Dave
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HWI Admin
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Post by Dave on Jan 18, 2008 17:44:14 GMT
Hi everyone and thanks especially Stephany, for all the details! Yes, high praise indeed and it looks like Hayley is developing a nice little niche for herself in doing 'atmospheric' movie and TV themes and I think this will continue. I am hoping that it is only a matter of time before Hayley is involved in a blockbuster of some kind - for that, surely, would give a nice little boost to her career!  Cheers, Dave |
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Post by socalboy on Jan 18, 2008 17:50:33 GMT
A million “thank yous” to Stephany for this painstaking translation.
This is by far the most interesting and important interview (or article of any kind) that I’ve ever read about Hayley. This is not a promoter or fan or some otherwise interested party. This is arguably the most prolific and celebrated film composer working today. He’s won Oscars and Grammys, and composed the score for the most successful movie in history. As Jon mentioned, he has worked with everyone, yet it is clear that Hayley left an enduring mark. This is no small thing. For a composer of such pedigree to be so captivated should send a message to the industry – but most of the industry can’t read French.
Stephany’s translation may be the only English version around. I hope excerpts are disseminated. There could be tremendous marketing power in Horner’s words.
Incidentally, Terrence Malick is sort of the Howard Hughes of modern filmmaking. He directed two enormously high profile movies in the 70’s, and then didn’t make another film for 20 years. The biggest players in Hollywood tried to coax him out of seclusion to no avail. And he never said a word about it. I don’t expect he’ll be explaining his decisions about Hayley anytime soon.
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Post by Stephany on Jan 19, 2008 12:02:05 GMT
Hi all, Here's the first part of Hayley's interview for Cinefonia magazine. I hope the translation makes sense for you.  [/u][/i] My manager received a phone call while I was finishing my new album ‘Odyssey’. He came to see me and said : ’Mr Horner would like to work with you on his new film. Do you know who he is?’. I shouted : ‘TI-TA-NIC’! Do you know why he wanted to work with you?[/u][/i] He told me he had been following my career so I was touched. He liked my voice, my diction and the variety of my work. Only great compliments! He liked my album and he especially liked ’Ave Maria’ by Franz Schubert. He said he liked my interpretation of the song. He liked how my voice complemented the melody and, more importantly, how I personally immerged myself into the song. He was looking for a singer who was able to perform songs like this one but also radically different tracks like Kate Bush’s ’Wuthering Heights’– without imitating her, or songs in Maori like ‘Pokarekare Ana’. During our first meeting, he explained to me his vision of Pocahontas and said something like : ’A hymn, an aria, a song around Terrence Malick’s Heaven. You will be the voice of Pocahontas’.. I actually had accepted to work with him before I met him. Imagine how excited I was after hearing this! How did you transform James Horner’s composition into a vocal performance?[/u][/i] I knew quite well his previous work… ’Titanic’, ‘Troy’ and ‘A beautiful mind’. I knew what he was expecting from his performers: a precision and a perfect sound for the movie’s visuals – sometimes even different to what we see on the screen. Regarding this, ‘Titanic’ was fascinating and ’A beautiful mind’ impressed my for its visuals and the technical expertise he brought in. When James Horner was talking about Pocahontas, I quickly understood that he wanted her to be of different colours , of different horizons. He explained to me how the character would be linked to his music, and the fact that my voice would intervene for the narration. How did you achieve this?[/u][/i] First, I watched again Disney’s Pocahontas. I absolutely loved it when I was younger. I made my own research on the character in order to have more precise ideas. Then James showed me extracts from Terrence Malick’s movie and we were both like kids, totally enchanted by what we were seeing. James was very passionate about the project – and I quickly became very passionate about it too. Before each recording, we were more talking than practicing. He was explaining everything, every note, every inflexion. He has a gift to make everything easier![/size][/quote] Stephany |
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Post by grant on Jan 19, 2008 16:56:45 GMT
Hi Stephany Thank you very much for your latest translation of the James Horner/Hayley article. Hayley (as well as James) must have been very disappointed with Malick's decision to exclude some of the most significant material. I think I would have been gutted!  I think it was Jon said he thought James Horner was 'smitten' with Hayley. Looks to me as though he was completely Hayleywowed like the rest of us! Lots of Love Grant  |
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Post by Nordly on Jan 19, 2008 17:02:36 GMT
I like the TI-TAN-IC! part
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Post by Stephany on Jan 19, 2008 18:30:23 GMT
