March 20th, 2006 Concert. Worcester, MA U.S.A.

[timj]

It was a great show. Hayley sang "She moves thru the fair" !! accapella !!, it was super. I think "the water is wide" is my new favorite Haley tune. Jeff Franzel and Askold Buk are excellant musicans, I hope they travel with Hayley to your shows.......TimJ

PIX
mechanics hall


Hayley sings


Hayley & me


Hayley & Mike(my son)


Edit: I changed the codes to display the pictures.
Richard

[postscript]

stevemacdonald said:

... Precocious 18-year-old New Zealander Hayley Westenra’s...

... Westenra could be said to have already conquered her native country, Great Britain, and a few other countries as well.

Bad phrasing aside, when you consider the opening statement in this review it becomes transparent in the following sentence that "her native country" was already named and that the subsequent "Great Britain," was being named as a second conquest. It's not that confusing if you study it under a verbal microscope.

Didn't Prof. Henry Higgins smugly say the Americans haven't been using proper English for years? What would he make of us now?

But is what Shaw made Higgins say, true? You have a very good point, Steve, in quoiting a misreading of bad phrasing, but for the purpose of debate with our American cousins, may i pursue the argument further and perhaps NOT in the way you might expect?

The classic as far as we might be concerned here is the spelling of program(me). The American spelling (program) is the correct ENGLISH spelling. The British spelling (programme) is the French spelling because of the damn fool Puritans who closed the English theatres. So on the return of Charles II from the French court, where theatre (especially (and hence) 'Restoration' drama was kept alive and thrived) we had forgotten what the list of players was called, so adopted the French spelling

Both versions of English (American and British) derive from Mayflower English (Shakespeare's English) who, after all, verbalised nouns and made nouns out of verbs in his fluid use of language.

The argument really revolves around whether one maintains words' roots or rationalises. Webster's rationalisations were purely personal angst, while Johnson's versions were more to do with how English was actually used.

Then, Oxford stepped in and it became the 'authority' based on classical roots as 'correct' English. It is a fascinating subject to debate. But I still detest 'hospitalised' and don't like the idea (at least in American tabloid English) that it is possible to say that someone 'dove off the diving-board' or that the 'king was coronated'.

Has 'standard' English ruined the English language? If sitting Advanced English examinations today, would Shakespeare pass?

What have our American friends to say on the matter?

However, we both (Steve and I) shoot off at a tangent. Although you raise the issue of phrasing in that sentence, with which i agree, the real argument is surely over the word 'precocious' (and, subject to moderator opinion, of course, I would suggest this does not justify a new thread?) but is Hayley precocious?

Perhaps because of the inadequate grown-ups around me, when a child, the word 'precocious' was used negatively. Precocious children were a nuisance because of that imbalance. They tended to 'upset expectations of behaviour'. Perhaps it is only me that regards the word in a negative fashion?

So, American friends, what are your views on that great combiner that so frequently divides us, our different views of the use of the English language?

PS. Having done a spell check I am immediately reminded of an ar gument within British English--'ise' or ize' spellings? It really brings to light the differences when one uses an American spell-checker as this site uses.

Peter

[postscript]

davidwgibson said:

Hello from Allentown,PA,USA.
I was there in Worcester,Mass. that 1st night of Spring,March 20,2006.It was very cold outside [23 degrees],but warm as toast inside Mechanics Hall. A beautiful old building built in the 1850's.The hall was filled with the lovely voice of Hayley, accompanied by two very talented musicans.
One women I talked to who worked there said 900 tickets were sold before the show.
From what I saw it was not packed but it wasquite full. Maximum seating is 1200 seats. I have a few pictures to share and will do so soon. This is my 2nd Hayley concert and it was truly grand.
As the review in the local paper , I thought it was actually quite positive and fair despite the use or miss use of a word or two,but then again what do I know when it comes to the Kings English. Don't tell Prof. Higgins.
Cheers,Dave Gibson

Wow, we've really got a live active debate going here. Actually, Dave, its theQueen's English these days!

I am delighted to hear more about the me Mechanics Hall and what the night was like generally. Thank you for that contributuiion.

Peter

[Richard]

timj said:

It was a great show. Hayley sang "She moves thru the fair" !! accapella !!, it was super. I think "the water is wide" is my new favorite Haley tune. Jeff Franzel and Askold Buk are excellant musicans, I hope they travel with Hayley to your shows.......TimJ

Hello Tim!

