The song structures are amazingly complex, yet always pleasing to the ear, and the harmonies and melodies carry that unmistakable Hisaishi trademark. Songs like 'Venus' and 'Modern Strings' demonstrate a wide versatility in Hisaishi's songwriting style, with their erratic rhythms, complex melodies and admirably subtle counter-melodies, there is a real sense of adventure in the atmospheres conjured. Elsewhere there are plenty of contrasting pieces to relax to, such as the perfect, lathargic flow of sound found in 'Deer's Wind', or the hypnotic stillness of 'On the Sunny Shore'.
Although the album could be categorised as a classical instrumental album like 'Piano Stories 2, 3 & 4', or 'My Lost City', there is a certain pop sensability to the album and there are hints of popular percussion and world instruments found here and there (i.e. Drum kits in 'Modern Strings', and Tabla in 'Echoes').
This is by far my favourite Hisaishi album, and I recommend anyone who is considering to start a Hisaishi album collection to start here. Excellent, beautiful, enchanting.
好きな曲は、私の予想外の音が次々出てくる、音程のとりにくい、ドラマの挿入歌に使用されていて、私の思い出の曲である「５．Ｈｅａｖｅｎ」と、ノリがよくメジャーコードから、主旋律の休符でマイナーコードに変わるところが好きな「２．Ｌａ Ｌａ Ａｆｒｉｃａ」
