Classic FM magazine - 10th May 2007 (June issue)

[Richard]

Hello folks!

I was listening to the Evening Concert on Classic FM last night, which was based on the June issue of the magazine. Nick Bailey played Hayley's 'Bist Du Bei Mir', and commented that he really likes her uncomplicated voice!

Somehow I forgot to buy the magazine yesterday, but I'll definitely pick up a copy later today. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes,

Richard

[grant]

I got my copy about an hour ago - fifth place I tried

I really enjoyed reading this article and particularly like the "Henry Kelly discovers the Irish past powering the singer's brilliant future" comment on the front cover

Way to go Hayley!!

Although, as we've already noted, much of the content isn't new, there are a couple of bits I really like, especially the bit about Hayley's mini carol concert at her aunt's wedding - brilliant!!.

Also, we now know why Hayley takes time to explain her songs where she feels it is necessary - because her Grandma used to explain them to her!!

Finally, an interesting coincidence! Angel Data who are running the competition for Classic FM are based only a five minute drive away from me!!

Best wishes
Grant

[Jeff]

It's quite an admission for Hayley to say she doesn't want to get into the realms of opera and lieder, particularly for someone who's marketed as a classical singer. I get the feeling she really wants to do folk and celtic material but then the record compnay comes along and says: "Hang on a minute. We'd better put a couple of classical tracks on this album so it gets a play on Classic FM with their 7 million listeners !" I'm glad she didn't have voice coaching at 12 if she felt it might ruin her voice, although other singers seem to have been successfully taught, but then they don't sound like Hayley !

[Dave]

Hi Jeff,

Hayley has never (to my knowledge) said that she is or wants to be an opera singer, although much of the uninitiated and loose-talking media has persisted in describing her as such. I haven't seen "lieder" mentioned before but I suppose it's similar to a certain types of opera aria in some cases, with considerable professional vocal training required to carry it off successfully. But there have always been exceptions, light operatic arias if you like, to which Hayley's "freestyle" voice (for want of a better word) is better suited and I suspect that we will occasionally find her singing such songs in the future... on her albums anyway, if not "live" in concert.

I think the confusion has arisen because of the UK classical chart rules, which allow "traditional" music (including many folk and sacred songs) to count as classical if they are done in the traditional way, avoiding modern "pop and rock" instruments, beats, electronics and styles. This makes it closer to classical music than pop or rock music but of course, classical purists would argue that it isn't classical music. Fortunately for Hayley, and others, the purists don't have it all their own way so singers like Hayley, All Angels and Katherne Jenkins are not (in the UK) lumped together with others like Il Divo and Angelis. The latter seem to use any kind of backing they feel like, without restriction, and that is "pop" not "classical" even if the actual songs are the same, and were written by classical composers.

Also luckily for Hayley, in the UK you are allowed to have up to 40% of non "classical" music on your classical album - and this can be anything (even rock, I believe!) so this lets Hayley write or commission her own pop songs, and lets Katherine for example, have some pop songs on her albums too. So it's the albums that are classical and strangely enough, the singer is irrelevant (Sting has a classical album in the chart!).

All this means that Hayley has plenty of scope for continuing in the future just the way she has done in the past, and she should have no difficulty in finding suitable songs for her future "classical" albums even if she totally ignores opera and lieder. And much of the media will continue to not understand the distinction between opera singers and singers like Hayley, who just make "classical" albums.

Does any of that make sense?

Cheers, Dave

[Jeff]

Thanks for the clarification, Dave. Let's hope her article in Classic FM mag does the trick and boosts sales since I've just listened to the chart show and "Treasure" does seem to be falling down the Top 10 now. You'd know more about this than me but it looks as if her 3rd CD may spend less time in the Top 10 than her first 2 albums .

[Dave]

Hi Jeff,

I don't have all the Classic FM charts but Odyssey special edition stayed at no. 1 in the Classical Artist chart for 10 weeks last year. Treasure was no. 1 for 3 weeks.. but that isn't the whole story because last summer, there was no serious competition for Hayley (such as Fron MVC this year).

