Paradiso (general thread)

[Libby]

I'm not saying I don't think there will be any variety. I admit I'm not very familiar with Ennio Morricone. I know Gabriel's Oboe/Nella Fantasia, and I know Cinema Paradiso, and My Heart and I, but that's it. Cinema Paradiso was on Josh Groban's first album, but I don't listen to it very often, because I always found it to be one of the less interesting-sounding songs on his album. But I think Hayley would sound great singing it.

[grant]

It seems to me that, at almost 82, Ennio will have done pretty much everything he wants to and, similarly, will have worked with most of the people he wants to.

From his following comment from the press release

Hayley Westenra is a rare singer, maybe unique in the international panorama. Her voice and perfect intonation have really struck me.

A pretty amazing statement from such an iconic figure from which it would seem that he has been aware of Hayley for some time. It would be quite something if the initial approach came from him!

Of course, we may never know the answer to that but the important thing for me is that Hayley is very excited to be working with Ennio and by the prospect of the album they are creating. It's Hayley's career and she usually knows what she is doing and what works for her.

Bring it on Hayley, I for one can't wait!!

Best wishes
Grant

[Libby]

May 20, 2010 8:55:41 GMT grant said:

It's Hayley's career and she usually knows what she is doing and what works for her.

Bring it on Hayley, I for one can't wait!!

Yes, I'm sure it'll be a beautiful album (what Hayley album isn't?), so I think we ought to stop worrying and speculating about it so much, myself included. It hasn't even been recorded yet, and then it's months before it comes out.

[martindn]

Hi Libby,

Ah, but it is fun isn't it? As always with Hayley, details slowly emerge and it only serves to heighten our anticipation. For myself, it is wonderful to have my opinion of Hayley confirmed by such a legendary person in the music business.

Oh and

[glow=red,2,300]Then, working with her, I found out that she is also a great interpreter. I’m sure we’ll do a good job together.[/glow]

So why does she only have 3 stars for interpretation on your site Nicola? I feel that this is something Hayley has made great strides with in the last year or so, and that may well have been influenced by your feedback. I know she listens to and acts on what her reviewers say.

Martin D

[Libby]

It is fun, but it can get old when we only know so much, and get ourselves all confused, when we're the ones making up all these confusing things. And especially since it is so far away, it only makes me more impatient, and I don't want to be impatient. That only makes it seem longer. If I don't think about it as much, it'll get here faster. But I'm not promising that I won't think about it too much.

[martindn]

Well, Libby, things happen just about every day in the Hayleysphere. Hayley appears or performs somewhere (actually, it is now a very long time since she performed anywhere, except in private perhaps - perhaps the longest time since the Pure tour started) or tweets at least every few days. So following her is never dull, and there days thanks to the Internet we can all keep up. It wasn't always thus, years ago you would hear nothing from artists you followed for months on end.

I saw some artists last night that I didn't even know were still alive!!

Martin D

[Libby]

If I thought following Hayley was dull, I wouldn't be here. Right now, I'm anticipating June when Hayley is supposed to start recording, because it'll mean it's that much closer to the release.

I saw on Ennio Morricone's website that he'll be in Shanghai on June 2nd. I guess he doesn't have to be present for the recording, or either that, or she's not recording that soon in June.

Well, Hayley did tell us in a tweet that she would let us know when she starts recording.

[Libby]

Oh, I just listened to some of the songs by Ennio suggested for Hayley to sing.

Cinema Paradiso was one Josh Groban sang on his first album, which I mentioned above. I don't listen to it very often. I listened again today, and I thought it was a lovely tune. His voice sounded good singing it (to me at least), but compared to his more recent/popular songs, it wasn't that exciting for him.
Having said that, if Hayley sings it, I think I will like it better. I know Hayley's voice would sound beautiful with it, and I feel sure she'd put something more into it to make me like it more.
I also listened to Sarah Brightman singing La Califfa on youtube. I thought this song sounded very nice, too, and I actually liked it better than Cinema.
I think I'll end up liking the newer songs co-written by Hayley better, though, because Hayley's songs area always the best, no matter who she writes them with.

[nicola]

I feel that this is something Hayley has made great strides with in the last year or so

I agree. That's why her interpretation went up from two stars to three.

[Libby]

So, it seems the new album will be recorded in Rome, unless that's what the article misquoted her on.

