Cave of Mind (after Joe Hisaishi) | Igor Sirotinsky (classical guitar)

“Cave of Mind“ is my new original composition, loosely based on a few themes from Joe Hisaishi’s soundtrack for “Howl’s Moving Castle.“ This music reflects one of my favorite scenes from the movie: Sophie’s dream scene, where she travels through a dark cave—Howl’s cave of memories—filled with toys from Howl’s childhood. The music is simple and minimalist, with a slow walking pace and an ostinato figure that suggests forward movement. It begins with an ascending triad, referencing the opening of the main theme from the soundtrack, “Merry-go-Round of Life.“ Over the repeated motive, I added four themes as four musical episodes. The first theme is an original one of my own; the second is my version of Hisaishi’s “Cave of Mind“ from the original soundtrack. The third theme is based on a few more motifs from the soundtrack, and the last one before the coda is a variation of the first theme. In the coda, I also aimed to capture the surreal and magical nature of Sophie’s experience in that scene.