Classical music by young artists

The baby still has to be born but he or she is already the subject of song. Not really the subject although the idea that there will be songs composed for this child, is not really that far-fetched. I just came across a song dedicated to the coming baby of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge of the UK. The couple is also known familiarly as William and Kate. The baby who is expected to be born any time now and is the object of a worldwide media watch, will be third in line to the English throne. 

To celebrate the event, New Zealand singing star Hayley Westenra has recorded a special lullaby for the royal baby. The song is Sleep On and it is one of the cuts in Westenra’s new album Hushabye. As the title clearly says, it is of course, made up of baby lullabys that even grown-ups should enjoy relaxing to. I remember Westenra as the threat to the Irish girl soprano Charlotte Church some years ago. She is today, all grown-up, with her fuller tones of a remarkable range now complimented with her maturity as an interpreter.

Lullabyes may sound easy but they are very deceiving. It is really easier releasing it all out in a power ballad then to exercise control and express feelings with just a soft, little song. Hayley does very well. Her soothing singing in Hushabye is in excellent form and I am sure that the much-awaited little prince or princess, will not only enjoy Sleep On but also the other sleepy time songs in this album. 

Also included in Hushabye are Pretty Little Horses, Hushabye Mountain, Dream A Little Dream, Twinkle Twinkle, Go To Sleep, Brahms Lullaby, Goodnight My Angel, All Through The Night, Baby Mine, Hine E Hine, When At Night, Stay Awake, All I Have To Do Is Dream, and Bau Bel.

Speaking of astounding vocal technique, you should listen to the young Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva’s album Alleluia. Training and diligence do pay off and her tones while very strong, are also among the sweetest and the purest I have ever heard. The CD features Julia singing motets by Vivaldi, Handel, Porpora and Mozart accompanied by the Il Giardino Armonico conducted by Giovanni Antonini. Her rendition of Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate is something to marvel at. 

Hushabye and Alleluia are two of the titles included in Universal Music’s Classical Nouveau The New Faces of Classical Music promo. The campaign seeks to inculcate in young people the joys of listening to classical music by introducing them to young artists like Hayley and Julia who are only in their 20s or 30s.  As the anonymous quote that is the promo’s slogan so aptly says, “Yes, I listen to classical music. No, I am not old.” Maybe because most classical compositions date back to centuries ago, the common belief is that classical music is only for the old. This is not true at all. And I do hope that young music lovers would take advantage of this opportunity to savor the joy that listening to classical music brings.

 Also among the young artists featured in this campaign is David Garrett, who must be the most dynamic violinist of all time and his latest CD, titled Music. This is the guy from Germany, who looks like a GQ model with the physique of a Hollywood action star and who can play classical, pop or rock or just about any type of music with his violin. Check out his takes on Jackson’s Human Nature, Queen’s We Will Rock You, Coldplay’s Viva La Vida and others in Music.

The other young artists included in the promo are: The clarinetist from Vienna, Andreas Ottensamer with the album Portraits where he performs Prelude No. 1 from George Gershwin’s Three Preludes and Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto; the violinist from Scotland Nicola Benedetti with The Silver Violin which includes a moving live performance of the divine theme from the motion picture Schindler’s List; and Milos Karadaglic, the handsome guitarist from the country of Montenegro, which I had not heard of until now, with his album Latino, who does equally well with the classical like Libertango and a Prelude by Villa-Lobos and the pop favorites like Quizas Quizas, Quizas and Batucada. 

As part of the promo music lovers who will purchase any three of these albums will be entitled to a free Body Cleanser Kit from The Face Shop but only as long as supplies last. Nice gift.  But gift or no gifts, these are albums truly worth your while.