About three weeks ago, I was browsing through some eastern artists on YouTube (Thank you, Jenny ) when I accidentally hit on the Japanese artist Ayaka Hirahara. Something made me keep looking for more until I hit on this one with clips from her album ‘My Classics’.
By the end of that evening I had checked the cdjapan website and google, and eventually found the album at a reasonable price from a Korean dealer on ebay.
It is a gentle collection of beautiful music based on classical themes. Here are a couple of my favourites from the album
Not too sure about the hat.
And a rare concession to the English language (for one line only)
It will probably come as no surprise to those who know me that I now have another album on order which includes this lovely rendition of ALWs ‘Love Never Dies’
About three weeks ago, I was browsing through some eastern artists on YouTube (Thank you, Jenny ) when I accidentally hit on the Japanese artist Ayaka Hirahara. Something made me keep looking for more until I hit on this one with clips from her album ‘My Classics’.
You're welcome! She's a good find, John.
I like her My Classics albums (I think there are 3 of them?) I think I'll get them in the future. She uses some of my favorite classical pieces!
Yes, there are three 'My Classics' albums. I don't suppose it will be long before I order the third. She has also released many singles and some other albums. I think a lot of them are more pop in style, but I see the occasional recognizable classical title amongst the incomprehensible (to me ) Japanese track lists.
There is a lot more to discover about Ayaka Hirahara.
Ayaka Hirahara (平原 綾香 Hirahara Ayaka, born May 9, 1984 in Tokyo) is a Japanese pop singer affiliated with the Dreamusic label. Hirahara comes from a musical family; her father, Makoto Hirahara, is a saxophone player, her grandfather, Tsutomu Hirahara, was a trumpet player, and her older sister, Aika Hirahara, also is a singer under the EMI Music Japan label. Ayaka was a member of the Matsuyama Ballet for 11 years, beginning at age 6. She started playing saxophone when she was 13 years old, then learned classical saxophone at Senzoku Gakuen High School. Currently, she is studying in the Faculty of Jazz majoring in saxophone at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. Her first single, "Jupiter", was released in Japan in December 2003, and went on to be one of the biggest selling singles of 2004. The melody of the song is based on the "Jupiter" movement in The Planets Suite by Gustav Holst. Similarly, the melody of her song, "Siciliana", is based on "Siciliano" by Johann Sebastian Bach.
A word of warning if you are looking for the My Classics albums - some editions don't include as many tracks. For example, Jupiter is listed as a bonus track and is not on all versions of 'My Classics'; similarly for 'Love Never Dies' on 'My Classics 2'.
Gary, what an amazing site. One could spend days watching all of the videos you cataloged so well. Now I know where last.fm originates. I listen to you a lot.
‘My Classics 2’ arrived yesterday and I can’t get enough of listening to it. Generally similar in style to the first ‘My Classics’, but the family’s Jazz roots are finding their way into some of the tracks.
There’s that hat again. This one reminded me a little of Filippa Giordano
Move over, Sister Act!
You’ll recognize the tune from 1:11 onwards, but could you guess what was coming?
I had another look at the clips for ‘My Classics 3’ and I’m not quite so keen now. Maybe starting to run out of steam.
A little research showed me that Ayaka Hirahara released this song 'Ohisama ~ Taisetsu na Anata e' as a single last year. On further investigation I found that it is also on her latest album 'Doki'. Guess what my latest CD order is.
BTW, I succumbed to temptation a few weeks ago and bought 'My Classics 3'. No regrets, but I think 'My Classics 2' is still my favourite.
Since rising to the bait of her ‘My Classics’ albums, I have fallen hook, line and sinker for Ayaka Hirahara’s voice. From her seductively soulful lower register, through deliciously dreamy to exquisite elevation, Ayaka has a terrific range and varied style. Much of the time she sings in a rather breathy voice, but she can also do pure and clear. Moreover, she still has a few vocal surprises in store when it comes to her more jazzy numbers.
Since her debut single ‘Jupiter’ in 2003 Ayaka has released no less than ten studio albums in addition to numerous singles. There is also the compilation album ‘Jupiter’ (not to be confused with the single of the same name, although it includes what has become her signature song) taking the ‘best’ tracks (always a subjective choice) from her first five albums.
Studio albums 2004: Odyssey 2004: The Voice 2005: From To 2006: Yottsu no L 2007: Sora 2008: Path of Independence 2009: My Classics! 2010: My Classics 2 2011: My Classics 3 2012: Doki!
Compilation albums 2008: Jupiter: Ayaka Hirahara Best
So far, I have acquired all of the albums from 2008 onwards, but each time I listen to a new arrival I want more, to the extent that I am now waiting to receive all the earlier albums too. They are from a variety of sources, mostly scattered around the Far East, but also two from the USA. A number of them are regional versions (Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc.) which seem to be cheaper than the original Japanese releases and sometimes include additional bonus tracks.
I also have a DVD from a recent live tour, in which Ayaka spends a lot of time talking to the audience. It’s all in Japanese of course, but she has such a soothing gentle voice that I can happily just listen to her without understanding a word of what she is saying.
Ayaka Hirahara’s latest album ‘Doki!’ was released earlier this year, and contains the greatest contrasts of all her albums. The double CD comes in an extra thickness case with two glossy booklets. At the ripe old age of 27, Ayaka’s portrayal in this album and its publicity is the most youthful and playful of any that I have seen.
Perhaps it is aimed at a younger target audience, as there are a few songs on the album which hold very little appeal for me. I generally always play whole albums and rarely choose individual tracks, but I have found myself sometimes skipping tracks on this one.
'Not a Love Song' is borderline for me but not a favourite.
By contrast, there are some that I absolutely love, including this which is currently my favourite video on Youtube
There is also a lovely vocalise (with no words) version of this tune.
The second disk is a selection of songs recorded live from her 2011 tour, including many of her ‘My Classics’ songs.
‘Path of Independence’, Ayaka Hirahara’s sixth studio album, was the first one that I acquired after her ‘My Classics’ series. The most remarkable thing about this album is that it is completely unremarkable. Some nice melodies and Ayaka’s dreamy voice make for a pleasant listen, but most of it is instantly forgettable. Don’t make this the first Ayaka Hirahara album that you buy.