Hayley in Islington, 29th June 2010

[nicola]

Hey guys,

Just got back from a concert in the Union Chapel in Islington, London. It was a Canadian Tenors concert, but they featured Hayley as a special guest. I'm sorry you couldn't have known this until after the event, but for some reason, it had to be kept secret (I did let the cat out of the bag for a brief time, but I put it back in!)

Martin and Mark were also there, I was surprised to see!

I went there not expecting much, and only went, really, because I was put on the guest list. I thought, well, hey, it's in London, with some new group, and if I don't like them, Hayley will be there!

I had a good night with the Canadian Tenors, actually. They were a lot of fun, and whilst they sang their Prayers, Nella Fantasias and O Sole Mios, a lot of it was actually quite unusual, and they played around with arrangements, etc. They were charming and knew how to make the audience laugh. It was a beautiful venue, too.

They were supported by Tammy Weis - I appreciated her talent, but she was not for me. She was a mix of jazz and country, and I wasn't feeling it.

Hayley was used as a finale. She came on and sang Hallelujah with the lads. She belted it out and it was a really powerful performance from her. I was glad I got to hear her sing that song in that way. Afterwards, the guys let her have the stage to herself, and she sang Pokarekare Ana. Then that was it from her apart from when she was called back to the stage for a bow at the end for applause.

Hayley was on form as usual, but... I don't know if Martin or Mark felt this, but she didn't seem happy or comfortable (would have liked to have found out, but had to rush off). She looked nervous and really unsure (it didn't help that she was wearing the tallest heels known to man, though). Even when she bowed and thanked the audience she seemed a bit off... I hope she's okay!

All in all, a really enjoyable evening. Glad I went. The name 'Canadian Tenors' puts me off a bit, but they had their own charm and stand out quite easily from Blake/Il Divo/Teatro etc.

[martindn]

Hi Nicola,

Well, Hayley did tweet that she was "Frazzled". She tweeted again when she got home and it sounds as if she recovered and enjoyed herself. Let's hope so.

Martin D

[Richard]

Thanks for the report, Nicola!

If Hayley was suffering from the heat, I know exactly how she feels. I've hardly had any sleep for the last two nights, so now I might drop off during the day. :

Richard

[Jillian]

Hi everyone,

Here are some photos of Hayley performing with the Canadian Tenors. Sorry about the watermarks -- it was the best I could find!

























Cheers,
Jillian

[Martin]

Many thanks for finding these photos, Jillian, Mark and I saw a photographer and cameraman at the back of the church. Thanks also to Nicola for the very early report!

We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and were very impressed by the Canadian Tenors who are far superior to the other touring classical male quartets. They have produced an interesting blend of classical and popular music and with great stage presence they had the audience in fits of laughter at times.

Hayley was the icing on the cake and whilst her contribution was short it was great to see her again after almost six months. Hayley doesn't often appear as a guest in other artists' concerts so I guess it was all a bit strange.

Martin

[Mark]

Hi everyone

Thanks so much to Nicola and Martin for your reports. It was good to see you again Nicola and to meet your dad and 'driver' for the evening.

After a very calm and cool train journey down to London, the same can't be said for the tube - OK so it was the rush hour, but sardines in a tin would have had more room and they would have been cooler!! Anyway, I met up with Martin an hour before the doors opened and we had a very welcome pint of cold lager before going off in search of the venue.

As the title suggests, the venue was a chapel and actually a very good location for typical Hayley concert. The seating was of course pews but these did slope up wards from the front - just like in a theatre. As Martin & I were on the guest list, we by passed the queue, got our hand stamped and went straight in. This meant that we were able to find a seat on the front row!

Nicola has already described the concert extremely well, so I won't go over it again but, my thoughts were - what a superb surprise the Canadian Tenor's turned out to be. Apart from having terrific voices, they had a great stage presence and were hugely entertaining. At least 2 of the guys played piano at various stages and one, guitar. They each did several solo spots as well. What I particularly liked was the use of a base guitarist, 2 keyboard players and a drummer with full drum kit.

With no interval, we were starting to wonder when & even if Hayley would appear. However, appear she did and I think it was a perfect way for Hayley to come on stage, a few bars into that fantastic song 'Hallelujah'. Hayley just joined in to a wonderfully warm applause from the audience, although I am not sure that many would have known her. I think the three of us and Kathryn from Bedlam, were the only English people there, as most others seemed to be from Canada!!

I agree Nicola, that Hayley did seem a little nervous and slightly unsure, particularly about when to start singing after she had initially come on stage - I sensed she very nearly came in too early. I put this down to the fact that she was asked to do this very last minute and that they must have had very limited rehearsal time. Never the less, she gave a fantastic performance and I found my eyes watering when she sang 'Pokarekare Ana' despite the fact that I had heard her sing it dozens of times live. I think this is because I haven't seen her since before Christmas and I suddenly realised how much I have missed hearing her voice and the whole concert scene.

I did have a chance at the end to have a brief chat with one of the Tenor's and was able to congratulate him on a wonderful show. I'm afraid that I only had my mobile phone with me, but I did take a few photos, although Jillian has already found the 'professional' versions. Well done Jillian. Still, I will post a few as I have taken them.
























As I say, sorry about the quality - not too bad for a mobile though!!

