Post by davidhr on Sept 27, 2008 14:00:54 GMT -5
News Update: 9/27
(a day early as I’ll be away tomorrow…)
Several competing items of interest for the lead story this week.
Lara gave her concert with Mario Frangoulis on Wednesday night in Athens in support of “Children of the World”, organized by the "World Centers of Compassion for International Children’ to support the creation of the first “City of Peace” in Basilicata, Italy. The goal is to provide refuge for 4000 children from regions of high risk.
The set list, given below, was put together jointly by them, and it was amazing. Four videos have so far appeared on youtube, as Paula has noted in another post (in the last news update). In one of them, Lara thanks Mario for being willing to try out such different songs, and he answers that he had never sung such songs before and that he just decided to ‘swim in the deep’. As one can see in the videos, their affection for one another seemed quite real. [With this set, if they had really wanted to raise money for the project, they should have recorded it!]
Set List
*Ave Maria (Schubert), a small extract a capella to open the show with Mario
*Prendre Un Enfant Par La Main/Taking A Child By The Hand (Y.Duteil/R.Mey), duo.
*From Both Sides (J.Michell), duo.
*Les Enfants Qui Pleurent (M.Legrand/E.Marnay), Mario.
*Le Souvenir (Traditionnel/S.Lama), Mario.
*Angel (S.McLachlan), Lara.
*Wind Beneath My Wings (J.Silbar/L.Henley), Lara.
*Scarborough Fair (Traditionnel), duo.
*Δρόμοι Παλιοί [Dromi Palii / Rues Anciennes] (M.Theodorakis/M.Anagnostakis), Mario.
*Llego Con Tres Heridas/La Vie, L'Amour, La Mort (M.Joan *Serrat/M.Hernandez), duo.
*Amazing Grace (W.Walker/J.Newton), duo.
*Hijo De La Luna (Jose Maria Cano), Mario.
*Κεμάλ [Kemal] (M.Hadjidakis/N.Gatsos), Mario.
*Feels Like Home (S.Kreviazuk), Mario.
*You Raise Me Up (R.U. Loevland/B.Graham), duo.
*Broken Vow (W.Afanasieff/L.Fabian), Lara.
*Horchat Hai Caliptus (Ishtar), Lara.
*En Méditerranée/ Μεσόγειος [Mesogios] (G.Moustaki), duo.
**Μην Τον Ρωτάς Τον Ουρανό [Min Ton Rotas Ton Ourano / Ne demande Pas Au Ciel](M.Hadjidakis/I.Ioannidis), duo.
*Tu Es Mon Autre (R. Allison/L.Fabian), duo.
*Όμορφη Πόλη [Omorfi Poli / Belle Cité]/Les Amants De Teruel (M.Theodorakis/Y.Theodorakis), duo.
Many photos of the show are available from the Greek facebook site
www.new.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=20549921616&view=all
(pictures from their concert in May are also there).
The second major story concerned an item that appeared on www.ptitblog.net/ and is now all over the web. It says (in translation):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to the latest exclusive information that the Polydor label has just given to the Ptitblog compilation, Lara Fabian’s new album will certainly be released December 1st and is called 'TOUTES LES FEMMES EN MOI'. An album concept in which Lara will redo songs from women who have marked her career, in influencing her work as a composer/interpreter. This album will be entirely in French in the final analysis, in contrast to the projects envisaged by the artist, and it will offer only one new original title by the singer. Matt Herskowitz and Charles Papasoff are currently working on mixing the album, in order to bring the last alterations to the titles reprised by Lara. But they already agree to say that this album will be very special and offers a new dimension of the potential of the singer. It will still be necessary to wait some weeks again before being the first to listen to this album, but already some will be able to be disappointed to note that it is a matter of an album of reprises, and not of an original album! To be continued!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The prospective release of an album on that date was also part of the false rumors that have gone around for months, so the date, at least, could engender some skepticism. [Ironically, larafabianweb.com never removed that release date from their website, and it may turn out to be accurate after all!] However, the album concept given here agrees with what Matt Herskowitz has said on his and other websites, so it’s likely to be true. Note that the official site has not verified any of this, whatever that means.
The news provoked a surprising amount of dissatisfaction among Lara’s fans, who were expecting (based on the false rumors) that Lara would be providing original songs. Another source of disappointment is that it is all in French. (One can see both sentiments expressed in the Ptitblog item itself.) People noted that Lara has had several years to work on new songs – and she certainly has had major events in her life to write about. People also wonder how she is going to go out on tour to promote this album singing primarily other people’s songs.
What the reaction suggests is that many people value Lara as a songwriter, and want to hear her music and lyrics (thoughts), not just as a singer (which as we know is how the media generally refers to her). It’s not clear that she fully appreciates this. There’s also the suspicion that she may be inhibited by no longer having a musical partner to write with. Of course, as noted in the last newsletter, she has played around with the idea of doing an album of reprises for some time, and may just want to do it. One wonders whether some of the songs she did with Mario will make it onto the album...
[Correcting a comment from a previous newsletter, the actual producer of the Pavarotti concert where Lara was disinvited was Franck Saurat, and the director was Jérôme Revon. It’s not obvious that either of them has had conflicts with Lara in the past.]
Nothing further is publicly scheduled for Lara before her private fan club concert in Brussels in mid-October. And the only thing on the schedule after that are the two concerts on Reunion Island in late October. Perhaps activity will increase as the date (?) for the new album approaches.