Hello Grant, Yes, it must have been very disappointing for both James and Hayley. Especially after all the hard work  Here's another part of the interview. I'll try to do the rest tomorrow. [/u][/i] James sat down and played ’Apparitions in the field’ at the piano. It was very moving. We saw images from the movie in the morning and we talked about the way Mr Malick was working during lunch time. He also wanted me to understand how he envisioned the movie in order to have a perfect vocal interpretation. We also worked with his favourite pianists: Ian Underwood and Randy Kerber. What a team! It was very impressive and intimidating. They all knew each other so well already and there I was, the new little one. James played the music again and began to sing my own part to explain me when I was supposed to sing. He said : ’I know it’s going to be difficult but I don’t want your voice to be too luminous. I’d like you to move people, and then reassure them with your voice. Be sweet and try to find a timidity in your voice.’ We only recorded it once. It’s the track you can hear on the album! James talks a lot about ‘luminosity’ for this project. How did he explain it to you?[/u][/i] He’s always looking for the little spark, the little difference, the new colour. By ‘luminous’ he means the richness of the music combined with a voice. He expects you to be very good vocally and, more importantly, to reach a sort of spiritual state. For Pocahontas, the voice was always meant to be intimist, even in big numbers like ’Winter – Battle’ and ’A flame within’. James asked me to do as if I was mute, as if a beloved one could only hear me with a spiritual voice. After doing this song, we tried to portray perfectly Pocahontas so that her image was making only one with her voice. It was actually a very complex task because James only showed me fixed images. He didn’t want me to be seduced and influenced by the whole movie sequence. He preferred that I find the right voice on my own. He was very patient with me. After a few days, I tried something on ’A flame within’. With Ian and Randy, we started to build the title step by step. There was really something happening there and James said : ’The light and the colour are the good ones. It’s exactly what we need’. Colours and light seem to be a full part of his music.[/u][/i] Of his music, no, but of his expectations, yes. He explains everything separately. For ’Winter – Battle’, he showed me battle scenes from the movie that Terrence Malick had sent to him. I asked to see the sequence again but he refused and said: ’Work with your memory. Pocahontas won’t see anything either but she will imagine the slaughter.. I tried to sing something. He said to me : Not enough.’ ten times, maybe even fifteen. He really wanted me to sing it with all my heart. ’I don’t feel anything. You need to surpass yourself. Push your voice beyond its purity!’. He says things in an incredible way and he manages to get the best of his performers. I had to provoke my imagination to build a voice that would transform itself in the light of the movie sequence. During the battles, my voice was the only witness, as if I was supposed to transmit a message, spread it and incite everyone to think about it. There certainly was a metaphysic aspect to the music. The technical aspect was important, but this other one was even more crucial. [/size][/quote] Love, Stephany |
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Post by gra7890 on Jan 19, 2008 19:56:45 GMT
Hi Stephany, I just want to add my thanks for the time and trouble you are taking on this. It is much appreciated. Thank You, Graham |
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Post by milewalker on Jan 19, 2008 20:43:05 GMT
I think it was Jon said he thought James Horner was 'smitten' with Hayley. Looks to me as though he was completely Hayleywowed like the rest of us! Hi Grant, We are likely saying something very similar. I simply prefer the use of a term which is more understandable by a third party observer - an eavesdropper who might overhear our insular conversation. Hayley is one of a very select group of singers I have ever heard who has managed to transcend the intellectual barriers I build -to the extent that she is capable at times of challenging my ability to be objective regarding her. This is the reason I keep making myself step back. It is a caution to myself as much as anyone else.... Anyway, whether we use the site jargon, "Hayleywowed" or the more general "smitten" - I suspect we are saying much the same thing The point is that when I see that someone of the musical experience and stature of James Horner is having the same difficulties with regard to Hayley as I am, I take notice. Jon Oh - lest I forget.....thank you so much, Stephany the time and effort you put into this. Perhaps this is as good a time as any to also thank you for everything you do for us on this site. I once broke out the number of times daily you were posting - I forget the number right now (12?) but the remarkable thing is just how many of them contain some sort of significant content. |
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Post by graemek on Jan 19, 2008 21:28:55 GMT
Hayley is one of a very select group of singers I have ever heard who has managed to transcend the intellectual barriers I build -to the extent that she is capable at times of challenging my ability to be objective regarding her. This is the reason I keep making myself step back. It is a caution to myself as much as anyone else.... Anyway, whether we use the site jargon, "Hayleywowed" or the more general "smitten" - I suspect we are saying much the same thing The point is that when I see that someone of the musical experience and stature of James Horner is having the same difficulties with regard to Hayley as I am, I take notice. Jon Oh - lest I forget.....thank you so much, Stephany the time and effort you put into this. Perhaps this is as good a time as any to also thank you for everything you do for us on this site. I once broke out the number of times daily you were posting - I forget the number right now (12?) but the remarkable thing is just how many of them contain some sort of significant content. Well said Jon on both counts: Hayley & Stephany.....both wonderful !!! I totally agree with you. What more can I say? Graeme |
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Post by martindn on Jan 19, 2008 21:44:22 GMT
Jon,
"Smitten" is th past tense of the verb "to smite", which means to inflict a blow, usually with an implement of some kind. According to my dictionary it can also mean to kill or injure. It can also mean to attract strongly, as in "smitten by her beauty". I don't think in this context you mean any of these things.
