© 2004, 2014 Lawrence Tuczynski

Title Sound Theater ~ A Single Pencil
CD Label Ark Enterprise Co., Ltd.
CD Number AGCS-5001~2
Music Composed by: Masaru Sato (Satoh)
Number of tracks Disc 1: 22
Disc 2: 13
Running time Disc 1 - 64:42
Disc 2 - 71:37
Number of discs 2
Year of release/manufacture June 23, 2004

REVIEW

June 30, 2004

Not a whole lot I can add to what the Ark Square web site has below. I received this two disc set last Thursday and have now listened to it about three times. This has to be one of my all time favorite Sato CD's. Not a bad cut in the bunch. I have made no secret that I prefer Akira Ifukube's music in Godzilla films than Masaru Sato's and some of his other work has been hit and miss with me. However if anyone wants to start a collection or get a great compilation of Masaru Sato's music, then this is the CD to buy.

From the Ark Square website http://www.arksquare.com

Composer of 308 film scores, Masaru Sato is one of Japan's most well-known and respected composers. As a testament to Sato's illustrious career, this album represents a collection of his best film scores, highlighted by new world premier recordings performed by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in glorious stereo sound. While most of the new recordings were performed faithfully from the original score manuscripts, some cues had to be reconstructed by ear, as no copies of the original scores exist.

Disc 1 represents Masaru Sato's distinguished film music career in chronological order. This disc also includes two vocals performed by Sato's widow Chieko Sato, a noted chanson singer, as well as the world premier recording of To Rumoi's Sea, an orchestral piece written for a documentary that was shown in an exhibition in Sato's hometown of Rumoi, Hokkaido. Disc 2 consists of more premier recordings, and is highlighted by a live recording from the "2nd Itami Film Festival Masaru Sato Concert," which was conducted by Sato himself.

About Composer:
Masaru Sato was born in 1928 in Rumoi, Hokkaido Japan. A graduate of the National Music University in Tokyo, he was a student of famed Seven Samurai composer Fumio Hayasaka. Sato's debut film score, Santa and Chiyonoyama was co-composed with Hayasaka. Thereafter, he composed music for over 300 films for Japan's most distinguished directors, including Akira Kurosawa (Yojinbo and Red Beard, among others), Kihachi Okamoto (Dokuritsu Gurentai and Nikudan), Tokihisa Morikawa (the Wakamono Tachi series), Yoji Yamamoto (Kazoku and Shiawase No Kiiroi Hankachi), Satsuo Yamamoto (the Men and War series and Nomugi Pass), and Hideo Gosha (Yokiro, Yakuza's Ladies and his last work, After the Rain- Apres La Pluie). Sato also composed music for the documentary film Ooinaru Kurobe, and the TV dramas Band of Assassins (1966-67), Sanishimai (1967), and Taikohki (1987). Furthermore, he scored the LaserDisc documentary Poetry of Africa, a stage play Holland Oine, folk music such as Hibari Misora's A Single Pencil, and the original symphonic pieces To Rumoi`s Sea, and Overture of the North.

Sato has received numerous awards including the Japanese Academy Award for Best Composer 3 times, as well as the Mainichi Film Concours award for Best Music on 3 occasions. He died of illness on December 5th, 1999, and is survived by his wife Chieko.

Manufactured by Ag (www.agsoundtracks.com)
Distributed by Ark Enterprise Co., Ltd.
AGCS-5001/02 (2CDs set) $35.50 - Street Date: June 23rd, 2004

MASARU SATO-Sound Theater~A Single Pencil

    [ Disc 1 ]

    Shanghai Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nin Yau Shean

  1. GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER (aka GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN)
  2. HIYA-MESHI TO OSANTO-CHAN
  3. THE HIDDEN FORTRESS
  4. DESPERADO OUTPOST
  5. YOJIMBO -Trailer Music (from "Ooinaru Kurobe")
  6. RED BEARD
  7. MEN AND WAR - Main Theme
  8. MEN AND WAR - Love Theme
  9. BATTLE CRY - A Turbulent Age
  10. THE ALASKA STORY - Mountains & Rivers in Alaska
  11. THE ALASKA STORY - A Whaling
  12. KOTEI NO INAI HACHIGATSU - Introduction
  13. NOMUGI PASS -Crossing Nomugi
  14. AH! NOMUGI TOGE: SHINRYOKUHEN - Prologue
  15. THE LAST GAME -Far Sky's Bolero
  16. TOWARD THE TERRA -The Faraway Planet...My Home
  17. KITA NO HOTARU
  18. NOBUNAGA ODA
  19. AFTER THE RAIN (APRES LA PLUIE)
  20. AFTER THE RAIN (APRES LA PLUIE) - Two of Us
  21. AFTER THE RAIN (APRES LA PLUIE) - End Title
  22. BAND OF ASSASSINS - When the Sun Rises in the Sky

    [ Disc 2 ]

    Shanghai Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nin Yau Shean

  1. A SINGLE PENCIL -Chieko Sato
  2. MICHIYUKI -Chieko Sato
  3. TO RUMOI'S SEA Part 1
  4. TO RUMOI'S SEA Part 2

    5. From "THE 2nd ITAMI FILM FESTIVAL: MASARU SATO FILM MUSIC CONCERT"
    Osaka Symphonica conducted by Masaru Sato

  5. KOTEI NO INAI HACHIGATSU - Allegro Maestoso
  6. SAPORRO WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES - Sayonara Sapporo
  7. A DISTANT CRY FROM SPRING
  8. THE GLACIER FOX - The Coming of Spring
  9. YOKIRO
  10. BAND OF ASSASSINS - When the Sun Rises in the Sky
  11. RASHOMON - Bolero for Masago's Testify
  12. SEVEN SAMURAI - Samurai's Theme
  13. DUN-HUANG (THE SILK ROAD) - Suite