Music of Spirited Away
The music for Studio Ghibli's 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, features a score composed by Joe Hisaishi and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic symphony orchestra. Hisaishi received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for his work in the film. An original soundtrack album that contains 20 tracks from the film score and one song was released in July 2001, whereas an image album that had five songs and five instrumentals, released three months before, in April 2001. Both of them were re-issued on a double disc vinyl LP in 2020.
Background
Originally, the opening track "One Summer's Day" was an instrumental theme. Later, Hisaishi added lyrics to those tunes, and named the new version of the song "The Name of Life" which was performed by Ayaka Hirahara. It was not featured in the album.The closing song, "Always With Me" was composed and performed by Youmi Kimura, with words by Wakako Kaku. The song was intended to be used for Rin the Chimney Painter, an unproduced Miyazaki film.
Reception
A review from Sputnikmusic rated the album 4.5 out of 5, opining that it is "nearly as perfect as the film it accompanies". Clara V. Nguyen, a staff writer at The Harvard Crimson, reviewing the soundtrack said that: "Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack has stood the test of time, and features memorable leitmotifs that pair with the film's themes of courage and friendship. Immediately recognizable to audiences all over the world, Hisaishi's musical signatures bring a sense of cohesion and familiarity to director Hayao Miyazaki's otherworldly vision by creating their own kind of magic." Filmtracks.com wrote "Hisaishi's output for the animated genre has created a unique voice in the realm of children's music that is difficult to compare to any other film music composer. His airy and whimsical tone and almost Golden Age-style of melodic grace make his music instantly recognizable, and Spirited Away is no exception. One of the primary reasons Spirited Away remains a popular score among Hisaishi collectors is precisely because of its embodiment of the composer's trademark animation sound."Karen Han of Polygon considered the title theme "One Summer's Day" to be "wistful, with intentionally discordant notes scattered throughout and a melody that ventures in and out of minor-key territory". She also observed the song's "eerie synthesizer sounds and strings" and "warm and shimmering" chords and concluded that it was "crucial to setting the tone for Spirited Away, which captures the bittersweetness in growing up and growing out of things, as well as establishing the thoughts of Chihiro herself." Similarly, Nguyen observed the song's relationship between its grounded piano melody and its synthetic and string elements, ultimately calling it a composition "which conveys the unpredictable turmoil of growing up" and "establishes Hisaishi's score as essential to the development of Miyazaki's themes." In Dazed, Thomas Hobbs considered "One Summer's Day" his personal favorite Hisaishi composition, stating that "a meandering piano melody makes it feel like you're flipping through a book of historic family photos on a reflective and sunny Sunday afternoon in a garden awash with purple tulips." He considered the opening theme to precisely match the film's ideas regarding freedom, hope, and death.
Screen Rant, in a ranking of the best Studio Ghibli soundtracks, placed Spirited Away at ninth place and considered "One Summer's Day" to be "one of the highlight songs of the film". In a ranking of the ten best compositions by Hisaishi, Classic FM ranked "One Summer's Day" in seventh place: "A simple, melancholy piano melody on a bed of soft string chords reflects Chihiro's reluctance to leave her home and friends behind. The music builds to a richer texture with full, jazz-inflected piano chords, more orchestration, and a more optimistic mood as Chihiro's mother encourages her to view the move as an adventure."
Track listings
Original soundtrack
Spirited Away Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film released on 11 July 2001 by Studio Ghibli Records and published by Tokuma Japan Communications. It featured 20 of Hisaishi's score from the film, and the end credits song "Always With Me". Ahead of the US release, Milan Records distributed the album on 10 September 2002.Image album
Besides the original soundtrack, an image album titled Spirited Away Image Album accompanied the film's music. The 10-track album was released on 4 April 2001, three months before the film, by Studio Ghibli Records.Accolades
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| Annie Awards | Annie Award for Music in a Feature Production | Joe Hisaishi | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Original Score | Joe Hisaishi | |
| Japan Academy Film Prize | Best Song | Youmi Kimura – "Always With Me" | Won |
| Japan Gold Disc Award | Animation Album of the Year | Joe Hisaishi | Won |
| Japan Record Awards | Best Song | Youmi Kimura – "Always With Me" | |
| Mainichi Film Awards | Best Music | Joe Hisaishi and Youmi Kimura | Won |
| Tokyo Anime Award | Best Music | Joe Hisaishi | Won |
| Tokyo International Anime Fair | Best Music | Joe Hisaishi | Won |
| 29th Saturn Awards | Saturn Award for Best Music | Joe Hisaishi |
Personnel
- Kazumi Inaki – A&R
- Tomoko Okada – A&R
- Joe Hisaishi – composer, arranger, producer, conductor, orchestrator, piano
- Jodi Tack – design, layout
- Laetitia Bellon – design, layout
- Shohei Kaneko – vocal director
- Hiroyuki Akita – assistant engineer
- Shigeki Fujino – mastering engineer
- Shinichi Tanaka – recording engineer
- Masayoshi Okawa – recording engineer
- Christopher Kimball – executive producer
- Emmanuel Chamboredon – executive producer
- Keith Walner – executive producer
- Wonder City Tokyo – artist management
- Jun Nagao – orchestrator
- Kazunori Miyake – orchestrator
- New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra – performer
- Masaki Sekijima – production manager
- Soichiro Ito – production manager
- Hiroshi Kuwabara – orchestra recording staff
- Masaya Yasue – orchestra recording staff
- Masamichi Ohashi – orchestra recording staff
- Shinya Tanaka – orchestra recording staff
- Hirokazu Fujita – orchestra recording staff
- Suminobu Hamada – orchestra recording staff