Music
The visual novel has three main theme songs: the opening theme "Tori no Uta" (鳥の詩, Bird's Poem?), the ending theme "Farewell song", and "Aozora" (青空, Blue Skies?) as an insert song. Each song is sung by Lia of I've Sound and the lyrics were written by Jun Maeda. Five of the characters have leitmotifs, or background music theme songs—the three heroines, Kanna, and Michiru. Misuzu's theme is "Natsukage" (夏影, Summer Lights?); Kano's theme is "Mizutamari" (水たまり, Puddle?); Minagi's theme is "Niji" (虹, Rainbows?); Kanna's theme is "Tsukiwarawa" (月童, Moon Child?); lastly, Michiru's theme is "Tentōmushi" (てんとう虫, Ladybug?). Of the six music tracks not used in the visual novel, but of which were included on the game's original soundtrack, the first two were failed attempts at creating a theme for Minagi.
The first album, Ornithopter, came bundled with the original release of Air in September 2000. The next album was released in August 2001 as a maxi single titled "Natsukage / Nostalgia" containing a vocal version of "Natsukage", and a B-side track; both songs were sung by Lia and the rest of the single was produced by Jun Maeda. The game's original soundtrack was released in September 2002 containing two discs with 31 different tracks along with remix and instrumental versions of the opening and ending themes. A piano arrange album was released in December 2003 called Re-feel which contained five tracks from Air and five from Kanon. An EP containing original versions of the three theme songs and remixed versions of the opening and ending themes was released in May 2006 called Air Analog Collector's Edition: Tori no Uta / Farewell song. Each of the albums released for the visual novel version were released on Key's record label Key Sounds Label. The film's original soundtrack was released in March 2005 by Frontier Works. A bonus symphony CD titled Shinwa e no Izanai was released with the special edition Air film DVD on August 5, 2005. Overall, Air's music has been well received, and the original soundtrack for the visual novel has met with high sales. The opening theme was involved in copyright infringement in 2005.
Read more about this topic: Air (series)
Famous quotes containing the word music:
“Have you ever been up in your plane at night, alone, somewhere, 20,000 feet above the ocean?... Did you ever hear music up there?... It’s the music a man’s spirit sings to his heart, when the earth’s far away and there isn’t any more fear. It’s the high, fine, beautiful sound of an earth-bound creature who grew wings and flew up high and looked straight into the face of the future. And caught, just for an instant, the unbelievable vision of a free man in a free world.”
—Dalton Trumbo (1905–1976)
“As polishing expresses the vein in marble, and grain in wood, so music brings out what of heroic lurks anywhere. The hero is the sole patron of music.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“From where Pan’s cavern is
Intolerable music falls.
Foul goat-head, brutal arm appear,
Belly, shoulder, bum,
Flash fishlike; nymphs and satyrs
Copulate in the foam.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)