Cinefonia interview - The New World (Feb 06)

[Stephany]

Hello everybody

I was utterly surprised to find a 6-pages Hayley interview in a French magazine called 'Cinefonia'. It's a magazine about movie soundtracks and they had an issue dedicated to "The New World". There was also a very interesting 8-pages interview of the composer James Horner, who explains how he discovered Hayley, why he thinks her voice is 'a treasure' and why Terence Malik (the movie's director) asked him to remove all tracks featuring Hayley from the soundtrack

On the cover below, you can read "James Horner discovers his Princess of Light in 'The New World'" (no need to tell you who they are refering to ).

The interview with Hayley is also extremely interesting! It will take me ages to translate everything but it's really worth it so I'll do my best to do it properly and fairly quickly. I will also put the scans if you want to read everything before and practice your French A teaser:

On the picture above, 'Le Nouveau Monde' means 'The New World' and 'La Nouvelle Voix' means 'The New Voice'.

Stephany

[Stephany]

Hi again,

The article is entitled 'The Beauty and the Poet: interview with James Horner & Hayley Westenra.'[/u][/i].

'Discover the divine voice of Hayley Westenra who enchants and surprises us. A new star is born and she's already shining more brightly than one thousand fires!'

The last sentence refers to a French saying. Overall the article is highly positive

Stephany

[Stephany]

Here are the scans of James Horner's interview (the composer of 'The New World'). Even if you don't understand French, you can notice that he mentions Hayley quite a number of times. He's been clearly westenwowed He also follows very closely her work. I am looking forward to seeing them working again together!

[Stephany]

End of the interview with James Horner and beginning of the Hayley interview (entitled: 'Hayley Westenra listens to the wind').

[Stephany]

Last batch of scans.
Coming up: a full translation (but not today!)

[jimg]

Hi Stephany,


I look forward to reading your translation. The layout of the article and the fact they gave the interview with Hayley so much space looked positive even before I read your comments. My one year of school French 50 years ago would not allow me to even attempt to read it without your translation.

Thanks in anticipation

Jim

[thomas]

Hi Stephany!

Thank you for the scans. Wow, translating everything is really a mission.
I'll try to read the French that's good for practising.

Best wishes,
Thomas

[grant]

Hi Stephany

From the look of the very 'wordy' scans, you have your work cut out with the translation. I am very much looking forward to reading what James Horner has to say about Hayley and why Terence Malik had all Hayley's tracks removed from the soundtrack

He better have a very good excuse!

Lots of Love
Grant


P.S. An extra kiss for the extra work

[martindn]

Thanks Stepany. There is rather a lot of it, and although I do read French I skimmed a lot of it. But it is certainly very complimentary about Hayley.
Do I understand you right, did they interview Hayley in French or was it through an interpreter? I had always thought that Hayley, although quite a linguist I understand, does not know French.

Martin

[Stephany]

Hello Martindn,

The interview was definitely not done in French. Or Hayley knows words I don't even know myself It's a very technical discussion about her work with James Horner and she would need to be fluent (even bilingual) to follow a conversation like this in French.

I believe she has learned the language at school but I'm not sure she had the time to practice since then. She briefly answered to me in French in Southampton but it was just 'Merci Beaucoup' so that wasn't too difficult (sorry Hayley! ).

You're right though - it's a very complimentary article on Hayley. James Horner was extremely impressed and it looks as though she also learned a lot working with him.

Jim, Thomas and Grant - thank you, I'll do my best!

Stephany

[martindn]

Well, after posting that I had to go and listen to "Listen to the Wind" again. This is one fabulous song! If I understood correctly, it is suggested in the article that this is James Horner's masterpiece, and I tend to agree. They can play it at my funeral, and if I can look down and see it, I will be happy.

I also thought that the idea of "power and fragility" perfectly sums up Hayley's appeal. Perhaps that implies that "One Fine Day" another of my favourites, is the perfect song for Hayley, since Madame Butterfly has exactly those attributes. Sometimes I feel that the French language expresses things far more beautifully than English!

Martin

[Nordly]

Thank you for the scans. I esp. appreciated the ads for Hayley!

[Joe]

Hi Stephany,

Thanks for posting these scans. I know enough French to get the basic idea of the sentences.

Joe

[Stephany]

Hi all,
Here is a translation of the article’s introducing paragraph (just the important part):

James Horner
The New World: The Beauty and the Poet
The ideal music [imagined by James Horner for ‘The New World’ with Hayley’s voice] was eventually turned down by [director] Terrence Malick. He changed his mind and decided to keep only very little of what James Horner originally composed for the movie. The composer remained however faithful to what he created and included on the CD soundtrack what we ’should’ have heard watching ‘The New World’. More or less 80 minutes of music that have almost no link with the music you hear on the screen.

I will post only highlights of the James Horner interview. Here is the first part, I will post more from this interview later.

Pocahontas, played by Q’Orianka Kilcher, was obviously a great influence?

[/u]
It’s a real princess of blood but also a ‘Princess of Light’, who is delicate and inspiring. She inspired me and I composed most of my music around her. Spiritually, through an oneiric orchestration - organically, through Hayley Westenra’s voice – and thematically, through elements like the wind, the grass, her hands and all these ‘natural’ moments that keep us closer to her own paradise and, consequently, of ours.

The “sound” of Nature belonged to Pocahontas: birds are accompanying her journey, the piano is associated to her gestures, Hayley’s soft and mysterious voice is referring to her purity and the orchestra is reflecting her feelings. All these things put together helped to shape this Heaven of a New World, personified by Pocahontas and her poetry. Pocahontas was my voice, my wind, my river and my light. She’s the one who guided me through this journey and on my work for this movie.

What element determined the vocal choice? Why the very young Hayley Westenra?[/u]
I’ve been following her career for quite a number of years now. She has the kind of voice I love: virgin and pure. It’s one of the advantages of her youth. She’s very comfortable in the crossover genre. Hayley tries a little bit of everything: pop, arias, hymns, opera...She doesn’t try to give herself completely to a unique genre. She is not “contaminated” by a specific style. This purity is a real asset. She easily immerged herself in the part of Pocahontas. She was not just her voice. She also succeeded in the most difficult task: find and reach the introspection. Her voice is a treasure - it’s a real shame that Terrence Malick was afraid of it.

Norway, Pakistan, Macedonia…and now New Zealand with Hayley Westenra’s divine voice. Is it a necessity to travel so much to find the adequate voice, the unique tone?[/u]
Travelling is a necessity to find this purity I need. The American singers, even Western singers, are often too marketably shaped. I was looking for a soprano singer. I travelled, I listened. I listened to a Norwegian folk song by Sissel, a prayer in latin by Charlotte Church and then a Maori song by Hayley came to my ear. I listened and I stopped. Hayley stopped me straight away when I heard Pokarekare Ana, from her album ‘Pure’. It was a predestined title ! It’s poetic, wild, crystalline and – I need to say it once more – pure. Sissel was the ice, Tanja Tzarovska the fire and Hayley became my beautiful Princess of Light. [/size][/quote]

I apologize in advance for the rough translation.
In the second part, James Horner explains how he approached his work with Hayley and why Terrence Malick was "afraid" of Hayley's voice and decided to "exclude" her vocal performance from the movie.

Stephany

[Mark]

Hi Stephany

Thanks so much for finding this article, scanning it on and now - translating it - wow Please don't appologise for the "rough translation" as long as we can understand it - its fine

What you have translated so far is absolutely fine. Thanks once again and I look forward to reading the rest.

Lots of love

Mark