Recently I bought Scene - Hyoten 2001 soundtrack CD. Since I didn't watch this TV drama, this was the first time I heard this obscure song.
This all-English-lyrics song is filled with calm beauty. It reminds me of the beauty of the Mother Nature. The lyrics go something like "although we enjoy spring time now, I wonder if winter is closing in on us".
Hyoten (Freezing Point *) is a novel written by Ayako Miura, a Christian novelist. It gives a detailed picture of the darker side of human nature. In fact, it's a novel on the theme of love-hate conflicts and the original sin. Hyoten 2001 was a TV drama produced by TV Asahi based on this novel.
In addition to Chihiro's "infection" (the Hyoten 2001 theme song), "traces" was apparently used in this TV drama. If "Rebel Luck" is a showcase of the charm of Chihiro's low voices, this 4'35" adagietto is characterized by the use of high tones. The highest note here is the F-sharp, higher than the top note in "Sign", which is the E.
Figure: Lowest and highest vocal notes in "Rebel Luck", "Sign", and "traces" that fully cover the typical alto voice range.
Since all other tracks included in this album are instrumental, this CD should be a pricey buy for most Oni fans. This is basically an album of Takefumi Haketa, who is sometimes referred to as "a Japanese-made Ennio Morricone". But if you like André Gagnon or classical orchestral music, this beautiful album will be worth listening to independent of the drama.
Also included are two "infection" instrumentals for solo piano (#9; by Haketa) and viola (#19; by NAOTO). "Shakunage - rhododendron" (#5), "Umi to Kaze to Sakamichi - sea, breeze and little hill" (#10), and "Kazoku no Shozo - a portrait of family" (#20) are variations on the theme of "traces" (#4).
* This appears to be the standard English translation for this work.
[2004-05-05]
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