A better guide is "weeks in the top 200 pop album chart"; Odyssey SE had 11 and Treasure had 9 so yes, it's a bit worse but that is to be expected when Hayley's done very little UK promo and she has been mostly out of the Country ever since the release week.

We won't know how well UK Treasure has really done until the end of the year, by which time Hayley will have been back in the UK a few times and no doubt there will have been a Special Edition released (which could out-sell the original I think). It's probably down on total sales so far too, by somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000, partly due to the slightly weaker chart perfornance and partly because CD sales generally in the UK are well down on last year.

Cheers, Dave

[roger]

jeff said:

I've just listened to the chart show and "Treasure" does seem to be falling down the Top 10 now.

Hi Jeff,

Although Dave is far better placed to comment as to the possible reasons for Treasure's decline, I will throw in my two pennyworth nonetheless.

During this morning's Classic FM countdown, I noticed several albums had risen quite dramatically. What most of them had in common is that they were nominated for the Album of the Year award at the Classical Brits. Because of the press coverage, those albums would have sold quite well this week (and that trend is likely to continue following tomorrow tonight's broadcast of the CBAs). In that case, the previous top albums would have been forced down the charts (if, like Treasure, they were not nominated for a Classical Brit).

Dave, is there any substance in that theory?

Roger

[Dave]

Hi Roger and Jeff,

I thought this was becoming sufficiently off-topic now (and is interesting enough) to merit its own thread in the chart and sales board, so i've cobbled a new thread together there, it's called Treasure/Odyssey Chart/Sales comparisons so I've made my reply there!

I am sure that if there's any follow-up, members will add their comments about it in that thread.

Cheers, Dave

[Joe]

Hi all,

My local Borders didn't have the ClassicFM June 2007issue yet. (Two copies of the May issue only). I asked an assistant and she said to call in three or four weeks.

[roger]

According to a report on Classic FM this morning, several stores are already out of stock and it has only been out for four days! If anyone wishes to buy a copy (in the UK), it might be as well to do so as soon as possible.

Roger

[Richard]

Thanks for the information, Roger!

This edition is certain to be a sell-out, not only because it features Hayley, but also because of the free CD which celebrates Sir Edward Elgar's 150th birthday on 2nd June.

Best Wishes,

Richard

[grant]

I agree Richard! I'm listening to the Elgar CD at this moment.

Best wishes
Grant

[postscript]

roger said:

According to a report on Classic FM this morning, several stores are already out of stock and it has only been out for four days! If anyone wishes to buy a copy (in the UK), it might be as well to do so as soon as possible.

Roger

That could be why there were only three in the rack at Waitrose this morning! It was only last week that I picked up a copy of May left in the rack!

Peter S.

[roger]

richnorri said:

This edition is certain to be a sell-out, not only because it features Hayley, but also because of the free CD which celebrates Sir Edward Elgar's 150th birthday on 2nd June.

Best Wishes,

Richard

Thank you, Richard. At least you've solved that enigma!

Roger

[Dave]

richnorri said:

Thanks for the information, Roger!

This edition is certain to be a sell-out, not only because it features Hayley, but also because of the free CD which celebrates Sir Edward Elgar's 150th birthday on 2nd June.

Best Wishes,
Richard

Hi Richard,

Unusually, you seem to have made a series of typos in your post so I've corrected them in the quote above.

However, I did rush out to buy the magazine yesterday evening thanks to the warnings about it selling out and in the 2nd store I tried, they had a couple left. I rapidly halved their stock level! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

I've just finished listening to the Elgar CD while I was trying to capture that pesky Premiere TV interview and wow, what a finish to it. Land of Hope and Glory played loud on my main CD system complete with my Jon(S)-esque 18 inch by 31 inch speakers made the entire room shake and my computers wobble, it's a great recording of it. Wow, that organ!!!

Now, I need to find some time to read Hayley's interview properly, I might have an early night and read it in bed.

Cheers, Dave