Eminence Online

Arranger: Mika Matsuura

Capcom's first piano solo album

Okami's massive, five disc original soundtrack was a marvel to behold, if only for its sheer size. The sophisticated synths used on the soundtrack helped secure the soundtrack's position as a rival to many prominent game scores. A subtle, tasteful blending of European neo-romantic and East Asian tradition is found throughout the OST.

The only arrangement to come officially from Capcom is Okami Piano Arrange. Ten pieces from the OST, all ripe for some sort of arrangement, were hand-picked for this album. With the piano as her only tool, Mika Matsuura paints a new picture of the great white wolf.

Matsuura acted not only as the arranger, but also as the pianist for the album. Her style for the album? I certainly wouldn't call it concerto, and Matsuura is no virtuoso (and if she is, she's hiding it for this particular album). However, I wouldn't be so quick to label this album as "muzak" or slap the "new age" genre label on it either. It maintains the "European romantic meets Asian" influence, mostly by way of leaving the melodies untouched. Matsuura is clearly well-versed in jazz, but she keeps the jazz overtones light and subtle throughout the album.

The opening track, "Cursed Shinshu Field," is my personal favorite. It starts with a strong neo-romantic feeling, and reminds me of a Bartok piece I used to play as a child. But the simplicity of the piece is exchanged, a little more than half way through the track; in its place, we find a fast-paced, semi-jazzy B section. Matsuura makes strong use of natural 2nd and 7th harmonies based on the scale, which makes me think immediately of impressionist composers Debussy and Ravel.

"Kaguya's Journey," the longest track on the album, starts slow, soft, and remarkably simple. But Matsuura is being deceptive, and this song's B section (which starts about three minutes into the six and a half minute piece) also features a jazzy solo that, though I assume it was transcribed ahead of time, could be mistaken for some wonderful improvisation. In the reprise of the song's A section at the end, Matsuura uses stronger harmonic chords in the left hand, suggesting that a change has taken place: as though Kaguya's stride has changed.

"Shachimaru's Theme" opens with a melody that is uncannily similar to the verses of a beloved childhood tune "Kiss the Girl" (from Disney's The Little Mermaid). Every time I hear this song, I cannot help but think of this piece. Fortunately, that melodic theme dissipates within the first minute. Matsuura let this song build very slowly, perhaps too slowly. I don't really start enjoying the song until it's nearly over. But at that point, Matsuura plays her trump card: more early twentieth century neo-romanticism blended with a jazz style that's all her own.

Tracks four and five, "Inside the Water Dragon" and "Wep'keer," take the album down a mysterious, and eventually quite dark, road. At this point, we're transitioning from the music of happiness and contentedness to something more moody and pensive. Of the two pieces, Wep'keer exhibits more strength than anything yet heard on the album. Unfortunately, it is the shortest track on the album. The good news, of course, is that "shortest track" doesn't mean much when it's still over four minutes in length. I noticed a lot of decent dynamic variation throughout the first half of the piece, but this variation switches to nothing but pure volume by the last minute. Matsuura used this piece to get "in our faces," so to speak.

Track six, "Tribe of the Heavenly Gods' Theme," rivals "Cursed Shinshu Field" in terms of musical quality, and is another favorite. But it's a favorite for entirely different reasons. There's no question that this is the most "fun" track on the album. And by fun, I don't mean cute/happy playtime fun. No, I'm talking about real, epic adventure fun! On this particular piece, I am reminded of Joe Hisaishi, the veteran composer for many films and anime, including nearly all of Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli masterpieces. The sense of adventure is almost tangible in this piece. That's not always an easy thing to pull off in a piano solo, but Matsuura comes out shining by the end of this piece.

The darkest, ugliest track on the album is "The Emperor of Eternal Darkness." Matsuura doesn't shy away from clashing dissonance, or from using the sustain pedal to blur together the notes in such a way that the listener can get lost. It is a fitting arrangement of the original composition, indeed. But that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. In other words, this is my least favorite track on the album, despite Matsuura's impressive arrangement of the original tune.

"The Sun Rises" is another fun and adventurous piece. But, from my perspective, the song lacked the oh-so-precious dynamic variation that I'd heard throughout the album. The entire song is loud, and even though the solo sections feature very impressive melodic runs in the right hand, I frequently found myself wanting to turn down the volume a little more every minute or so. As a result, by the time I reached track nine, "The Journey Continues," I had to turn the volume way up again. I like adventurous music, but I don't like when it gives me a headache.

Of course, the obvious track was chosen to end the album. "Reset," Okami's ending vocal theme, was chosen. And even if you had never heard the original vocal before, it's plain as day that this piano arrangement is based on a vocal track. The melodic line is simple, and frequently features repetition of the same note over and over, as though the piano were speaking syllables to you. Also, the verse/chorus pattern of the song gives away the melody's original purpose, to provide a framework for the human voice. Mika Matsuura does a great job making the piano "sing" the melody, and the additional decorations that are added, slowly, throughout the course of the track make for a perfect case study in how to properly do a piano instrumental arrangement of a vocal ballad.

Since the album's release in early 2007, I find that I often turn to this album when my shoulders are tense and I simply need to relax. Music specifically designed for the purpose of relaxation (known in Japan as "healing" music, generally equated as "new age" in American genre terminology) tends to bore me. I often find it to be painfully formulaic, and it disturbs my mind rather than relaxing it. Mika Matsuura, clearly a well-studied pianist in her own right, gives just the right amount of intellectual stimulation in the way she arranges and performs these ten songs. And, for fans of Okami and its original score, there is no better treat than hearing a professional musician tackle a few beloved melodies from the original soundtrack.

If you are considering making a purchase of the album, you can find it on Capcom's "Suleputer" label: if that name makes no sense to you, look up the meaning of the name "Capcom." Okami Piano Arrange holds the catalog number CPCA-10184 and retails for a little over 3000 yen. It's definitely worth the import.

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