What you mean I suspect is "to have a sudden powerful effect on", something that Hayley certainly does to a lot of us here.
I think what you mean by "smitten" in this context is not clear, but it is perhaps equally unclear what "Hayleywowed" means to anyone who has never experienced it. Those of us who have been Hayleywowed know exactly what it means; those who have not will not understand that whatever word you use to try to describe it. But using a word that has other meanings will only add to the confusion IMO.
Thanks again Stephany for the fine job you are doing with the translation.
Martin
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Post by milewalker on Jan 19, 2008 23:57:28 GMT
Heh
If we are going to get etymological Martin, I might suggest that the middle English smittian originally meant "to pollute". ;)The meaning of words is subject to drift over time, and I seriously doubt that very many people - I am speaking as an American here of course - even would associate the adjective
"smitten" with the verb "to smite" which is in and of itself rather archaic.
I cannot think of a piece of literature I have seen written (with the possible exception of something intentionally archaic like Tolkien) in the past 100 years where the word "smitten" didnt mean something like "profoundly affected" or even "lovestruck"
Jon
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Post by grant on Jan 20, 2008 0:40:42 GMT
We are likely saying something very similar. I simply prefer the use of a term which is more understandable by a third party observer - an eavesdropper who might overhear our insular conversation. Hayley is one of a very select group of singers I have ever heard who has managed to transcend the intellectual barriers I build -to the extent that she is capable at times of challenging my ability to be objective regarding her. This is the reason I keep making myself step back. It is a caution to myself as much as anyone else.... I agree Jon, although hopefully, any eavesdropper may linger long enough to learn our jargon, created, I believe because we haven't found a word that collectively says how we all feel about Hayley. You prefer to use smitten, I did understand what you meant, I've been smitten by many a girl in my time and yes, it did hurt sometimes! Best wishes Grant |
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Post by stevemacdonald on Jan 20, 2008 1:30:52 GMT
I agree Jon, although hopefully, any eavesdropper may linger long enough to learn our jargon, created, I believe because we haven't found a word that collectively says how we all feel about Hayley. You prefer to use smitten, I did understand what you meant, I've been smitten by many a girl in my time and yes, it did hurt sometimes! There is a young Kiwi in Britain Whose voice knocks 'em out, it is written. Her fans are allowed To say they're "H-Wowed", But face it, they're hopelessly smitten! |
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Post by Paddy on Jan 20, 2008 2:44:48 GMT
There is a young Kiwi in Britain
Whose voice knocks 'em out, it is written.
Her fans are allowed
To say they're "H-Wowed",
But face it, they're hopelessly smitten! Hi, Steve! 'Hard to match that for wit and wisdom! But I'll try! Hayley's amazing voice seems so pure,
Her captivating smile so demure,
That fans so enchanted
Can take it for granted
They're all hopelessly kiwi'd, for sure!Paddy P.S. Edited a bit to keep Jon in happy cadence! |
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Post by milewalker on Jan 20, 2008 7:10:19 GMT
Not a bad first try Paddy! I might add that limericks have a specific cadence to follow - off the top of my head (and keeping on topic i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif ) I might suggest this: There was a composer named Horner Who scored soundtracks both present and former But when he heard Hayley who enchanted him daily He heaped praise with which he adorned her. Not really good - but not bad for 1:15 AM my time  Jon - the other limerick writer..... There is a young Kiwi in Britain
Whose voice knocks 'em out, it is written.
Her fans are allowed
To say they're "H-Wowed",
But face it, they're hopelessly smitten! Hi, Steve! 'Hard to match that for wit and wisdom! But I'll try! Hayley's voice seems so pure
And her smile so demure
That fans so enchanted
Can take it for granted
They're hopelessly kiwi'd, for sure!Paddy |
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Here's another part of the interview. I'll try to do the rest tomorrow. 
