Track Listing

1. Legend of Ashitaka
2. Demon God
3. Journey to the West
4. Demon Power
5. Land of the Impure
6. Encounter
7. Kodamas
8. Forest of the Gods
9. Evening at the Ironworks
10. Demon God II-The Lost Mountains
11. Lady Eboshi
12. Tatara Women Work Song
13. Furies
14. Young Man from the East
15. Requiem
16. Will to Live
17. San and Ashitaka in the Forest of the Deer
18. Princess Mononoke Theme Song
19. Requiem II
20. Battle Drums
21. Battle in Front of the Ironworks
22. Demon Power II
23. Requiem III
24. Retreat
25. Demon God III
26. Adagio of Life and Death
27. World of the Dead
28. World of the Dead II
29. Adagio of Life and Death II
30. Ashitaka and San
31. Princess Mononoke Theme Song
32. Legend of Ashitaka Theme

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69698 in Music
• Brand: Princess
• Released on: 1999-10-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: Japanese
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
This score to Japan's anime megahit stresses Western musical influences over Eastern, despite the movie's themes being more attuned to Japanese heritage and mythology. Hisaishi (who has contributed music to more than 30 Japanese films) employs a traditional Hollywood-style orchestral movement that is generally lush and pleasing--a soundtrack that could easily fill the boundless skyscapes of classic horse operas. There are occasional exotic moments involving woodwinds or solo violin or both that digress into more indigenous folksongs, but these, too, have soothing melodies akin to what one might demand from sushi dinner music. The operatically trained Sasha Lazard offers the sweet and ethereal "Theme Song" (with lyrics by director Hayao Miyazaki). These tracks may not always be distinctive but they manage to evoke moods of mysticism and, of course, ritual violence. --Joseph Lanza

Customer Reviews

A classical masterpiece of anime music.
For those who have seen and simply loved the film "Princess Mononoke", this soundtrack is the perfect companion. For those who haven't seen the movie, it doesn't matter; this soundtrack is still the perfect thing to pick up.

The sountrack consists of 32 songs, but don't let the number of songs fool you. The vast majority of the tracks found in "Princess Mononoke" are BGMs (BackGround Music), so most of the songs drift around a 1:00-3:00 length. But Joe Hisaishi manages to create a tapestry of classical sounds that seem to accompany each other perfectly.

This is where the catch comes into play. To fully enjoy this music, you have to listen to it from beginning to end. This isn't a soundtrack that you can listen to with "Random" set on your player. A few songs can be listened to independently, but these are few. But trust me, listening to the entire CD is a rewarding experience you'll not regret.

Another minor catch might be the somewhat repetitiveness of the music. Several of the smaller pieces found on this soundtrack are actually variations of a familiar part of one of the main songs. But luckily, Hisaishi manages to make each variation unique and enjoyable, so the listener won't be prompted to push the "Skip" button on his player.

While most of the music is classical, there are two vocal pieces on this soundtrack. The first, Track 12 (The Tatara Women Work Song), is in Japanese and the second, Track 31 (Princess Mononoke Theme Song), is in English. This is where I had one small gripe about the sountrack. Instead of the longer, Japanese version of the "Princess Mononoke Theme Song", a shorter English version was used for the American release. Even so, the English version is still good and the Japanese version isn't enough to force you to purchase the import version of this soundtrack.

Overall, the soundtrack to "Princess Mononoke" is a must-have in anyone's movie music collection...or anyone's music collection in general. Whether or not you've seen the outstanding movie that spawned this beautiful soundtrack, it doesn't matter. While you'll have to listen to the entire thing to truly appreciate it, the satisfaction in doing so is immeasureable.

Hisaishi and Miyazaki perfect team!
Ever since I was introduced to Miyazaki a few years back, I have greedily inhaled every snippet of his celuloid available to the american public (which saddly isn't enough!), and when the soundtrack to Mononoke appeared at local vendors I was quick to pick it up, knowing how fantastic Hisaishi's work was in Totoro and Kiki's. Yet never having seen the film, the music was not immediately compelling, albeit still quite good. But just last week Mononoke was given 'wider' release affording me the opportunity to see this amazing film, and since then I've probably listened to the soundtrack a few dozen times. For those who have fallen in love with this film (and you should!) you will need this soundtrack; perhaps the only thing to ease the anxious waiting for Mononoke to come out on video (hopefully DVD!).

There is really no seperating these two works--the film would be empty without Hisaishi's beautiful score, yet without first understanding how these pieces connect with images and emotions, the soundtrack at first might seem too repetitive. Somehow this differs from soundtracks which work only within the context of the movie, instead we have a very strong and elegant score which uses several subtle themes which do not seem to take form until given an image by which to solidify in the listeners mind. Perhaps it is also a somewhat difficult score, often dark and not seemingly melodic, yet moments too beautiful for words shine through, such as the mononoke theme, the music (I believe it is track 3) which is used during the evening scene where Ashataka and Yakkle leave the villiage and Ashataka says goodbye to his sister (formerly his fiance in the original version), as well as the already mentioned Taratara work song. But this is not a soundtrack you will be skipping through to get to the tracks you enjoy the most; it is instead one which you will find yourself absorbed in and find over far too soon. One of the absolutely-must-have accessories for this film or any fan of quality orchestral music.

English dubbing! >_<
This cd is sublime. i grew up in Japan + this music reminds me of home. :) But WHY did they dub over the main theme?!? They kept the Tatara work song in the original Japanese! So unfortunately i have to give this cd four stars. If you get a chance, listen to the original Japanese theme song. It blows this version way out of the water.