Cecilia, can you say a few words?
My music is often described as Celtic. What is true in the sense that my instrument is the harp and I draw a lot from this directory. That said, I consider myself primarily as a singer-songwriter of my time. You can always find the colors or Celtic folk in my music because that is my identity and my roots, but this does not mean the traditional music. It is music of today first.
How did you get in contact with Studio Ghibli?
I'm lucky to be my own producer, which means that every time an album comes out, I'm also in its promotion. Two years ago, at the end of the campaign to promote an album, I had copies of the cd. So I made a secret list of people I like who I send this cd. And it turns out that Ghibli was on my list because I'm a fan of their films for years. I am not an expert on Japanese animation in general, but I was always touched by Ghibli productions. Their films have a way of telling stories, a pace that helps me in my life. The first movie I saw was Studio Grave of the Fireflies and it was a real shock. Then I was literally captivated by the world of Spirited Away, which reminded me of my childhood stories in Britain. We do not expect a priori, but there are real connections between the Celtic mythology and Japanese mythology. I also remember Only Yesterday (Only Yesterday). There is no real story, and yet it is a very powerful film. I like the idea that this is not a fight of good against evil, with expected end. There always unspoken, deputy heard. That is what prompted me to send them my album, just as a gift, a token of my admiration for them, without expecting anything in return.
How do you explain that there was a return?
Everything happened very quickly. Less than ten days after I sent the CD, I received an email from them. A series of coincidences that made the producer of the Studio, Suzuki-san, received my envelope and opened it. He confessed later that he did it because it was written, which is very rare. Another thing he does rarely is to listen to the cd we sent him because he receives dozens. He did, however, at a time when production Arrietty was still in its infancy and he was looking for ideas for the soundtrack. He knew he wanted something with a color in the Celtic measure the original story by Mary Norton is somehow linked to this culture, but had not advanced. He said he had been seduced from the first notes on the harp and the sound of my voice. Then, he did listen to the director and their partners to Yamaha, who are still participating in their soundtrack. Following this, so I received this email ten days later, and a month later, I received the first elements of the film. All this happened very quickly, it's unbelievable. I was not expecting it at all!
What items have you received?
was in early production. I received the script for Miyazaki-san, the original book by Mary Norton and preliminary drawings of the characters and settings.
From there, what did you write first?
Initially my work was limited to writing the song of the film, Arrietty's Song. Yonebayashi-san, the director, sent me poems he had written and were translated into English for me to help me find inspiration. This song should be dedicated to the character of Arrietty and somehow present it. I then sent demo with anxiety over the internet, and they asked me a second and a third, until ten songs! Finally, in 2009, I was in charge of the entire soundtrack!
What was your approach to the score?
It was very thematic. A theme can be assigned to a particular character, but also an environment like the garden, which is very important in the film, or like the house. All themes are in fact derived from the songs I wrote first.
is an interesting way to write a film score!
Studio Ghibli always proceed in this manner. They always start with the songs. From these songs, they produce what they call a "photo album" released several months before the movie and is used as a source of inspiration for artists working on the film. For Arrietty - The Little World of Pilferers I wrote many songs on which we have retained 14. From these 14 songs that are the subject of the instrumental score. In the end, it really makes a lot of songs!
is also unusual for Ghibli.
We have thought about it. The fact is that the film is not a musical like Disney cartoons. No character sings. But while the filmmakers were doing tests with my songs, they realized it would be interesting to use my voice as an instrument, the lyrics are secondary.
Indeed, the color of your voice is kind of our guide throughout the film, along with the harp.
Yes. The harp is the dominant color of the score. It represents the glittering and magical aspect of the film, and is strongly linked to the character of Arrietty.
Can you tell us more about it?
You really learn by watching the film, but what I can tell you is that it is a little girl of about ten centimeters high. She is very cute, very fresh and seems very fragile because of its size. Yet it is that drives the story is she who makes things happen. She is funny and brave at a time. It is the image I had of it from the start and I put into song.
How have you adapted your songs in instrumental music?
People who like my music tell me that it often creates images in them, it has a sort of cinematic dimension. That may be why they were so pleased to Suzuki-san. That said, it was a privilege for me to have to put music in such a project. Studio Ghibli was very helpful and everything went smooth, very fluid. With my partner Simon Caby, we simply proceed as we normally do, this time drawing inspiration from the poems of the director to find the correct tone and emotion. Then we adapted the songs by giving them different colors and different tempos. Then the Japanese music director, Kasamatzu-san, has tapped into this new hardware to mount it according to the images. For us it was the best way to operate and this has allowed us to focus solely on the artistic dimension music, without worrying about the timing and editing.
What kind of orchestra did you call?
I wanted to stay in the colors I usually practice, the colors that have attracted artists from Ghibli. It would have been impossible for me to write for a classical symphony orchestra, as was the case in their previous productions, beautifully set to music by Joe Hisaishi. To keep my own language, I decided not to watch any of their films during the production period. So I kept my modest orchestral sounds, working with artists with whom I have always worked. There is an acoustic guitar, bass, a small string quartet, bagpipes, Irish flute, Irish drum called a bodhran, a lot of percussion, accordion, etc.. And everything has been recorded in France.
You've also been working in Japan. What are your memories of this experience?
It was very important that we can physically meet. I had the privilege of visiting the studio. We went several times to see how the project progressed and we participated in the musical mix in Tokyo. We worked closely with Suzuki-san and with the director, Yonebayashi-san. Miyazaki-san was not present since he was more involved in the scenario, but I met him. I was very impressed. We talked about culture and Celtic harp. I met him at the first since he oversaw the entire project. In his films, music is a character in itself is why I was also involved in promoting the film.
