 - Kiki’s Delivery Service
04 - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
05 - Laputa: Castle in the Sky
06 - Porco Rosso
07 - Howl’s Moving Castle
08 - Spirited Away
09 - Tonari no Totoro
10 - Encore - Princess Mononoke

10/10 I'll only do a short review of the concert, since I'll be releasing the video of the whole concert in a few days (or weeks...). Be sure to register here at the forums to download it before everyone else!! Anyway, back to the mega-uber-awesome Joe Hisaishi concert... I was moved to tears while watching it! All the most beautiful songs from every Miyazaki movie in one concert!! It was just too much for me! I couldn't help myself but cry... Especially because during each segment, they showed excerpts of the movies, which I think was really touching. All the songs sound even better and amazing than on the original OSTs! There are a lot of new arrangements, but most of all, it's just incredible to listen to 200 musicians and 400 singers (and Guest singers as well) at the same time. The effect is just magical!

Check out the first segment of the concert, the Nausicaa songs. You'll get an idea:

Here's a detailed Set List with all the songs from each segment:

01 - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

• 1. Opening [Legend of the Wind]
• 2. Requiem ~ A Battle Between Mehve and Corvette
• 3. Tooi hibi (Days Long Gone)
• 4. Tori no Hito (Bird Person)

02 - Mononoke Hime

• 5. Ashitaka Sekki (Tale of Ashitaka)
• 6. Tatari gami (The Curse God)
• 7. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) , Vocal: Masako Hayashi

03 - Kiki’s Delivery Service

• 8. Umi no Mieru Machi (A Town with an Ocean View)
• 9. Shoushin no Kiki (Heartbroken Kiki)
• 10. Kaasan no Houki (Mom’s Broom)

04 - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

• 11. Deep Sea Ranch ~ Mother of the Sea, Vocal: Masako Hayashi
• 12. The Ponyo of the Fish of the Wave ~ Fujimoto’s Theme, Vocals: Fujioka Fujimaki
• 13. Rondo of the Sunflower House, Vocals: Mai
• 14. Mother’s Love ~ Little Sister ~ Mother and Sea’s Song of Praise
• 15. Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea), Vocals: Fujioka Fujimaki and Nozomi Ohashi

05 - Laputa: Castle in the Sky

• 16. Hato to Shounen (Pigeons and a Boy) with Marching band
• 17. Kimi wo Nosete (Carrying you) with Choir
• 18. Taiju (The Huge Tree)

06 - Porco Rosso

• 19. The Bygone Days

07 - Howl’s Moving Castle

• 20. Symphonic Variation ~ Merry-Go-Round ~ Cave of Mind

08 - Spirited Away

• 21. Inochi no Namae (The Name of Life), Vocals: Ayaka Hirahara
• 22. Futatabi (Reprise), Vocals: Ayaka Hirahara

09 - Tonari no Totoro

• 23. Kaze no toori michi (The Path of the Wind)
• 24. Sanpo (Stroll), Vocals: Chorus + All guest singers
• 25. Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro), Vocals: Chorus

10 - Encore - Princess Mononoke

• 26. Ashitaka and San

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea OST by Joe Hisaishi

I finally got hold of the latest Joe Hisaishi soundtrack, which is the Ponyo on the Cliff OST. I already reviewed the amazing theme song back in November 2008 (read my review here). I already had the Image Album which is quite good but only has 10 tracks...

10/10 The Ponyo OST is one of the best Ghibli Movies soundtracks Hisaishi has done lately. In my opinion it's even better than the Howl's Moving Castle OST or the Spirited Away OST, and those are already very good! I was expecting it to sound as joyful and more childish in a way like the Kiki or Totoro soundtracks, but overall it has a more mature sound (despite some fun and childish tracks). I'm a huge Hisaishi fan, he's the one after all that got me into anime music, so I was really thrilled to discover this brilliant work of his.

