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Classical Music in La Corda (Part 2)

Related Links: An Introduction to La Corda Classical Music in La Corda (Part 1)

(Article also available on Medium)

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La Corda d���Oro (Kiniro no Corda, 金色のコルダ), published by KOEI in 2003

The below list of pieces appeared in the game La Corda d’Oro that was first released on September 19, 2003.

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Air on the G String (Ｇ線上のアリア)

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (バッハ) Category: elegant (清麗) Keywords: passion, compliment, determination, reputation, aura, people, confidence, flower, life

This piece originates from Bach’s Orchestral Suite №3 that is called “Air”. In the arrangement by August Wilhelmj (in 1871), the violin melody is transposed such that the entire piece can be played on the violin’s lowest string (i.e. the G string). While the original key of Bach’s version is in D major, Wilhelmj’s version is in C major.

Romanze (ロマンスト長調)

Composer: Max Reger (レーガー) Category: vivid (彩華) Keywords: resonance, creation, bride, student, education, passion, hometown, youth, home

Romance (Romanze in German) generally refers to any vocal or instrumental piece that has a tender, lyrical quality. This piece, originally for violin and piano (original version), was first published in the magazine Neue Musikzeitung in 1901. It now has multiple different versions, including for flute, clarinet and cello.

Valse Sentimentale (感傷的なワルツ)

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (チャイコフスキー) Category: gloomy (愁情) Keywords: despair, dream, admiration, dedication, goddess, love, encounter, suffocation, marriage

Valse Sentimentale is one of the “Six Pieces (Six morceaux) for solo piano”, Op. 51 that Tchaikovsky wrote for the bourgeois salons in 1882. Each of the piece is dedicated to a different person, and the final movement Valse Sentimentale is dedicated to Emma Genton — an important woman in Tchaikovsky’s life. The melancholic melody gives a sense of romance while vividly depicts the image of a beautiful woman. My personal favourite is this version arranged for violin.

Sicilienne (シチリアーノ)

Composer: Anonymous Category: elegant (清麗) Keywords: family, children, goal, passion, promise, prospect, career

According to the official fanbook or the game, Sicilienne is composed by the blind Austrian Maria Theresia von Paradis (パラディス). Say even in this online video, the piece is attributed to Paradis. However, latest research revealed that it is very likely a musical hoax by violinist Samuel Dushkin, who published the piece in 1924.

Sicilienne (also known as siciliano or siciliana), is a form of dance music for Sicilian folk dance in Italy, which was popular during the 17th and 18th centuries. The genre is often characterised by dotted rhythms and gives a pastoral feel.

Humoresques (ユーモレスク)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák (ドヴォルザーク) Category: vivid (彩華) Keywords: childhood, celebration, resonation, desire, heart

This piece was written when Dvořák returned to his homeland Czechoslovakia (now The Czech Republic) during the summer of 1984. He had been working as the director of the Conservatory in New York in the United States between 1892 and 1895. The piece was originally composed for the piano, comprised of both Czech and American style melodies.

Later, Dvořák’s Humoresque №7 became the tune that can be heard on passenger train toilets in the United States — the singing begins with “Passengers will please refrain from flushing toilets while the train is standing…” (full song here).

Après un rêve (夢のあとに)

Composer: Gabriel Fauré (フォーレ) Category: gloomy (愁情) Keywords: sentiment, unrequited love, reputation, farewell, self, dream, quietude, reputation, longing

Après un rêve (After a dream in English) is one of the pieces from Trois mélodies that Fauré wrote for solo voice and piano between 1870 and 1877. The lyrics originates from an Italian poem that recounts a dream where one’s beloved can be seen. The following shows the translation in English by Richard Stokes:

In sleep made sweet by a vision of you I dreamed of happiness, fervent illusion, Your eyes were softer, your voice pure and ringing, You shone like a sky that was lit by the dawn; You called me and I departed the earth To flee with you toward the light, The heavens parted their clouds for us, We glimpsed unknown splendours, celestial fires. Alas, alas, sad awakening from dreams! I summon you, O night, give me back your delusions; Return, return in radiance, Return, O mysterious night!

In the game you could play this piece with a violin duet, and I really like the arrangement. Unfortunately I cannot find anything similar online, but this is another arrangement for 2 violins and piano.

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Thank you for reading!

Reference: 金色のコルダ コンプリートガイド

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Classical Music in La Corda (Part 1)

Being a big fan of the La Corda d’Oro series for over 15 years, I decided to organise the list of classical music pieces that appeared in the game / TV anime throughout the series.

If you have never heard of the series, here’s a quick introduction I wrote: An Introduction to La Corda.

