Natashas Debut Album

dollybird · Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 108

Well done Natasha

I love Natashas debut album 'Amour' she has a lovely Soprano voice and I am sure the album will be the first of many

Go over to her site www.natashamarsh.com/ and have a listen to her beautiful voice

Maryxx

xcept · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:29 pm Post subject:

Track listing - source: OS

1. Si Un Jour (theme from "Jean de Florette")
2. Gymnopedie No.1
3. La Wally (Ebben? Ne Andro Lontano)
4. Ai Giochi Addio (love theme from "Romeo & Juliet")
5. Autumn Leaves
6. Mi Mancherai (theme from "Il Postino")
7. Chanson d'Amour
8. He Moves, And Eyes Follow
9. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
10. Et Misericordia (Magnificat)
11. La Delaissado (Songs of the Auvergne)
12. Pur Ti Miro
13. Les Filles de Cadiz
14. Vocalise

1.Si Un Jour
Producer notes: For the opening of the disc we've chosen a new song, written in the style of a 1920s French chanson. The first part is based on a short, theme used in the last act and in the prelude of Giuseppe Verdi's "La Forza Del Destino". This theme has been used quite a few times for other purposes, most notably for the theme music of the film "Jean De Florette" and as the music in the Stella Artois television adverts.

Natasha: One of my favourite French films is 'Jean de Florette'. The famous melody played in the film originates from Verdi's 'La forza del destino'. This song has been on an interesting journey; we have created lyrics and expanded Verdi's original melody whilst trying to capture the melancholy and nostalgia the Provencal hills evoke.
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2. Gymnopedie No. 1
Producer notes: Written in the early 1900s by Erik Satie. According to Satie the the music is not supposed to signify anything but nonetheless it is his vision of a dance performed by naked young athletes at a festival in ancient Greece.

Natasha: A vocalise on Satie's well known piano composition. He wrote this simple melody to evoke the ceremonial dances of young athletes in Ancient Greece but in this arrangement it has the feel of a lullaby.
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3. Ebben, Ne Andro Lontana
Producer notes: This is the most famous aria from Alfredo Catalni's late 19th century opera "La Wally". Catalani's music is truly beautiful but the opera is not performed that often, mainly due to the fact that it has a very flimsy story line. In case you're wondering they both die in an avalanche at the end.

Natasha: Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana (from 'La Wally') A well-known aria from a relatively unknown opera written by Catalani. La Wally describes the nostalgia of her childhood home in the mountains where she longs to walk amid the golden clouds. She has decided to leave home rather than marry the man her Father wants her to wed; not surprisingly the opera ends in tragedy.
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4. Ai Giochi Addio
Producer notes: Written by Nino Rota for the 1960s film version of "Romeo & Juliet". It's interesting to see how Italian film music of the 1960s and 1970s, mined the same emotional areas as Italian opera of 50-100 years earlier.

Natasha: From Zeffirelli's film 'Romeo and Juliet'. The song bids farewell to childhood games and speaks of the exciting and new mysteries that young love brings. This is a beautiful, poignant song to sing. The lush orchestration makes the song romantic and timeless.
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5. Autumn Leaves
Producer notes: This is original ly a French chanson in the style that "Si Un Jour" is based on. It was written by Joseph Kozma for the film," Les Portes de la Nuit ". The song has been recorded many times since it was written in 1946. More recently it is probably most well known in the version recorded by Eva Cassidy.

Natasha: This particular version of Autumn Leaves was inspired by the great Eva Cassidy. The arrival of Autumn with its falling leaves shed colours which bring yearning for lost love and nostalgia. The rich orchestration creates a golden melancholy while the piano plays a wistful falling melody.
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6. Mi Mancherai
Producer notes: Written by Luis Bacalov for the film "Il Postino". A love song that is the only Oscar winning Italian film song to date.

Natasha: Mi mancherai from the beautiful film 'Il Postino'. The words describe the longing and emptiness we feel when our lover has left. The use of the bandoneon adds a romantic flavour to this song and gives an authenticity of spirit that allows us to imagine we are on the idyllic, isolated Italian island.
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7. Chanson D'Amour
Producer notes: Another French love song written in 1883 by the French master composer Gabriel Faure. It eloquently expresses the same sentiments as some the film songs we've recorded and other modern pop songs.

Natasha: "A sweet, touching and simple love song about the tireless excitement we feel when we fall in love. The singer adores everything about her lover listing all his attributes from his feet to his hair! She wildly and passionately adores his contradictions of being rebellious and yet shy. She loves his eyes, his mouth, his thoughts and exclaims that he is both her heaven and hell!"
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8. He Moves, Eyes Follow
Producer notes: Originally written as "She Moves, Eyes Follow" by the modern American songwriter Jimmy Webb. As in most of his songs Jimmy Webb uses devices such as complex harmonies, counter melodies and atypical chord structures that recent classical song writers also use in their compositions.