Many thanks to Martin for his company in what turned out to be a very enjoyable evening.

Best wishes

Mark

[Karsten]

Hi, Nicola, Jillian, Martin and Mark,

Many thanks for the reports and the pictures.

It’s good to know that at least a few selected members were invited as guests to this gig and were able to provide us with some words and photos about it.

Best wishes,

Karsten

[martindn]

Thanks for the reports and pictures guys.

Martin D

[martindn]

Hi Guys,

Actually, thinking about it, i wonder if it was that song that Hayley was uncomfortable with! I could understand that if she has understood what it is about, and I bet she did. After all, it is very very dark for Hayley (as I think are many of Cohen's songs - he's a tremendouslyricist though). I don't think she would be fooled by the pretty melody

I can't image she would be too keen on singing about murdering someone's partner because you fancy their other half.... and saying it all right because King David effectively did it!



Martin D

[comet]

I suppose it is because Hallelujah is possibly Cohen's most famous song (At the moment, It used to be Suzanne)due to the likes of the X Factor, Simon Cowel, U2, Katherine Jenkins and numerous others.

I would have loved it to have been IF IT BE YOUR WILL which I think is more in keeping with the wonderful rendition Hayley did of Majesty which is just pretty amazing.

Leonard Cohen and the Webb sisters IF IT BE YOUR WILL live in Dublin

[nicola]

Actually, thinking about it, i wonder if it was that song that Hayley was uncomfortable with! I could understand that if she has understood what it is about, and I bet she did. After all, it is very very dark for Hayley (as I think are many of Cohen's songs - he's a tremendouslyricist though). I don't think she would be fooled by the pretty melody

I can't image she would be too keen on singing about murdering someone's partner because you fancy their other half.... and saying it all right because King David effectively did it!

There are many different versions of that song now - singers switch, omit, and add verses to have it suit them and what they're trying to say. I don't think Katherine was thinking about that version on her "Sacred Arias" album!

Wondering why she was a bit uncomfortable can only be speculation - Mark and I could have read it wrong. But from what I know of her and the amount of times I see her, she was not her usual self.

But I wished someone recorded that rendition of Hallelujah because she nailed it. It was very powerful.

[Richard]

Hello Nicola!

I'm sure Hayley made a very good impression with that amazing hairstyle too. It's her best ever!

Richard

[martindn]

Hi Nicola,

I'm sure Hayley would be far too polite, as a guest of a Canadian act and performing to mostly Canadians, to refuse a song by one of Canada's greatest songwriters, however much she disliked it.

I could understand why she wouldn't like that song, and also why she would still go ahead and perform it brilliantly like the wonderful professional she is.

I have to say I haven't listened carefully enough to spot if either Katherine or Alexandra Burke changed the words, and I would expect Hayley would just have been given them, with no options to change any bits she didn't like.

And yes, I would love to hear that performance too!

Martin D

[Juliette]

Hi Nicola, Mark and Jillian!

Thank you very for the reports and the photos!!
I envy you, Nicola and Mark, to have had the opportunity to hear Hayley sing Hallelujah, because it's a song I would love to hear Hayley sing!

About the lyrics... Well maybe it's not really the kind of lyrics Hayley is used to, but I think that doesn't have an impact on the whole performance. Indeed, in a song you have lyrics and music. In this song, the music is very beautiful and the music itself has the ability to move you. So in this case, in my opinion, it's not about portraying absolutely the lyrics you're singing but just feel the music, it's about grasping the whole song as just a melody and transcribe how the melody acts on your soul and your whole body.
When you sing in a foreign language, even if you understand what the song is about, you can't, while singing, think about every word and its meaning the way you do when you sing in your own language. So at one point, you feel and transcribe the music only, how the melody runs into your body, how it moves you before you transcribe the real meaning of the song. When Hayley recorded Walking in the Air or Hayley Westenra, I doubt she was able to understand in her Italian or Latin songs the meaning of every sentence and every word while singing them and she was still able to give amazing performances.
I think it's not about being so professionnal that you can make believe you enjoy performing a song with lyrics that don't correspond you and still give an amazing performance, it's not about doing the big effort and afterwards having people say 'Wow, she's still able to give an amazing performance even if the lyrics are not suited for a singer like her'. It's not the big effort, it's prove that you're completely an artist because you can feel both music and lyrics, because once again a song is lyrics AND music. Otherwise, if you're only able to feel the lyrics, you're a poet and not a singer. And if in a song you can't feel neither the lyrics nor the music, if you're not at least comfortable or moved by one of them, then you can make all the efforts possible, I believe you wouldn't be able to give a powerful performance, as Hayley's one was, as described by Nicola, moreover considering how much you can see Hayley is feeling her songs when she sings them.

Anyway, any chance to have a video of the performance??
Well, maybe there'll be other occasions to hear her sing that song.... I hope... !

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Juliette

[nicola]

There's no evidence whatsoever that she disliked the song anyway. From what I could hear and see, she was absolutely fine with it.

I'm sorry, but I didn't record the performance - I'm never one to hold a camera! XD Martin and Mark were in the front row so it would have been very awkward for them!

The performance was being filmed by a professional, but who by and for what purpose, I do not know.

Thank you for your thoughts on the lyrics vs. music. It's an interesting read!

Nic xx