Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou (The String Concert of Haruhi Suzumiya) was a concert held in Tokyo this past April 29th featuring the Tokyo Philharmonic playing music from the Haruhi TV series. The CD of the concert tracks was just released last week…
The majority of the concert was comprised of the Tokyo Philharmonic playing renditions of the background music used in the show. Instrumental versions of Koi no Mikuru Densetsu and Hare Hare Yukai were also included. In addition, Aya Hirano sang 3 songs in the concert; new versions of Bouken Desho Desho?, God Knows…, and Lost my music, and Minori Chihara sang Yuki, Buin, Madobe nite. All the music and songs were rendered into slower, more classical-like versions of how they originally sound, with an emphasis on string instruments.
I’m sure there are not many anime series that get their music played in a special concert by the Tokyo Philharmonic. You could call it yet another marketing ploy for the cash cow of KyoAni and Kadokawa, but after listening to the tracks, I personally think it’s nice to bring out the more cultured, sophisticated side of anime, especially an immensely popular series like Haruhi, by having its music played in a classical concert by a respectable orchestra.
I enjoyed all the tracks in the concert, but of course I especially liked the 3 songs by Aya Hirano. I’m so used to her upbeat singing with electrical music, it was a treat hearing her sing slower and more emphatically together with a professional orchestra of instruments. While it’s usually the instruments that harmonize with the singer, it sounded more like her singing was the harmony for the instruments, which was really interesting.
After getting my fill of Haruhi Gensou, I decided to post YouTube videos and upload mp3s of some of the tracks here for your listening pleasure. I didn’t upload all the tracks, just the six new renditions of the actual songs…
01 Koi no Mikuru Densetsu
New instrumental rendition of Mikuru’s famous song and probably the first Haruhi song ever heard by fans back during the first airing of season one. Download the mp3 here.
06 Bouken Desho Desho?
New version of the first Haruhi opening performed by Aya Hirano. Download the mp3 here.
10 Lost my music
New version of the “Live Alive” concert song performed by Aya Hirano. Download the mp3 here.
12 Yuki, Buin, Madobe nite
New version of Yuki’s image song performed by Minori Chihara. She may not get as much attention as Aya, but she still does an excellent job. Download the mp3 here.
14 Hare Hare Yukai
New instrumental version of the phenomena that is the first Haruhi ending. It’s hard to imagine a slow, classical rendition of Hare Hare Yukai but here it is =P It really doesn’t start to sound like Hare Hare Yukai until halfway through in my opinion. Download the mp3 here.
15 God Knows…
Probably my most favorite of all the tracks, a new version of God Knows… performed by Aya Hirano. Download the mp3 here.
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In conclusion, this concert was certainly a nice addition to the Haruhi franchise. It really was unique hearing a pop idol like Aya Hirano singing in the classical style of these songs, as well as hearing classical versions of music from a popular TV anime. I hope we’ll see more sophisticated anime-related concerts like this in the future =)
This disc is enjoyable, no doubt about that. Seeing how Hamaguchi is able to deliver consistent arrangements, I knew in advance we’d have something enjoyable on our hands and I’m glad it’s so. Hirano’s performance might be suspect, but overall, a very good listen.
Classical music by a world famous orchestra and Haruhiism: have I gone to heaven? The new renditions are spectacular in every sense of the word. Aya and Minori did amazingly, though the transition from their normal style could have been done better; more practice would have been a good thing. Overall, though, it’s incredible. Now we have to sit back and wait for the Hare Hare Yukai Ballet. XD
Being the soundtrack nerd that I am, i’ve heard alot of renditions of different anime songs, or just simply music companies put out on CD to earn an extra buck. From the beautiful Orgel Fantasia album of Sailor Moon (where it had a variety of songs from Sailor Moon that sounded like a music box), to the laughable Bleach Musical album. (I can upload a samples of either if anybody wants to hear)
Even if this was a marketing ploy, I really like these renditions. They’re not perfect, but I still find them very nicely done. If I had to pick, my favs would probably be Yuki, Buin, Madobe nite. and God Knows… too. I find it a little surprising they didn’t get Mikuru’s VA to join in on this. It seams weird to have Haruhi and Yuki perform, but no Mikuru…
Fantastic!
OMG! Barney does the Hare Hare Yukai too LOL
http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/even-barney-knows-hare-hare-yukai/
You were right about Koi No Mikuru Densetsu, it was the very 1st song i’ve heard when i started with the anime & i actually liked it because it had that quirky feel, it was sung by a tuneless & possibly very fragile girl (just like what Mikuru’s character is) & immediately i was drawn to the series. Hearing the orchestral version of it was pure heaven for me. It became very grand & almost epic in scope.