I really like the fact that the melody of the theme songs can be heard throughout a lot of tracks on the OST. It's a really amazing melody, and I love the arrangements he did for it (like in tracks 3, 5, 6, ♥12, 14, 22, 25, and ♥35). And I think it's also the first time I'm hearing such beautiful choirs in his music! My favorite tracks of the OST are No. 2 (featuring the amazing opera singer Hayashi Masako), No. 14 (brilliant orchestration), No. 20 (amazing choirs), No. 21 (beautiful violin solo), No. 29 (lovely song with strings), No. 30 (again the amazing choirs), No. 34 (choirs+beautiful violin solo=win!), No. 35 (beautiful piano version of the Ponyo theme song, but much too short...), No. 36 (the amazing Ponyo song that will stay in your head for days...)...

There, I hope I made you want to listen to the soundtrack. Here's a part of the amazing concert he did last August, and it features 3 Ponyo songs: Track No. 2 of the OST with opera goddess Hayashi Masako, Track No. 10 from the Image Album with MAI and of course the awesome theme song with Nozome Hayashi. Enjoy:

OST Tracklist:

1. Deep Sea Ranch [Shinkai Bokujyou]
2. Mother of the Sea [Umi No Okasan]
3. Encounter [Deai]
4. Ura Town [Ura No MacHi]
5. Kumiko [Kumiko-Chan]
6. Ponyo and Sosuke [Ponyo to Sosuke]
7. Empty Bucket [Karappo No Baketsu]
8. Flash Signal [Hakkou Shingou]
9. I Become Human! [Ningen Ni Naru!]
10. Fujimoto - Fujioka Fujimaki, Nozomi Ohashi
11. Little Sisters [Imouto-Tachi]
12. Flight of Ponyo [Ponyo No Hikou]
13. Sunflower House in the Storm [Arashi No Himawari No Le]
14. Ponyo of the Fish of the Wave [Nami No Sakana No Ponyo]
15. Ponyo and Sosuke 2 [Ponyo to Sosuke 2]
16. Lisa's House [Lisa No Ie]
17. New Family [Atarashii Kazoku]
18. Ponyo's Lullaby [Ponyo No Komori-Uta]
19. Lisa's Determination [Risa No Ketsui]
20. Granmanmale
21. Night of the Meteor [Nagareboshi No Yoru]
22. Hot-Bulb Engine Ship [Pompom-Sen]
23. To the Sea of Dipnorhynchus [Dipnorhynchus No Umi E]
24. Fleet March [Sendan March]
25. Baby and Ponyo [Aka-Chan to Ponyo]
26. Fleet March 2 [Sendan March 2]
27. Voyage of Sosuke [Sosuke No Koukai]
28. Tears of Sosuke [Sosuke No Namida]
29. Underwater Town [Suicyuu No MacHi]
30. Mother's Love [Haha No Ai]
31. Tunnel
32. Toki [Toki-San]
33. Little Sisters [Imouto-Tachi]
34. Song of Praise for Mother and the Sea [Haha to Umi No Sanka]
35. Finale
36. Ponyo by the Cliff by the Sea [Film Version]

Exclusive New Anime Music Downloads at the Ongaku Forums!

As I've been saying these past few days, now that we have great new forums, all the anime music downloads will be added to the "anime music downloads" section of the Ongaku forums. This way, it will be easier for all the readers of this blog to get their anime music fix without having to search for hours... There is also an "anime music requests" section in the forums for all of those who are looking for anything specific.

Also, from now on, I'll be adding all the download links on the forums, before I even write about the songs or OSTs in the blog. And there will also be a lot of exclusive downloads on the forums, with songs or albums that I don't necessarily write about in the blog. You are all of course welcome to contribute to the download section of the forums by adding your download links of your own...

