Please Listen to To Shiver the Sky (Reprinted from note)

Overall Characteristics#

To Shiver the Sky is music for deep-dive analysis (kousatsu). Even just listening to it normally, the songs are ridiculously good, but once you understand the intentions woven into them, you’ll enjoy them many times over.

One characteristic of To Shiver the Sky is that across its 11 tracks, the lyrics span 8 different languages. Ranging from Italian to English, why on earth is that?

One reason is that Christopher Tin is extraordinarily skilled at setting lyrics in all sorts of languages, and he probably just loves doing it. “Baba Yetu” was in Swahili, “Sogno di Volare” is in Italian, and there is even a song with Japanese lyrics called “Mado Kara Mieru.”

On Calling All Dawns, which includes “Baba Yetu” and “Mado Kara Mieru,” he composed 12 songs in 12 different languages, masterfully portraying three stages: day, night, and dawn (corresponding to life, death, and rebirth).

The other—and biggest—reason is that this is an oratorio that tells the history of aviation.

An oratorio is a form of classical music. It’s a sacred/religious musical work characterized by quoting passages from scriptures and having a narrative story in the lyrics, and this characteristic is reflected directly in this album.

All of the lyrics on this album are based on famous writings or speeches related to the history of flight, and each movement is sung in the original language of its source.

So, let’s take a look at each track.

(As my analysis is still ongoing, some of the lyric translations and background research are incomplete.)

Sogno di Volare (“The Dream of Flight”)#

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” (From the Flight tech quote in Civ6)

Track 1. A piece quoting the famous maxim attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). (Though apparently, the truth is that it wasn’t actually da Vinci’s words; rather, around 1965, an actor voicing da Vinci in a documentary simply recited it.)

In Civ4, when you finish researching “Flight,” this exact tech quote plays, and that was actually the inspiration for composing this piece as the main theme of Civ6. According to the video below, because development on Civ6 hadn’t progressed very far yet, he crafted the song based solely on a single screenshot of the initial menu screen. Incredible.

I immediately knew that I wanted to write a piece about exploration. Not just physical exploration—like discovering new lands—but intellectual exploration: science, the humanities, art, literature, and poetry.

As someone from the Kemono Friends lore analysis crew (kousatsuhan), you can probably already see why I’m recommending this album so heavily.

The theme of “Sogno di Volare” is quoted repeatedly throughout the album as a leitmotif symbolizing humanity’s will to fly, doing wonders to elevate the overall unity and narrative of the work.

The Heavenly Kingdom#

“Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?”

In other words, it asks: who flies filled with yearning and devotion for the things of heaven?

They are those who, out of supreme love, forsake earthly kingdoms and seek the heavenly kingdom.

(Quoted text in quotes from the Japan Bible Society, the rest is my tentative translation)

A piece based on Scivias (“Know the Ways”) by Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179). Latin.

From this track onward, the album begins to unfold chronologically along actual aviation history.

Hildegard was apparently so exceptionally versatile that she was called the wisest woman of medieval Europe, making immense contributions to musical composition and herbal medicine in addition to being a visionary prophet. There might be an intention here to pair her with Leonardo da Vinci from Track 1.

Explaining the quoted passage properly seems a bit beyond me. This section reads like an exegesis of a verse from the Book of Isaiah in the Bible. Scivias seems to have a Japanese translation published, so I’ll look into it eventually.

Daedalus and Icarus#

The wax-fastened wings melted; though he beat his arms, they caught no air. Icarus cried out his father’s name, but it was swallowed by the blue sea.

“Icarus, Icarus, where are you?”

(My tentative translation)

A piece based on Metamorphoses by the ancient Roman poet Ovid. Latin.

The story of the fall of Icarus is quite familiar in Japan as well. It’s similar to “Yuuki Hitotsu o Tomo ni Shite” (With Only Courage as a Friend, a well-known Japanese children’s song about Icarus).

Driven by hubris and recklessness (or perhaps courage), Icarus flew too close to the sun and plummeted; the piece ends with his father and creator of the wings, Daedalus, weeping in grief.

Musically, this part is an emotional highlight (emo point). If you listen straight through the album, you’ll notice that it transitions seamlessly into the next track.

It also transitions seamlessly from the next track to the one after that, forming a cohesive mini-story across these movements.

In addition, the melody of that final lament is also used in “The Fall,” where its step-by-step chromatic descent depicts the descent into Hell.

The Fall#

O race of men, born to fly upward,

why at a breath of wind do ye so fall? (Dante, Purgatorio, trans. Motoaki Hara)

“Now therefore, rise!

If the mind is not beaten down by the heavy flesh,

conquer that panting breath with the spirit that triumphs in every battle.

A longer stairway must yet be scaled.

It is not enough merely to have parted from these spirits.

If thou understandest my intent, now act so that it may profit thee.”

(Dante, Inferno, trans. Motoaki Hara)

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” (From the Flight tech quote in Civ6)

We climbed upward, he first and I second,

until through a round opening I saw

some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears.

And then we emerged to see the stars once more.