(Article also available on Medium)

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La Corda d’Oro (Kiniro no Corda, 金色のコルダ), published by KOEI in 2003

The below list of pieces appeared in the game La Corda d’Oro that was first released on September 19, 2003. In the game, you play as the female protagonist Hino Kahoko, in which you could choose to practise any of the pieces below to perform at the concour (i.e. music competition).

*Background information: In the game, each piece is categorised as either elegant (清麗), vivid (彩華) or gloomy (愁情). A list of keywords is also associated with each piece (which is for selecting a piece that best fits the concour theme).

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Ave Maria (アヴェ・マリア)

Composer: Franz Schubert (シューベルト) Category: elegant (清麗) Keywords: fountain, wish, grace, peace, loneliness, prayer

This piece is composed as a setting for an Englishman Walter Scott’s narrative poem called The Lady of the Lake. In Scott’s poem, a young girl Ellen Douglas, sings prayer to the Virgin Mary, hoping that her father’s sins could be forgiven. As the opening words for Ellen’s song is “Ave Maria” (Latin for “Hail Mary”), over time people gradually adopted this song for the Catholic prayer and it is now commonly played at a mass.

While there are multiple versions arranged for the piano by Franz Liszt, my personal favourite is this version (with the violin and piano accompaniment) that has the main melody starting on Middle C.

Gavotte (ガヴォット)

Composer: François-Joseph Gossec (ゴセック) Category: vivid (彩華) Keywords: life, hope, future, nation, excitement, warmth, nature

The word “gavotte” is a genre of dance in France dating back to the 17th century. The typical rhythm consists of two light steps and one heavy step that is twice as long, and the end of each phrase corresponds to a break in the dance steps — as you can clearly see in this clip from the 1938 Looney Tunes film. Violin players would definitely find this tune familiar, as it is the piece that concludes Book 1 of the Suzuki Violin.

Melodie, from Orpheus and Euridice (メロディ)

Composer: Christoph Willibald Gluck (グルック) Category: gloomy (愁情) Keywords: lament, talent, disappointment, encounter, tragedy, ability, pride

This piece originates from Act 2 of the opera Orpheus and Eurydice (Orfeo ed Euridice in French). Gluck’s melodie, also known as “Dance of the Blessed Spirits”, was originally for solo flute and was later also transcribed for the violin (here is a version played by one of the greatest violinists of all time). It depicts the grief experienced by Orpheus, the legendary musician in Greek mythology who took a journey to the underworld to save his deceased wife Euridice.

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I'll continue with the remaining pieces in the game in my next post :) Thank you for reading!

Reference: 金色のコルダ コンプリートガイド

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An Introduction to La Corda

I wrote this article almost 4 years ago - but I thought I might pick it up again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of La Corda series (which was 19th September, 2023 i.e. last year) and the upcoming birthday of Tsukimori Len (24th April).

(Article also available on Medium)

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I’m a computer scientist, but I have always craved to be a violinist/musician since I was young. Despite the fact that I’m untalented in playing musical instruments, watching anime that features classical music elements, stories that depict characters grappling with their inner struggles to pursue their music dream — they have always instilled me with the passion to practise my pieces too.

La Corda d’Oro (Kiniro no Corda, 金色のコルダ)

In the game La Corda d’Oro 2, all characters are playing as part of an ensemble together.

This was the first show that introduced me to the world of classical music in anime. The 11-year-old me was profoundly attracted by the selection of music in the anime. Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer, Schubert’s Ave Maria, Liszt’s Liebestraum— they are mostly very famous pieces that you’ve heard of but never know the name. And this was definitely a good start.

Hino Kahoko, the protagonist of this show is a high-school girl studying at a music academy but has no knowledge in classical music at all (= the typical “ordinary school girl”). Under some unexpected circumstances, she has been selected to be a participant in the school’s music competition (in the anime this is mentioned as “コンクール”, which means “concour” in French). With the help of a fairy, she is granted a “magic violin” that allows her to play solely relying on her imagination. And the story mainly revolves around her interactions with other competition participants, as well as the self-discovery of her own passion in classical music.

As this is a reverse-harem (adaptation of the original visual novel), it certainly has some romantic clichés that might annoy people (though as a fan of the Shoujo genre I find them perfectly fine), but the overall plot and character development are pretty good and sensible. You’ll get to see characters each having different attitudes towards classical music — some hated music contests since the adjudicators could never judge participants fairly; some are prodigies who have decided on pursuing his soloist dream in Vienna at an early stage; some are talented in music but would choose to proceed on with a non-music career due to family pressure; and some are just purely enjoying the fun of playing a part in an orchestra. You’ll also get to listen to different musical instrument’s famous pieces (Yes, the participants don’t only play the violin/piano), including the trumpet, clarinet, flute and so on. Although the animation style might not be of high quality, since it’s a show from more than 10 years ago (I’m feeling old…), as a classical music fan, I’ll proudly say it’s still very enjoyable.