So, I wonder if that will mean she will record it all in one short space of time, in June. I wouldn't think she'd be able to go back and forth to Rome very easily during her tour. So I'm guessing most of it will get done this month, maybe some finishing touches in August.

[martindn]

I don't think the recording usually takes long with Hayley, one it is worked out. I heard that HSJS (1) was recorded in 3 days. IIRC Winter Magic took less than a week. So she might only need a week or so in Rome to do it. But if Ennio and his orchestra are involved, it will take a bit of organisation.

Martin D

[Juliette]

Hi everyone!

I'm really surprised that, in the Ennio's songs you thought Hayley could sing on her new album, nobody mentionned Once Upon a Time in the West or Once Upon a Time in the Revolution. Yes, these soundtracks do not contain songs with lyrics but each definitely contain a splendid vocal theme. And they perfectly fit a singer like Hayley, because those theme can't be sing by an opera singer with a strong vibrato and whose voice comes really from her chest and sounds round and thick, but they need a soft and really pure, light and airy voice, just like Hayley's voice. So I think those two themes would sound really great with Hayley. And that wouldn't be that strange to hear her sing a song with just the vocal; she already did that with Bachianas Brasileiras by Villa-Lobos. So I think, if the newspaper's statement reveals itself to be true (that she will sings some of the most famous Ennio's compositions), it's a possibility to not exclude. Besides, beyond fitting her perfectly, those two themes, and especially Once Upon a Time in the West, are amongst Ennio's famous works.

I wouldn't like her to sing "Nella Fantasia". I've heard it too many times and I'm quite forgetting the beauty of the theme, so Hayley's recording would be the one too much.

Otherwise, I read the previous comments of the thread, and there was one point that was raised, even before we knew she was working with Ennio: Hayley often mentionned that she was writing songs for her new album. So I guess we don't have to be worried too much about what the album will be made of. Plus, if we look to Ennio's biography, he's only going to 82, not 85 or 90, and his 70-year carrer will be marked in 2016 only, so in my opinion, a tribute album would not be justified. We all know that it is a Hayley album, it's an international album, thus I guess a lot of people are waiting for Hayley's work, especially as her last international albul was in 2007 (I don't include RoD as it mostly contained old songs). And her record company can expect that, that people are waiting for HER album and not a tribute album; I think that would be non-sense for a new international album to turn out to be a tribute album. I can be totally wrong about it and the album could be a fifty-fifty Ennio/Hayley, but I do believe that would be a mistake from Decca to label it as "Hayley's new international album" and to make of it a total or just in part tribute album to Ennio. I guess that if they mentionned that Hayley will sing some of Ennio's famous works, it is because you can't work with the Great Morricone without wanting to pay tribute just a bit to his amazing carreer by singing one of his own work.
But my intuition tells me that it won't be only about it, and I will follow Jillian, who first mentionned it, and others thinking about "On the Wings of Time" and suggesting that Hayley writes some lyrics and Ennio composes the music for them.

Cheers,
Juliette

[graemek]

Thanks Juliet for your well thought out post.

Have always been fascinated by Bachianas Brasileiras....voice as a musical instrument. (since I heard hayley sing it)

Have recently ordered Once upon a time out West the movie from HMV london. I saw it years ago in Germany....great music...great movie.

Hayley's new album promises to be very atmospheric !!!!!

Graeme

[comet]

I'm wondering if there should be an s in the title of this thread

Hayley's 2010 Albums

Seems to be an awful lot going on for just ONE album.
Now that is just me speculating, or daydreaming.


What I hope for in the final production of Hayley's new album is Hayley's voice well in the foreground,
up close and personal like the vocalise version of Pokarekare Ana on the 2001 Universal Album Hayley Westenra.

I think this is what most real Hayley fans want, not the orchestra drowning Hayley out.
I think we buy Hayley albums to hear Hayley,
This was what made Hayley's live performances with Fiona and Ian Tilley so good, there was so little distraction from the main attraction.

I think the record companies get carried away with themselves, over complicating the the final production with more rather than less.

ha ha ! maybe what I would really like is a whole acapella album, no frills, nothing added, nothing taken away.



ummm ! must write to Santa, get in early eh ?

[martindn]

Now you're talking Paul!! Absolutely agree. Hayley has such a beautiful instrument, why do you need to water her down by adding other less beautiful one?

Martin D