(Dante, Inferno, trans. Motoaki Hara)

While looking into it, I ended up completing a full translation of the lyrics.

A piece based on the Divine Comedy (estimated around 1300–1320) by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Italian. A work that will be quite familiar to the Kemono Friends 2 lore analysis crew.

You might wonder: the Divine Comedy in aviation history? But the Divine Comedy is the foundation of modern conceptions of the afterlife, and Dante is said to be the one who established the worldview of Heaven being above and Hell being below. If so, by connecting the sky to heaven, the Divine Comedy can truly be called a landmark work in the history of flight.

The lyrics are divided into four sections.

The first passage is from Purgatorio, Canto XII. The next is from Inferno, Canto XXIV. After a reprise of “Sogno di Volare,” the final four lines of Inferno, Canto XXXIV are recited, escaping Hell. (And onward to Purgatory.)

It’s a brilliant feat that could only be pulled off because Dante and da Vinci were both Italians.

As you can see from the translation, the narrative depicts humanity, having failed once, renewing its will to fly and gazing up at the starry sky once more.

Isn’t that just insanely moving?

Astronomy#

Astronomy, the beautiful skies await your study.

Your majesty is so boundless that all the troubles of the earth are as nothing.

In beholding the stars, you behold the handiwork of God.

(My tentative translation)

A piece based on De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, 1543) by Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. Polish. A treatise that advocated heliocentrism and fundamentally transformed humanity’s view of the universe.

As an academic treatise, the original was written in Latin. However, because Copernicus hailed from Poland, it seems the text was adapted into Polish verse for this piece.

Consequently, even reading through the original De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact excerpt used for the lyrics.

In this piece, a secret is hidden in the sheet music. If you look at the score, the musical notes are aligned in the shapes of various constellations. Do take a look at the score while listening.

To The Stars#

Before long, we will build trains of projectiles,

and travel comfortably from the Earth to the Moon.

(My tentative translation)

A piece based on From the Earth to the Moon (1865) by French author Jules Verne. French.

The story involves launching a spacecraft from the Earth to the Moon using a giant cannon.

In the structure of the album as a whole, this marks the beginning of the second half. “To the Stars” can be positioned as a sort of briefing—or prophecy—for the intermediate objective of reaching the Moon.

Even though it’s based on a 19th-century novel, perhaps because it’s science fiction, the sound has an overall modern feel to it, which is fascinating. It might be the most modern-sounding piece on the album. I love it.

Oh, the Humanity#

It reassures me that my instrument will be used for the blessing and benefit of the German Empire.

(My tentative translation)

A piece based on speeches by German inventor and military officer Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917). German. It deals with the Hindenburg disaster (1937).

The title “Oh, the humanity” originates from the live radio broadcast of the disaster.

However, when it comes to the lyrics, I’ve had a hard time finding the exact speech they were sourced from.

Speech to the German people about the catastrophe of Echterdingen | MSU Libraries d.lib.msu.edu It’s probably something like this, but my German listening ability is practically zero, so I haven’t been able to verify it at all…

Musically, right from the opening bars, the theme of “Sogno di Volare” is varied in an ominous tone, creating a terrifying atmosphere. With its dark ambiance throughout and siren-like sounds, you can tell what it’s trying to express even without understanding the words.

Also, hearing the “Sogno di Volare” theme again at the end, resolved with a peculiar cadence, is an incredible emotional punch. (I feel like there’s a formal musical term for that kind of ending, but I’ve forgotten it.)

To give an example of a piece you might know, it’s a progression similar to the end of the loop in the N64 version of Rainbow Road. An ending with a sense of release—or rather, a feeling of hanging unresolved in midair.

Courage#

Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace. (My tentative translation)

A piece based on the poem “Courage” (1928) by American aviator Amelia Earhart. English.

She is known for being the first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight. This poem was published right after that achievement.

She’s reasonably well known in Japan, but apparently in the United States she’s an absolute icon.

Musically, the female vocal solo is gorgeous. Coming between two heavy pieces, it serves as a breath of fresh air.

Become Death#

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one…

I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds.

(From the Civ4 Tech Quotes Wiki)

A piece based on remarks (1965) by American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Sanskrit. From 26:12 in the video below.

The tech quote that plays when you finish researching Fission in Civ4 has been turned directly into a song. The quote above completes the full translation of the lyrics.

Oppenheimer led the Manhattan Project and is known as the “father of the atomic bomb.” At first glance (largely due to how it’s translated into Japanese), the statement above can sound wildly arrogant, but in reality it stemmed from profound remorse over having developed nuclear weapons.

While his remarks were spoken in English, because he was quoting the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita (the “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” line), the entire text appears to have been translated into Sanskrit for this track.

Rather than dealing solely with the atomic bombings, it’s probably better to see this piece as addressing the broader, more abstract reality of aviation technology being weaponized for war. In the trailer, as part of that dark history, mention is made not only of aerial bombing, but also of kamikaze attacks. Though hardly in a desirable way, in a sense you could say Japan is the protagonist of this movement.

The Power of the Spirit#

Orbiting Earth in a spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is.

People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!

