Program Notes: Joe Hisaishi Returns

By Tristan McKay

Joe Hisaishi’s legendary collaborative partnership with animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli dates back to 1984, when Hisaishi composed the music for Miyazaki’s sophomore film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In the four decades since, they have collaborated on nine more feature films including Princess Mononoke. This evening’s program features a symphonic arrangement of music from that film alongside several works written for the concert stage. Together, they highlight some of Hisaishi’s most unforgettable melodies and brilliant orchestrations as well as his invigorating experimental and minimalist work. 

Hisaishi’s Symphony No. 2 emphasizes unique approaches to form and structure drawn from minimalism — a compositional practice focused on limited musical material that originated in 1960s New York with artists like Moondog, La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass. His enduring fascination with minimalist music began when he first heard Terry Riley’s A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969) and worked as an engraver for minimalist composers while studying at Kunitachi College of Music in the late 1960s. Hisaishi composed Symphony No. 2 in the spring and summer of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a two-year delay, the full symphony was premiered in May 2022 by the World Dream Orchestra, an ensemble launched by Hisaishi and New Japan Philharmonic in 2004.  

The first movement, What the World is Now?, opens with a lyrical cello motive set against a shimmering, pointillistic texture played by the orchestra. Before long, the backing material generates momentum and intensifies with each passing phrase; the gentle cello motive that opens the movement transforms with each rhythmic variation. Hisaishi plays with rhythmic elements such as tempo, meter and pulse to create an intense, edge-of-your-seat drama. 

Variation 14 did not start its life as the second movement of Symphony No. 2. Due to social distancing requirements, it was originally performed by a smaller ensemble on Music Future Vol. 7; the concert series was created by Hisaishi with the mission of introducing contemporary classical music to the Japanese public. Variation 14 consists of a theme and 14 variations, followed by a coda. The theme for Variation 14 is less melodically driven than those in classic theme and variations works such as J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Here, the theme consists of a series of rhythmically varied phrases that chug forth in the strings. Before long, brass and wind instruments interject, creating tightly interlocking rhythms. The variations flow smoothly from one to the next, sometimes with subtle changes of color, other times with dramatic timbral shifts. There are moments when the instrument groups seem at odds with one another, but by the end of the movement, they converge in a thrilling synthesis.  

Hisaishi describes the third movement Nursery Rhymes as an experimental piece. To craft the movement’s primary material, Hisaishi applied minimalist techniques to a Japanese children’s song to explore its potential within the symphonic landscape. At nearly 15 minutes, this movement is the longest of the three. It begins slowly, with a low and mysterious melody in the strings. Midway through, the tempo picks up and the music is set in an irregular meter as variations of other children’s songs enter the playful fray. At the end of the movement, the opening string melody returns, this time accompanied by cacophonous layers of musical material picked up along the way. 

Alarmed by humanity’s fixation with our mobile devices, Hisaishi wrote 2021’s I Want to Talk to You as a stark warning that our communication is deteriorating at an alarming rate. However, with the social isolation prompted by COVID-19, the work took on a new meaning: mobile devices are also important tools for connection. While composing this work for the Yamagata Choral Federation, Hisaishi reimagined its orchestration for string quartet and string orchestra. The opening solo violin phrase follows the spoken rhythm of the work’s title (“I want to talk to you”), a sentence that can take on a multitude of meanings depending on its context. The opening phrase is echoed around the ensemble and, slowly but surely, devolves into a cacophony. In true minimalist fashion, the work moves with a hypnotic forward momentum. The drama here is often quiet and subdued, as Hisaishi draws our attention to the changing inflections and layered musical conversations that emerge.  

Miyazaki’s 1997 film Princess Mononoke is one of his most mature, both in content and themes. It follows young prince Ashitaka, who is caught in a war between supernatural forest gods and the humans who threaten to destroy their home. After being cursed by a boar god, Ashitaka embarks on an epic quest for healing that takes him through the wilderness of late 15th century Japan. Along the way, he encounters San, a wild young woman who rides on the back of a wolf and fervently defends the forest she calls home. In Princess Mononoke Symphonic Suite, arranged in 2016 for the World Dream Orchestra, Hisaishi captures the film’s epic battles, vulnerable moments and ever-present spirit of adventure across seven movements.  

The opening movement The Legend of Ashitaka starts with an ominous drum strike, which echoes and fades as low strings enter with melodic fragments. Rising from this dark opening, the movement gradually unveils its sweeping themes like a colorful sunrise. The second movement, TA TA RI GAMI, uses relentless percussion and dissonant melodies in the brass to channel the supernatural horror of the titular demon god. In the third movement The Journey of the West ~ Kodamas, the vastness of Ashitaka’s quest is conveyed by rich brass writing while pizzicato strings, rattling percussion and quirky woodwinds capture the spirit of the Kodamas. These adorable, quirky spirits — said to be the children of old trees — exemplify one of the core beliefs of Shinto, Japan’s indigenous belief system: everything possesses a spiritual energy or essence. After several more movements, the suite ends with Ashitaka and San, a heart-wrenching and tranquil ballad that looks to the future while paying homage to what was lost along the way.