I'm pleased you had a great time with Hayley in Worcester, and thank you for sharing your wonderful photographs. I changed the codes in your post to display them.

Best Wishes from London,

Richard

[roger]

Hello TimJ,

Many thanks for the photos from Worcester. I have sent them through to Simon for inclusion on the main site.

I'm so pleased you enjoyed the concert though I never doubted you would!

Best wishes,
Roger

[wormy]

Very nice concert hall there.. I'm glad you and your son enjoyed yourselves!!!!

Yong-Le

[Dave]

postscript said:

stevemacdonald said:

Bad phrasing aside, when you consider the opening statement in this review it becomes transparent in the following sentence that "her native country" was already named and that the subsequent "Great Britain," was being named as a second conquest. It's not that confusing if you study it under a verbal microscope.

Didn't Prof. Henry Higgins smugly say the Americans haven't been using proper English for years? What would he make of us now?

But is what Shaw made Higgins say, true? You have a very good point, Steve, in quoiting a misreading of bad phrasing, but for the purpose of debate with our American cousins, may i pursue the argument further and perhaps NOT in the way you might expect?
[snip]

Hi Peter, interesting!

Your post could generate quite a few replies you know! If you want, you could repost it as a new thread in the Off Topic board, otherwise, people may be reluctant to reply while it's stuck in the middle of a concert review thread!

Cheers, Dave

[gareth]

Tim supplied me with some amateur video of the Worcester concert (4 songs, In Trutina, She Moved Through The Fair, Hine e Hine and The Water Is Wide)

I have put the four together into one 12 minute video, and although image and sound aren't perfect, it is once again an illustration that Hayley's voice is better suited to light instrumental accompaniment - or just singing a capella!

The video is about 22 MB:

www.hayley-westenra-international.net/hwi/clips/zo06/worcester200306.wmv

Gerrit

[roger]

A thousand thanks to both Tim and Gerrit for this wonderful 4-in-1 video from Worcester.

Favourable comments have been made about the minimal instrumental backing during this tour. I was so mesmerised by Hayley's voice singing 'In Trutina' that I was totally oblivious to the two musicians! Only when she began to sing 'She Moved Through The Fair' a capella did I realise something else had been present during the first song!

Unfortunately, the sound quality (which may well be down to my inadequate speakers) didn't allow me to hear clearly the instrumental section of 'Hine e Hine'. It sounded in parts as though the guitar was being plucked mandolin fashion. What I heard of it sounded really nice.

Anyway, thanks again for the footage, Tim.

Roger

[1littlegirl]

Thanks for the video. It was very beautiful. I liked 'The Water is Wide'. The other songs were really good too.

[Andrew]

Hi All,

A "BIG thank you!" to both Tim and Gerrit for this awesome video!

Tim, your video footage is remarkable! I admire the fact that you managed to keep the camera as still as you did- it's a lot harder than one thinks to do this- I have some amateur video footage from the UK 'Pure' "Winter Tour" of November 2004, but your video is of superior quality

Gerrit, once again you have done us all proud with your video production/ editing skills!!! "Well done... that man!"

Roger, have you tried listening to the video through some earphones? That should make a big difference to the sound quality. I listened to the video that way and it felt as though I was sitting in the Concert Hall!

Indeed Hayley's recitals were wonderful! 'In Trutina' had me hypnotosed. 'She Moved Through the Fair' sounds VERY powerful live- WOW! As for, 'Hine e Hine' - well, that is always one of my favourites... I love the tempo and gradual build up to a climax crescendo and diminuendo towards the end of the piece. Beautiful!

Regards,

Andrew

[Raymond]

This video is great. Thank you.

Raymond

[Joe]

Thank you so much, Tim! Great pics of the theatre and also of your son and Hayley! I'll have a go at the video soon! Thanks also to Gerrit.

[alien]

Thanks Tim and Gerrit for posting the video!

The accapella of She Moves Through the Fair is simply amazing!!! Hayley's voice is probably the best instrument on earth, she should have a few accapellas on her next album

Hayley seems to be more comfortable on stage these days and we're starting to see her creative side, giving the songs a different interpretation than the CD recording. Another reason why it's always a joy to see Hayley performing live!

Allen

[postscript]

Thanks for that response Dave. If opinion is that lively debate may follow, I'll do that..

Peter