A screenshot of the game, showing that you could visit different places in the academy to meet the characters (and practise of course).

The original game (my favourite one is “La Corda d’Oro 2 encore” on PSP) is pretty nice too, you’ll be walking around the campus as Kahoko and choose to practise ensemble pieces with different characters. I really love the original soundtracks of the game, as they are all edited versions of classical music pieces, e.g. Beethoven — Symphony №6 (when you’re walking in the academy’s hall), Erik Satie — Gymnopédie №1 (the weekend music).

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I’ll write more about the game mechanics in La Corda in my next post and explain how the developer has intelligently gamified classical music.

Thanks for reading!

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An English subbed historical guide about history and sacred sites of the Shinsengumi with HAKUOKI and Miki Shin'ichiro

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29th October, 2023 アスラン誕生日おめでとう Happy birthday, Athrun❤️ More photos can be found on my Twitter account: @aoi_diary424

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Why I started reading “Danmei”

Danmei (耽美) is “a genre of literature and other fictional media originating from China which features romantic relationships between male characters.” In short, it is “Boy’s Love made in China”.

I first heard of Danmei novels because of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (魔道祖师), which was a great hit especially when it’s donghua (animation) adaptation first aired. I watched the anime only (since I’m not really a novel person :/) but left unimpressed, I’ll say it’s a show that is definitely worth a watch but it doesn’t contain much wow-factors (at least in my opinion). Additionally, I could blatantly feel how much they have censored the relationship development even though I haven’t read the novel at all.

Heaven’s Official Blessing (天官赐福) was the show that actually motivated me to read the original danmei novel and explore this genre. I’ll say that the donghua adaptation is still okay (as it hasn’t really reached the point that requires censorship hmm), at least it’s good to see the characters alive and moving in the frames :).

Once I finished reading the original novel of Heaven’s Official Blessing, I was so enthralled by this genre. I have never expected web novels to be this provoking and intricate, with characters that you empathise with and scenes that you could never forget.

I also enjoy Japanese Boy’s Love anime/manga, but I feel that they are inherently different. Here are some common differences I could think of based on what I have watched (of course, there could be exceptions):

(1) The majority of danmei series has a proper plot. 

The main subject of the story is not the gay relationship itself, but some other things that the author wants to write. I feel that some Yaoi anime/manga focuses too much on the BL relationship and resultedly nothing really happens in the story. Or maybe the reader would be fed with some cliche plot devices (e.g. the mistaken for cheating trope?)

(2) No queerbaiting is present in these danmei series.

Ya, so when I try to look for some proper plots in the non-Yaoi anime/manga I usually end up with a show full of queerbaiting. Ahh. Maybe sometimes it could be more about me fantasising too much? But in my pov I don’t think characters could only confirm their relationship when the anime/manga is labelled as “Boy’s Love” explicitly lol. Showing the characters to be doing intimate things but never acknowledging the actual ‘love’ when common sense (or any reasonable person) would perceive it as ‘love’ is absolutely nonsensical. Maybe it’s just a more implicit form of censorship with an excuse of “appealing to a wider audience”.

I do try not to generalise the entire BL genre in Japanese anime/manga. I think Given is a good exception to the above points I made, which is an anime that I really enjoyed.

Despite my enjoyment of the danmei series, I am not optimistic about its development and future. Having gained popularity and attracting more attention, it would eventually lead to stricter censorship and regulations imposed on the genre. In the worst case, readers will only be left with frustrating queerbaiting scenes like what we’re experiencing now in the Japanese non-BL anime/manga. That’s why I’m trying hard to enjoy all I can read/watch/listen now when I still have the chance to engage with the “genuine” form of this genre (though maybe not so genuine since some novels have already been affected…).

This concludes my story of why I started reading danmei. I think I’ll try to write about what I like about danmei series next time, and maybe ways to explore the genre thoroughly.

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Having been a big big fan of La Corda for over 10 years, I’ll say this official fanbook is all I need. Omg. Can’t believe that I found it on Amazon (and it’s sold at a ridiculously cheap price lol). It’s just too good to be an anime fan in Japan.

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Spent the night to finish Volume 10 on Friday right after getting it from the book store. SO much has happened, and I really love how some elements of puzzle solving/mystery re-appear again in the chapter. 