David
ps- a fifth video (Both Sides Now) has just appeared on youtube...as well as a commentary from the duo on children's suffering
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA_gu62tU9o
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzzWdoRVYv0
(a day early as I’ll be away tomorrow…)
Several competing items of interest for the lead story this week.
Lara gave her concert with Mario Frangoulis on Wednesday night in Athens in support of “Children of the World”, organized by the "World Centers of Compassion for International Children’ to support the creation of the first “City of Peace” in Basilicata, Italy. The goal is to provide refuge for 4000 children from regions of high risk.
The set list, given below, was put together jointly by them, and it was amazing. Four videos have so far appeared on youtube, as Paula has noted in another post (in the last news update). In one of them, Lara thanks Mario for being willing to try out such different songs, and he answers that he had never sung such songs before and that he just decided to ‘swim in the deep’. As one can see in the videos, their affection for one another seemed quite real. [With this set, if they had really wanted to raise money for the project, they should have recorded it!]
Set List
*Ave Maria (Schubert), a small extract a capella to open the show with Mario
*Prendre Un Enfant Par La Main/Taking A Child By The Hand (Y.Duteil/R.Mey), duo.
*From Both Sides (J.Michell), duo.
*Les Enfants Qui Pleurent (M.Legrand/E.Marnay), Mario.
*Le Souvenir (Traditionnel/S.Lama), Mario.
*Angel (S.McLachlan), Lara.
*Wind Beneath My Wings (J.Silbar/L.Henley), Lara.
*Scarborough Fair (Traditionnel), duo.
*Δρόμοι Παλιοί [Dromi Palii / Rues Anciennes] (M.Theodorakis/M.Anagnostakis), Mario.
*Llego Con Tres Heridas/La Vie, L'Amour, La Mort (M.Joan *Serrat/M.Hernandez), duo.
*Amazing Grace (W.Walker/J.Newton), duo.
*Hijo De La Luna (Jose Maria Cano), Mario.
*Κεμάλ [Kemal] (M.Hadjidakis/N.Gatsos), Mario.
*Feels Like Home (S.Kreviazuk), Mario.
*You Raise Me Up (R.U. Loevland/B.Graham), duo.
*Broken Vow (W.Afanasieff/L.Fabian), Lara.
*Horchat Hai Caliptus (Ishtar), Lara.
*En Méditerranée/ Μεσόγειος [Mesogios] (G.Moustaki), duo.
**Μην Τον Ρωτάς Τον Ουρανό [Min Ton Rotas Ton Ourano / Ne demande Pas Au Ciel](M.Hadjidakis/I.Ioannidis), duo.
*Tu Es Mon Autre (R. Allison/L.Fabian), duo.
*Όμορφη Πόλη [Omorfi Poli / Belle Cité]/Les Amants De Teruel (M.Theodorakis/Y.Theodorakis), duo.
Many photos of the show are available from the Greek facebook site
www.new.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=20549921616&view=all
(pictures from their concert in May are also there).
The second major story concerned an item that appeared on www.ptitblog.net/ and is now all over the web. It says (in translation):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to the latest exclusive information that the Polydor label has just given to the Ptitblog compilation, Lara Fabian’s new album will certainly be released December 1st and is called 'TOUTES LES FEMMES EN MOI'. An album concept in which Lara will redo songs from women who have marked her career, in influencing her work as a composer/interpreter. This album will be entirely in French in the final analysis, in contrast to the projects envisaged by the artist, and it will offer only one new original title by the singer. Matt Herskowitz and Charles Papasoff are currently working on mixing the album, in order to bring the last alterations to the titles reprised by Lara. But they already agree to say that this album will be very special and offers a new dimension of the potential of the singer. It will still be necessary to wait some weeks again before being the first to listen to this album, but already some will be able to be disappointed to note that it is a matter of an album of reprises, and not of an original album! To be continued!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The prospective release of an album on that date was also part of the false rumors that have gone around for months, so the date, at least, could engender some skepticism. [Ironically, larafabianweb.com never removed that release date from their website, and it may turn out to be accurate after all!] However, the album concept given here agrees with what Matt Herskowitz has said on his and other websites, so it’s likely to be true. Note that the official site has not verified any of this, whatever that means.
The news provoked a surprising amount of dissatisfaction among Lara’s fans, who were expecting (based on the false rumors) that Lara would be providing original songs. Another source of disappointment is that it is all in French. (One can see both sentiments expressed in the Ptitblog item itself.) People noted that Lara has had several years to work on new songs – and she certainly has had major events in her life to write about. People also wonder how she is going to go out on tour to promote this album singing primarily other people’s songs.
What the reaction suggests is that many people value Lara as a songwriter, and want to hear her music and lyrics (thoughts), not just as a singer (which as we know is how the media generally refers to her). It’s not clear that she fully appreciates this. There’s also the suspicion that she may be inhibited by no longer having a musical partner to write with. Of course, as noted in the last newsletter, she has played around with the idea of doing an album of reprises for some time, and may just want to do it. One wonders whether some of the songs she did with Mario will make it onto the album...
[Correcting a comment from a previous newsletter, the actual producer of the Pavarotti concert where Lara was disinvited was Franck Saurat, and the director was Jérôme Revon. It’s not obvious that either of them has had conflicts with Lara in the past.]
Nothing further is publicly scheduled for Lara before her private fan club concert in Brussels in mid-October. And the only thing on the schedule after that are the two concerts on Reunion Island in late October. Perhaps activity will increase as the date (?) for the new album approaches.
David
ps- a fifth video (Both Sides Now) has just appeared on youtube...as well as a commentary from the duo on children's suffering
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA_gu62tU9o
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzzWdoRVYv0