ime magazine recently labeled Mamoru Samuragoch a "digital-age Beethoven," which is a description that's actually appropriate in more ways than one. The well-known artist is not only an eminent creator of interactive-game music, he's also almost completely deaf. Ironically, it's a condition that he insists has made him a better composer, an assertion fans can now readily judge for themselves through Sounds of Onimusha, a new CD featuring 30 cuts culled from the popular Onimusha video game.
The album begins with the "Rising-Sun" symphony, a three-movement work (introduced via a short Noh-vocal opening segment) offering over 20 minutes of sinuous strings, brassy fanfares and exotic Japanese sounds. This composition is clearly the centerpiece of the package, incorporating relatively complex arrangements and poignant, powerful themes. Subsequent tracks are much shorter, providing a variety of motifs for specific characters and settings. Numbers such as "Samurai," "Saki-I" and "Hitu" are reverberant tunes that convey forlorn or fretful feelings, whereas "Kaedesirabe I," "Hayate" and "Nowakitatu" spotlight classically structured segments that are enthusiastic and effervescent.
While the discrete game cues are largely electronic, the lush "Rising-Sun" is performed by the 150-member New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. That sizable ensemble is augmented by over four dozen guest players, including specialists on the biwa lute, koto zither, taiko drums and shakuhachi and shinobue flutes. The liner notes furnish brief remarks about the symphony, plus a biography of Samuragoch and a succinct commentary on the music from the game's producer, Keiji Inafune.
Symphonic splendor and electronic excess
Despite an ever-expanding market for game-related action figures, movies, T-shirts and other spinoff products, it's still comparatively rare—at least in America—for a separate soundtrack recording to be issued for a given title. Sounds of Onimusha presents a compelling audio argument that certain scores deserve to be heard by a larger audience. Notwithstanding some obviously synthetic effects and occasional lapses into hackneyed harmonic techniques, the numbers on this disc are exciting and emotive, with the "Rising-Sun" symphony serving as a genuinely moving and
masterful magnum opus.
Soulful strings and melancholy woodwinds open the second movement of "Rising-Sun," imparting an air of sadness and concern that's quickly swept away by rousing horns and vibrant percussion. The third section builds upon this demonstrative and dynamic atmosphere, adding passionate flutes and a quiet Noh voice. Combined with the ethnic instrumentation, it's a work that ingeniously melds traditional orchestral sounds with unusual Japanese rhythms and an intense emotional energy. The 26 stand-alone cues are generally competent too, especially the tense "Totu," the eerie "Miyabi" and "Takisoba," which highlights gentle harplike tones and an intoxicatingly simple melody.
A few of the more frantic cuts, including "Kaedesirabe II" and "Suranochmata," are patently artificial, just as tracks like "Hyorin" and "Onimusha" seem excessively agitated, with sudden crescendos and unpredictable breaks rendering the tunes aimless and irritating. Nonetheless, overall Sounds of Onimusha remains an admirable collection. The "Rising-Sun" symphony is truly a wondrous mix of substance and modern classical style, while the myriad game cues, though now and again
imperfect, are compelling and suitably expressive.