Simply too grateful that I’m still in Japan while this volume is out :’)  

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Aquarium date 🐠

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I always have a habit of watching anime to cheer myself up whenever I’m having a bad mood, and can’t believe that I finish 70 episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura + 2 movies in two weeks.

Cardcaptor Sakura:

At first I was just curious about the character from Hong Kong in the anime, but it turns out to be a really nice anime, tho it’s targeting at a younger audience. I love how the development of relationships is at a good pace - not too fast that would make you doubt its depth, nor too slow that would make you impatient. I like Syaoran a lot, but all other characters (Sakura, Tomoyo etc.) are really likeable too. Feel lucky to have picked up this show :)

*The screenshot of Hong Kong is from Movie 1

Jeweller Richard:

Why I’d be writing about the Case Files of Jeweller Richard here, it’s because it is another anime/novel that again involves Hong Kong / long-distance relationships. I’ve been reading the new extra chapter (”The Season of Dragon”) over the week, and was pretty surprised by how much the author knows about Hong Kong. Such vivid description of the restaurants in Kowloon and the Victoria Harbour at Tsim Sha Tsui. All those colonial history, station names, even the culture of employing domestic helpers. I’ll say Cardcaptor Sakura somehow has less realistic depictions of Hong Kong, since HKers don’t really wear traditional Chinese clothings lmao. No one apparently lives in a flat like Syaoran (haha).

Some last thoughts:

My friend has recently asked me, if you’re in a long-distance relationship, wouldn’t it be hard not to video chat or message your partner every day. But I’ll say both titles have perfectly illustrated what I feel about this - if you think of someone very dearly, you don’t simply love the idea of having him/her around.  That’s why, distance doesn’t matter. :)

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Cover of volume 10 just printed ❤️Can’t wait to get the physical copy

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Cover of the last DVD/BD volume finally out 💖

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Completed Princess Tutu and 3 seasons of Sailor Moon Crystal over the last 2 weeks, and they both turned out to be way much better than my expectation.

Princess Tutu:

My favourite thing about this anime is its original soundtrack (as personally I’m a big fan of classical music), the pieces from Nutcracker / Swan Lake and others blended with the scenes really well. I also love the elements of ballet and fairytale within the story, and it has a powerful overall message that makes it stand out from all other magical girl anime.

Sailor Moon Crystal:

Can’t believe that I missed this show (the anime in the 90s) when I was a kid! My curiosity finally drove me to explore this series recently, and I could see why it is such an “iconic” anime for the magical girl genre. It genuinely is a show which took the lead in introducing all those “typical” elements of a magical girl anime. Tbh, I personally prefer Crystal over the 90s version, since it’s more faithful to the manga and the romantic development between Usagi/Mamoru is portrayed better in the original plot. 

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A concept.

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The 3 limited edition DVD/Blu-ray covers for Jeweller Richard released so far - they are just tooooo pretty! (Feel so luckily that I have ordered them :3) Can’t wait to see how the 4th cover would be like 

これは本当に美しすぎるwwww

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*Repost* A map of all places appearing throughout Volume 1-9 in the Jeweller Richard novels, including Japan, UK, Sri Lanka, USA, France and Hong Kong. This is just so cool, I’m ready to visit all of them :P

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Reading Jeweller Richard - Vol 9 (Part 2)

Another thing that I’m really impressed during my read is the depiction of cultural differences throughout the novel. I think this is a recurring theme in the series, and I’ll my try best to list everything I could recall (.w.):

*spoilers warning*

- Christmas traditions, Japan vs UK (Vol 5 extra case)

- Life in Japan vs Sri Lanka (from Vol 7 on)

- Racial discrimination, Asian vs Caucasian (maybe French?) (Vol 8)

- Life in Japan vs Hong Kong (Vol 9)

- Perception of religion, Japan vs India (Vol 9)

- Choice of career path, Seigi vs His classmates (esp in Vol 9)

- The act of “confessing” one’s affection, Japan vs UK (Vol 9)

(so it seems more of a focus in Vol 9) Personally as a Hongkonger, I was so surprised by the level of detail/accuracy in how the author is writing about Hong Kong or Vincent LOL. The few times that Vince accidentally said some Cantonese words, those were EXACTLY the words that I’ve carelessly said when I was chatting with my non-HKer friends. And I too have hired a Filipino maid just like Vince. (It’s really a common thing here for almost every family.)

But I dun find it relatable when Seigi was keep praising the HK food (the congee, haha). Japanese food definitely a hundred times better :D

I haven’t been to Sri Lanka, so I couldn’t verify that part. But the descriptions in the novel appear to be believable for me. I wonder if there is any Sri Lankan out there who’s reading the novel :P