Review of Odyssey

[scott]

Hi Pat,

I too love 'Odyssey', which was my first real exposure to Hayley's talents. I absolutely love "What You Never Know" but I also can go on and on about "She Moved Through the Fair" and "Never Saw Blue." A truly Fantastic album.

Also welcome to the Forum, and I hope you find much enjoyment in the many posts on here.

-Scott

[Dave]

dave said:

1littlegirl said:

Well, here is my review of Odyssey.
[snips]
Next comes the gorgeous classical piece, “Quanta Qualia.” ... Hayley reaches some very high notes in this piece, and they are very good!

...And finally “My Heart Belongs to You” is a soft pop song. Hayley pulls off this song very well. She reaches some incredibly low notes in this song. Hayley is really increasing her vocal range!

Well Cathleen, with comments like that, i just had to investigate! So I did a spectrum analysis on the PC... and also compared it with my daughter's old keyboard just to make sure

Hayley's vocal range on Odyssey seems to go from the F sharp below middle C (On My Heart Belongs to You) up to the D above High A - two octaves and one note above middle C (in Quantia Qualia, of course).

If I am right, that makes a range of two octaves plus five and a half notes. I don't know how to express that correctly! It sounds like a pretty wide range to me and wider, I think, than Hayley achieved on "Pure" by quite a bit
Edit: corrected after re-checking

Just a quick update on this everyone,

Following Hayley's recent vocal gymnastics on the BBC Radio 4 "Today" programme, I've (naturally ) done a frequency analysis on it and we can now increase Hayley's singing range slightly... by one semitone! She reached D#6 (D sharp in the 6th piano octave - 1217 Hz) that is two octaves and three semitones above middle C. So her known range is now exactly two and threequarter octaves (two octaves and nine semitones).

Watch out Mariah Carey!

Cheers, Dave

[Stephany]

Strangely enough, an Australian paper named 'The Independent Weekly' reviewed Hayley's CD Odyssey last week. They mention 'West Side Story' and give Hayley's right age so it's definitely up-to-date. Except that they don't seem to know 'Odyssey' was released two years ago...

CDs, Odyssey by Hayley Westerna Westenra
The Indepedent Weekly
August 10, 2007
By Diana Carroll



International classical cross-over star Hayley Westenra is surprisingly little-known here in Australia. The native New Zealander surged to worldwide musical fame four years ago when her debut album Pure became a double-gold seller in its first week and went on to become a double-platinum hit. Now 20, Westenra has matured as a performer since that first album. She still has the perfectly pitched soprano voice but her individuality shines on this CD. Odyssey, her second album, is an eclectic mix of classical, pop, Celtic, and new age music.

Westenra co-wrote some of the tracks here and these songs display her Irish roots. At times, these tracks sound like Enya meets Celine Dion but together they are seductive, sexy, and very accomplished. The duet Dell'Amore Non Si Sa with Andrea Bocelli is just superb and the chill-out gospel rendition of I Say Grace is spine-tinglingly beautiful. When she's not recording, performing with Il Divo, recreating Maria in West Side Story, or singing at her own sell-out shows, Westenra is a passionate ambassador for the international children's charity UNICEF. She has also been nominated by PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) as the 'Sexiest Vegetarian of 2007".

Decca, RRP $26.99

Link to the original page: Indaily - The Independent Weekly

Stephany