The soundtrack that put Yuki Kajiura on the map for an entire generation of anime fans. Noir's first OST opens with "coppelia's coffin" and immediately you're in this world of trip-hop beats, operatic vocals, and quiet violence.
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"Canta per me" is the one everyone remembers, that aching Italian vocal over minimal arrangement that somehow makes assassination feel melancholic. "Salva nos" flips everything loud, urgent Latin chanting over pounding drums during combat scenes.
But it's the quieter tracks that stay with you. "Solitude by the window" and "snow" create this stillness that's almost unbearable. Kajiura blending electronic production with classical vocals in 2001 was ahead of its time.
If you've never heard Kajiura's early work, this is where you start.