Cécile Corbel - The Borrower Arrietty OST

French harpist Cécile Corbel’s contribution to the film score combines essential Celtic sounds of flute, acoustic guitar, violin and harp with English and Japanese lyrics, all making a very unique soundtrack to the 2010 Ghibli production of the 1952 novel, "The Borrowers." When the Ghibli production saw a UK dub in July 2011 and a North American dub by Disney in February 2012, the dubs and additional non-English versions did not translate the music, instead keeping it in its original state.

Soft soprano vocals with an accent and harp set the tone for the opening of the film with the first track, The Neglected Garden. In the hook to the chorus, the lines “come in the garden, sit on the grass / I used to say this as a child” best matches with the film, entering a garden with a story to it.

The Neglected Garden dissolves into Our House Below (Movie version) as soon as the leading male character, Sho steps into the garden in front of his house and spots tiny Arrietty swinging down the stem of a leafy plant. Our House Below (Movie version) is, of course, an extended version of the original Our House Below. The movie version features a longer, gentler harp intro that lasts no more than a minute and adds a magical, mysterious undertone as opposed to its original, shorter counterpart.

At eighteen minutes, a short snippet of The Doll House (Instrumental Version) plays in the background right as Arrietty and her father discover the doll house—very fitting for the mood.

Sho's Lament (Instrumental Version 1) is heard faintly in the background as he talks to her from a distance and continues as she returns home. Later, an alternate version Sho's Lament (Instrumental Version 2) is heard while Sho lays in the grass.

The energy in the film score picks back up in Arrietty's Song (Instrumental Version) before slipping into Sho's Song (Instrumental Version); both are gentle and tranquil yet the highlight of the soundtrack is definitely the full version of Arrietty's Song. Flute, harp and cello with a bounding melody form this composition. The track is lively and stands out against the other softer pieces. Also, Arrietty's Song represents the first adventure Arrietty has on her own. A short PV can be seen below.

Usually Hisaishi Joe composes the myriad of soundtracks that accompany Studio Ghibli’s films, yet for The Borrower Arrietty, the soundtrack sounds just as cinematic as if Hisaishi Joe had composed it -- a stunning musical score!