So the site contains quite a bit of text where Sawano comments on the CD. VK translated it and I used their translation as a base for my own one (as Russian is much easier for me than Japanese). There's some parts here where I was unsure on what they meant, but other than that it should be pretty informative. Original text taken by VK from this site: http://www.rittor-music.co.jp/s/sawanohiroyuki/)
Comments by Hiroyuki Sawano on the special CD which includes works that he made during his student years.
While studying at school I made a CD that contains songs that are very similar to fantasy soundtracks. The album is called FANTASIA. Tracks 1-7 on this CD are very fantasy-like (or part of the FANTASIA section).
At first I really liked Final Fantasy. But after listening to Mademoiselle Mozart by Tetsuya Komuro, I could feel the atmosphere of fantasy. Inspired by this, I did all of the songs on a YAMAHA EOS B900. This work for me was sort of an experiment, where I tried to reproduce an orchestra.
It all starts with a quiet part in the first song. Second song (unsure on what is said here). The third song is a theme of a city with a happy melody. The fourth song is heroic music fitting for a hero who goes around the world. The fifth song is a romance song between the hero and the heroine. The sixth song is a boss theme. The seventh song is the ending theme. The ninth song is a new version of 1st Mov: [Open a title page] ~ 物語 の 始 ま り ~
. I added some new parts but the arrangement hasn't changed much overall.
I put the CD in the book for young readers who dream of making music and are confident in their abilities and in their music. When I was young I heard that music critics listened to this CD (?). And it was not a very good response from their side (again, a bit unsure on this). But I have not changed much since then. In fact, when I was arranging the ninth song, I felt that I could use it for some games. So I want young composers to listen to this CD, be convinced in what they are doing now and continue their work in the future.
Incidentally, the eighth song is in the style of techno, which I wrote while in school for my friend's film.