Here's what we already have in the download section of the forums:

• [ALBUM] Kaiba OST
• [ALBUM] Toradora! Original Soundtrack
• [ALBUM] Ponyo On A Cliff OST (♥♥♥♥♥ Amazing)
  
• [ALBUM] Ponyo On A Cliff Image Album
• [SINGLE] Druaga no Tou ~the Sword of URUK~ ED Single
• [SINGLE] Druaga no Tou ~the Sword of URUK~ OP Single
• [ALBUM] Code Geass Complete Best
• [SINGLE] White Album ED Single - Maiochiru Yuki no You ni
• [SINGLE] Toradora! ED2 Single - Orange [Various]
• [SINGLE] Asu no Yoichi OP Single - Egao no Riyuu (meg rock)
• [SINGLE] Kodomo no Jikan 2 Gakki OP Single - Guilty Future
• [ALBUM] Kara no Kyoukai OST 5
• [TV-size] Gundam 00 S2 ED2 - Trust You by Yuna Ito
• [SINGLE] Toradora! OP2 Single - silky heart by Yui Horie
• [SINGLE] Gintama OP6 - Anata MAGIC by monobright
• [SINGLE] BLEACH OP9 - Velonica by Aqua Timez

Now that you have no excuse not to join the forums, REGISTER HERE ASAP!!!

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea - Theme Song

Today I discovered the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie/masterpiece Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake no ue no Ponyo). It's the only Miyazaki movie I have never seen so I can't wait for it... Once again, the soundtrack is composed by Joe Hisaishi, who happens to hold a very special place in my heart. Indeed, he was the first anime composer I discovered and he is also one of my favorite composers ever (anime or otherwise). His soundtracks for Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano are always quite the treat. And this one for Ponyo is no different...
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is the story of a baby fish/mermaid in the sea named Ponyo who becomes a human girl. You can download the theme song here. UPDATE: And for the live concert version with orchestra and choir it's here.

10/10 The Ponyo on the Cliff Theme Song is the sweetest thing ever. It is sung by the duo Fujimaki Fujioka together with the 8 year old Nozomi Ohashi. She's just too cute for words... Kawaiiii!:3 The song reminds me of course of the beautiful theme song for Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro). It has that same uplifting feel to it. The combination between Joe Hisaishi's wonderful music and Nozomi's cute singing is really magical.
You have to check out this really sweet live version:

Lyrics and another live version with a huge choir and orchestra this time are after the cut.



Lyrics (Romaji):
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo sakana no ko
Aoi umi kara yatte kita
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo fukurannda
Manmaru onaka no onna no ko
Peta-peta pyon-pyon
Asitte iina kakechao
Migi-migi-bun-bun
Otetewa iina tunaijao

Anoko to haneru to kokoro mo odoruyo
Paku-paku chu-gyu, paku-paku chu-gyu
Anoko ga daisuki

Makkakka no Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo sakana no ko
Aoi umi kara yatte kita
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo fukurannda
Manmaru onaka no onna no ko

Lyrics(English):
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo, it’s a fish kid
It came from the blue ocean
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo,
She is a round bellied girl
Peta-peta pyon-pyon
How nice to have feet! I’ll try to run!
Migi-migi-bun-bun
How nice to have hands! I’ll try to hold hands with!

When I jump with her, my heart dances along
Paku-paku chu-gyu, paku-paku chu-gyu
I love her so much!

Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo, it’s a fish kid in red
It came from the blue ocean
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo,
She is a round bellied girl

Lyrics (Hiragana):
ポニョ、ポニョ、ポニョ、さかなのこ
あおい　うみから　やってきた
ポニョ、ポニョ、ポニョ、ふくらんだ
まんまる　おなかの　おんなのこ

ペタペタ、ピョンピョン、
あしって　いいな　かけちゃお
みぎみぎ、ぶんぶん、
おてては　いいな、つないじゃお

あのこと　はねると　こころも　おどるよ
ぱくぱく、ちゅぎゅ、ぱくぱく、ちゅぎゅ、
あのこが　だいすき

まっかっかの　ポニョ、ポニョ、ポニョ、さかなのこ
あおい　うみから　やってきた
ポニョ、ポニョ、ポニョ、ふくらんだ
まんまる　おなかの　おんなのこ