Princess Mononoke: Music from the Motion Picture
Encyclopedia
Princess Mononoke: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack
to Hayao Miyazaki
's 1997 film, Princess Mononoke
. The music was composed and performed by Joe Hisaishi
, the soundtrack composer for nearly all Miyazaki's productions, and Miyazaki wrote the lyrics of the two vocal tracks, The Tatara Women Work Song and its title song. The music was performed by Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Hiroshi Kumagai. The soundtrack was released in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications on July 2, 1997, less than two weeks before the film came out. It was later released in North America by Milan Records
on October 12, 1999.
Most tracks are identical, except for the main theme song heard at the end of the movie, which has been translated to English. A longer edit of the song, heard in the middle of the movie and featured on track 20 of the Japanese edition, has been dropped from the English edition. The Japanese version of the theme is sung by counter-tenor Yoshikazu Mela, while the English translation is sung by Sasha Lazard
. The soundtrack has also been released in France, in its original Japanese form.
As usual with Studio Ghibli
movies, additional albums featuring soundtrack themes in alternative versions have been released. The image album features early versions of the themes, recorded at the beginning of the movie production process, and used as source of inspiration for the various artists involved. The symphonic suite
features longer compositions, each encompassing several of the movie themes, performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Mario Klemens.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
's 1997 film, Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke
is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster...
. The music was composed and performed by Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
, the soundtrack composer for nearly all Miyazaki's productions, and Miyazaki wrote the lyrics of the two vocal tracks, The Tatara Women Work Song and its title song. The music was performed by Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Hiroshi Kumagai. The soundtrack was released in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications on July 2, 1997, less than two weeks before the film came out. It was later released in North America by Milan Records
Milan Records
Milan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan boasts an extensive electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases....
on October 12, 1999.
Most tracks are identical, except for the main theme song heard at the end of the movie, which has been translated to English. A longer edit of the song, heard in the middle of the movie and featured on track 20 of the Japanese edition, has been dropped from the English edition. The Japanese version of the theme is sung by counter-tenor Yoshikazu Mela, while the English translation is sung by Sasha Lazard
Sasha Lazard
Dominique "Sasha" Lazard is an American classical crossover singer.Lazard was born in New York and grew up in Paris. She attended Bennington College and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying opera, but after graduation pursued a more electronic-influenced sound inspired by the local...
. The soundtrack has also been released in France, in its original Japanese form.
As usual with Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
movies, additional albums featuring soundtrack themes in alternative versions have been released. The image album features early versions of the themes, recorded at the beginning of the movie production process, and used as source of inspiration for the various artists involved. The symphonic suite
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
features longer compositions, each encompassing several of the movie themes, performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
The Česká filharmonie is a symphony orchestra based in Prague and is the best-known and most respected orchestra in the Czech Republic.- History :...
conducted by Mario Klemens.
Additional Facts
- In 2009, award winning vocalist Jade Valerie, together with violinist Emiri Miyamoto, sampled the composition of "Princess Mononoke Theme Song" for the song "Crashing Down", for the project and album, Saint Vox.