(My tentative translation)

The essence of human strength lies in the power of the spirit.

(My tentative translation)

A piece based on remarks by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Russian. The quotes above complete the full translation of the lyrics.

In April 1961, Gagarin succeeded in the world’s first human spaceflight. At least the former quote appears to have been handwritten by him following the flight.

Building on the grim aftermath of the preceding piece, you can see how this movement is intended as an answer to it.

On a slightly meta level, if you’re going to highlight humanity’s first Moon landing, it wouldn’t be fair unless you also featured humanity’s first spaceflight. If it turned into an “America, heck yeah!” piece, the overarching theme of an oratorio for all humanity would fall apart.

It simply repeats the same melody over and over, but as more and more parts join in and swell to a climax, it feels like it portrays a resurrection from the depths of despair.

It was a story of failure, and of death.

…Yet resilient humanity does not refuse the call of the sky. Whenever we find ourselves deep in the dark night, that dream of flight [Sogno di Volare] beckons us to step out of the darkness and look upon the stars once more.

(From the trailer, my tentative translation)

We Choose to Go to the Moon#

We choose to go to the moon.

(My tentative translation)

A piece based on the speech (1961) by the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. English.

The famous speech launching the Apollo program. From 8:55.

Humanity’s dream of flight culminates—at least for now—in the form of the Apollo program, reaching a temporary milestone by arriving at the Moon.

Musically, an emotional highlight is once again having elements of “Sogno di Volare” interwoven throughout. The G-F#-G-D-G-F#… in the intro evokes “Sogno di Volare,” and near the climax, layering the words “We choose to go to the moon” over the melody of “una volta che avrai…” brilliantly overlaps the goal of “going to the moon” with the central theme of “the dream of flight.”

Impressions#

Purely and endlessly moving (emo). For the past few weeks, I’ve had it on continuous repeat.

In my personal opinion, the dream of flight isn’t rooted in individual experiences, but is a yearning shared across all of humanity.

One physical trait of human beings is our throwing ability, which, generalized, means “the power to exert influence on distant places.” (Or so a book surveying the history of flight said.) If that’s the case, isn’t it inevitable that the target of this power would be the sky—the farthest yet most ubiquitous presence around us?

Rather than focusing solely on success, the album frames its events around dark history—the fall of Icarus, the Hindenburg disaster, the atomic bombings—and depicts the psychological struggle of rising back up without losing heart, which I feel is what gives this album its universal resonance.

Although To Shiver the Sky is titled an oratorio of the history of flight, at its core, I think it tells the entire history of human exploration. Overcoming the technical and ethical failures inherent to any invention and pushing toward where we truly ought to go—this album condenses all of that drama.

If I had to point out a flaw, it would be that the history of flight featured here leans quite heavily toward the West and the United States. In the trailer, as part of aviation’s dark history, it mentions weapons dropped from the sky as well as turning aircraft themselves into bombs. Yet in the actual album, there is no particular mention of kamikaze attacks, which feels a little strange. (It might sound inappropriate, but I would have loved to hear a Japanese piece based on letters left behind by tokko pilots. Then again, maybe he intentionally avoided it precisely because it’s sensitive.)

Christopher Tin is American, and indeed the “farthest place humanity has reached” is the Moon, so having the overarching narrative tilt toward America as the ultimate protagonist is perhaps unavoidable.

Even so, I have no doubt that this album will resonate with a huge audience. If this article piqued your curiosity, please give it a listen.

If asked to pick a single favorite, it’s tough, but when walking home alone at night, looking up at the sky while listening to the flow from “The Fall” into “Astronomy” feels incredible. No, honestly, every single track has its own incomparable brilliance.

For those who have listened through the whole album, enjoy this as a finale.

It is the nature of humankind to push itself towards the horizon.

We test our limits. We face our fears. We rise to the challenge.

And become something greater than ourselves: a civilization.

(My tentative translation)

That’s All for Today#

I had originally hoped to write a light introduction, but the analysis ended up taking far more time than I anticipated. I’ve spent about 12 hours listening to the album, and just as much time researching for this write-up.

Setting aside the goal of delivering a flawless deep dive for now, I figured I’d publish this article to spread the word, incomplete as it is, and make revisions later.

Bonus#

Pardon a bit of personal nostalgia, but when I first discovered To Shiver the Sky, my very first reaction was: “He beat me to it!”

You see, I was planning to do the exact same thing as the soundtrack for an educational MMD video series titled “Learning Aviation History with Kaban-chan” [from Kemono Friends]. (And what’s more, I was planning to use “Sogno di Volare” as the ending theme for the final episode. The ending of my “The 1001st Hero” video is a leftover remnant of that.)

It stings that doing it now would feel like a total copycat, but what can you do? If anything, this magnificent album has rekindled my motivation.

“Learning Aviation History with Kaban-chan” stalled out after Episode 2, and since producing MMD videos is so exhausting, I don’t really have the drive to make sequels, but I’ll embed it below just in case.

If I ever do a continuation, I think I’d choose something other than MMD. Besides, so much of my knowledge has been updated that a complete reboot from scratch might be the way to go.