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The Symphony of Bliss
交响美学 点石成金
Japanese musician Joe Hisaishi teamed up with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for his maiden performance in Singapore.
日本音乐家久石让首次到新加坡表演，与新加坡交响乐团 合作，呈现颠覆古典的交响乐。
He raised his baton and gently pointed forward. A solo trumpet started playing a classic with a bright, crisp
note carrying a hint of childlike playfulness. The French horn joined in – its mellow note was the perfect complement. The winds and percussion were next, adding layers of music and emotions to the symphony. Evoking hazy memories, the music stopped abruptly, and the moment of complete silence, halting the flow of emotions welling up in my eyes. Then the piano started playing, gentle and soothing, leading the flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and the other musical instruments to play together in perfect harmony. Led by the strings, The Girl who Fell from the Sky – the closing theme of Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky – brought tears to my eyes even before the memories came into focus.
All of the above happened in less than two minutes, but had such a great effect because Joe Hisaishi’s music was so touching and so deeply entrenched in my heart.
Born Mamoru Fujisawa, Japanese musician Joe Hisaishi has performed in numerous concerts. 2020, however, marked his first performance in Singapore as when he celebrates his 70th birthday. Any talk about Hisaishi is impossible without mentioning acclaimed Japanese animated film director Hayao Miyazaki. Their partnership dates back some 37 years, when Miyazaki approached the still unknown Joe Hisaishi to score the soundtrack for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the film that propelled Miyazaki to fame. In 1985, Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli and released the award-winning Castle in the Sky in the following year. Hisaishi, who also scored for the hit film, did not just enrich the storyline with his music, he also deepened the emotional aspect of the film to make it truly unforgettable. Regardless whether it was a solo trumpet track, or the moving melody of the closing titles theme, all have become the classics of Hisaishi’s musical career.
By Kuay Ying Xuan
文:郭颖轩
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