Natasha: A beautiful Jimmy Webb song about a woman's desire she feels for a man at a party. Everywhere he goes, 'light follows' and when he leaves, the room remains cold, faded and bare. It's passionate and sad at the same time.
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9. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Producer notes: A beautiful, modern love song written in 1960s by Ewan Maccoll, the premier Scottish folk song collector of the era and a folksinger in his own right. The first recording was done by Maccoll's wife Peggy Seeger, also a noted folksinger.

Natasha: Et Misericordia from "Magnificat" is by John Rutter, the contemporary English composer. The soprano begins a melody set to this Latin text before the choir joins in to continue the journey. She soars above and develops twists and turns in the harmony towards a calm, serene resolution. The phrases are so lyrical and the London Voices provide a fantastic cushion of sound upon which the singer weaves her melody.
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10. Et Misericordia
Producer notes: A selection taken from the "Magnificat" of John Rutter, modern British composer most known for his religious vocal and choral works.

Natasha: Ewan McColl wrote this wonderful, classic folk song about his wife, Peggy Seeger, who also sang the original version in the early 1960s. The lyrics capture the whole essence of love at first sight.
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11. La Delaissado
Producer notes: From "Chants de Auvergne"- A 1920s treatment of an ancient French folk song. This was first arranged by Joseph Canteloube who published many books of French folk music that he collected over a long period of time.

Natasha: La Delaissado (the abandoned woman) A heart-breakingly sad song from the set of 'The songs of the Auvergne'. A shepherdess sits waiting in the woods for her lover. He never appears and she remains abandoned and crying. The melody is simple and the orchestration captures the heartache and yearning felt with great tenderness.
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12. Pur Ti Miro
Producer notes: Possibly by 17th century Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. It was the last aria of the opera L'Incoronazione di Poppea" which Monteverdi left unfinished at the time of his death. The climax of the opera features the vows of everlasting love of the Emperor Nero and his bride to be Poppea. In case you're wondering they do get married. Not quite living happily ever after. Nero murdered Poppea a few years after their marriage.

Natasha: This sublime duet between Poppea and Nero comes from Monteverdi's opera 'L'incoronazione di Poppea'. The lovers are reunited and sing of their promises to one another. It's a great pleasure to enjoy blending voices and timbres with another singer - particularly this counter-tenor!
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13. Les Filles De Cadiz
Producer notes: A flirtatious concert aria written by Leo Delibes in the mid 19th century. Though not from an opera this piece exhibits all of the classic elements of Romantic French opera as well as those of the "Spanish" trend Romantic vocal music made most famous by Bizet's successful opera "Carmen".

Natasha: Les Filles de Cadix (Maidens of Cadix) A sparkling song by Delibes about the fun loving, flirting maids of Cadix who adore the attention they get from the men. However their free-spirited hearts do not allow them to be tied down even when offered gold and riches from a wealthy admirer!
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14. Vocalise
Producer notes: A haunting, melancholy piece written in the 1912 by Sergei Rachmaninov. Originally composed for wordless vocal and piano it has been adapted in almost every musical configuration. This version is inspired by the soprano/string orchestra version recorded by Anna Moffo in 1960.

Natasha: I'll never forget the first time I heard this piece. I had goosebumps within seconds. The bittersweet melody is so haunting and the strings provide such a beautiful bed of sound that the singer can simply melt in and out of Rachmaninoff's harmonies.

Source:OS

xantha · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:06 am Post subject:

Here's a review of the album that appeared on entertainment.iafrica.com

NATASHA MARSH
Amour
Henrie Geyser
Fri, 05 Oct 2007

She’s tall, graceful, blonde and beautiful and she has a voice like an angel. Colleagues and the lucky few hundred concert-goers who saw her recent performance in Cape Town with Patrizio Buanne said she also has a magical stage personality.

Fortunately for those of us who didn’t see her live, we can listen to her debut album, 'Amour'.

Not only does she dispel all the images some of us have of matronly opera divas, but she just has to be one of the most exciting new opera singers to emerge in many a year. Opera was never as sexy as this!

Although Marsh is passionate about classical music, she is also very much into contemporary music and 'Amour' cleverly creates the space and opportunity for her to combine both of her music fancies.

The 14 tracks vary from Verdi’s 'Si Un Jour' and Ewan McColl’s 'The First Time I Saw Your Face' to Jimmy Webb’s 'He Moves And Eyes Follow' and the love themw from the movie 'Romeo + Juliet'.

She really is an extremely talented woman. I would suggest that besides buying this album for the sweet pleasure of her voice, it might also be a good investment because Natasha Marsh is stardom, fame and fortune in the making.

madpat · Joined: Jan 08, 2008 Posts: 2

I saw Natasha twice last year when she was appearing with Russell Watson and I thought she had a really exceptional soprano voice. I have recently purcahsed 'Amour' and I love it. I hope there will be many other albums to follow .... well done Natasha! Very Happy