{"id":1051,"date":"2023-02-27T15:26:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/?p=1051"},"modified":"2023-02-28T15:33:53","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T19:33:53","slug":"joe-hisaishi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/?p=1051","title":{"rendered":"Joe Hisaishi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"554\" height=\"785\" src=\"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Joe_Hisaishi_2011.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1052\" srcset=\"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Joe_Hisaishi_2011.jpeg 554w, https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Joe_Hisaishi_2011-212x300.jpeg 212w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 554px) 100vw, 554px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Some background on Joe Hisaishi is that he was born on December 6, 1950, in Nakano, Nagano, Japan and he is currently 72 years old. His birth name is Mamoru Fujisawa and when he started to become more well-known, went by Joe Hisaishi. He is a composer, musical director, conductor, and pianist. He incorporates and explores many genres of music, some are minimalist, experimental electronic, and Western and Japanese classical music. He is most well-known for being the composer behind many of Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s animated films. Hayao Miyazaki is another one of my favorite Japanese animators and directors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the risk of sounding a little (a lot) biased, Joe Hisaishi is one of the greatest composers of all time. When I first heard his work, I was enraptured by the way his music complimented the movies and made them feel like you were being transported to another world. If I could only describe Hisashi\u2019s music in one word it would be nostalgic. Even when it was my first time hearing his music I was struck by a sense of nostalgia. I couldn\u2019t say exactly what that nostalgia was for but I still was reminded of something I couldn\u2019t name. It is extremely hard for me to only pick a few songs to analyze but I will pick some of my favorites for you to listen to.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first song I want to introduce is called <em>One Summer\u2019s Day. <\/em>This track is from Miyazaki\u2019s film, Spirited Away(2001). Throughout the piece there are many discordant notes and it goes in and out but the major key throughout is in C major. Whenever I listen to this song I am filled with yearning and wistfulness but also hope and remembrance. I do think the simplicity in the beginning of the piece is an example of Hisaishi\u2019s like or minimalist music but as it goes on it shifts into more classical music in the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Joe Hisaishi - One Summer&#039;s Day\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TK1Ij_-mank?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The second song is <em>The Girl Who Fell from the Sky <\/em>and this was a track on another of Miyazaki\u2019s films called Castle in the Sky(1986). It starts off with piano and then switches to violin and then the whole orchestra comes in. The song is quiet and calm at the start but then picks up as the song goes on. This track is played at the beginning of the movie which I think makes the movie more entrancing and makes it seem like the movie will be filled with magic (which it is).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qnNQJI_jUIA\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qnNQJI_jUIA <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final song is probably one of the most well-known songs and even if you haven\u2019t watched any of Miyazaki\u2019s films you may have heard of it. The track is called <em>Merry Go Round of Life <\/em>\u00a0and it is from Howl\u2019s Moving Castle(2004). Like its name I feel as though this track is like a merry-go-round that goes up and down. Some of my favorite instruments in this piece are the piano, violin, and trombone and the piece has a strong 3\/4-time signature beat. It reminds me of scenes in historical movies where they&#8217;re dancing around in a ballroom in a majestic waltz. This piece definitely made the movie feel as though it is filled with adventure and magic but also some hardships.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HMGetv40FkI\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HMGetv40FkI <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All three of these songs make me nostalgic about something from the past but in a good way. If you have never heard any of his music I highly recommend giving it a listen. I would be curious about what his music sounds like to you or what feelings it evokes in you. Also, I would like to recommend seeing one of Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s films that features Hisaishi&#8217;s music.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some background on Joe Hisaishi is that he was born on December 6, 1950, in Nakano, Nagano, Japan and he is currently 72 years old. His birth name is Mamoru Fujisawa and when he started to become more well-known, went by Joe Hisaishi. He is a composer, musical director, conductor, and pianist. He incorporates and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/?p=1051\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Joe Hisaishi<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1053,"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051\/revisions\/1053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classapps.chass.ncsu.edu\/com304\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}