Going into the Weekend...

What better way to go into a summertime weekend, no matter what the weather might decide to do, with this series of stunning backgrounds by Kazuo Oga for various Studio Ghibli productions, accompanied by the music (either most or all by Joe Hisaishi) from each.

It doesn't get much better than this, even in real life...

Merry-Go-Round of Life

For those who got this far with the Ghibli concert, and also for those who didn't (if you see what I mean), here is the full five-minute version of this delightful waltz from the Ghibli (Miyazaki) anime Howl's Moving Castle,with the piano part again played by its composer, Joe Hisaishi.

No video, just a still, but that's all it needs...

Ghibli Music Concert

Here is an amazing concert featuring 25 years of music from Hayao Miyazaki's world-famous Studio Ghibli's animated productions, some of which are shown on a huge screen in excerpts to accompany the music. All the music was (I believe) composed by their brilliant composer Joe Hisaishi, who also conducts the orchestra and choirs at this event in Budokan and plays the piano.

It's nearly two hours long in total, so you might wish to watch it in several sessions. I think after just the first few minutes you will want to go through the whole event, so be prepared to be captivated. There is a lot of life, fun, variety and considerable style in this collection, even though one item sounds somewhat Wagner-ish!

Items featured come from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea, Kiki's Delivery Service, a few of the truly excellent pieces from Howl's Moving Castle (and not forgetting Laputa: Castle In The Sky while we're with the mobile castles) and of course My Neighbour Totoro. How could anyone forget him?

My favourite piece? Has to be the lovely waltz Merry-go-Round of Life from Howl's Moving Castle, starting at 1:18:10...