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SYMPHONY
HALL, BIRMINGHAM
12th November, 2004
WINTER
TOUR 2004 - Part 1
REVIEW
The
date was Friday 12th November 2004 and I was preparing for the
journey to Birmingham to see Hayley Westenra again. I had seen
her once before at Hampton Court but I couldn’t wait to see
her heading her own concert. Mario Frangoulis was a new name
to me and all I knew was that he was (and is!) a Greek Tenor
but I decided it was doubtful that Hayley would have someone
un-likeable touring with her, and I was looking forward to hearing
him.
I met up with Roger and off we
went. Apart from a hold up in Reading due to a train cancellation,
we had a faultless journey and were in Birmingham in good time.
After a couple of hours to relax and get ready, we were off
to the Symphony Hall.
My first comment must be a thank
you to Roger, what good seats! We were right in the centre just
a few rows back. Well done and thank you.
The concert opened with Hayley
singing ‘Amazing Grace’ a-cappella. What a way to begin! After
the first verse she was joined by the piano and it was apparent
that she had been singing very slightly off-key. Like the star
she is she immediately corrected herself. The rest of the band
gradually joined in and the song continued without further ado.
Considering the amount of travelling Hayley has been doing,
appearing on TV and concerts, not to mention revision and exams
I think we can allow her one teeny-tiny mishap! (Especially
since it was hardly noticeable). After ‘Amazing Grace’ she told
the audience about how she had only finished her exams the day
before and was very happy as they were over. She added that
she now had to wait until the results came out in February and
was a bit nervous… at that point I had to physically bite my
tongue to stop myself from calling out “You’ll be fine!” as
I didn’t think it was the most professional thing to do. She
got a supportive round of applause and half laugh from the audience
who evidently agreed with my unspoken sentiment.
‘River of Dreams’ followed and
was truly wonderful as always. ‘Who Painted the Moon Black?’
was next on the menu and one I had been waiting for. While I
love all of Hayley’s songs, I had heard ‘River of Dreams’ live
at Hampton Court, and since ‘Who Painted the Moon Black?’ is
a personal favourite of mine I had been sincerely hoping I wouldn’t
have to wait too long to hear it. I wasn’t disappointed. Her
performance was breathtaking.
Hayley then introduced Mario Frangoulis
and left the stage. This was another moment I had been waiting
for, to finally hear Mario sing. He opened with the popular
‘Granada’. Although the first note looked (rather than sounded)
slightly strained, he apologised in a break between lines, “I’m
sorry, I seem to have about 25 frogs in my throat” and, in that
simple sentence, immediately won the audience over. Frogs or
not, his voice was astounding and I found myself not being able
to wait for his next song.
‘Vincero Perdero’ followed and
it was at that point I knew that his 2 released albums would
be on my Christmas list. This is a fairly quiet song but it
gradually builds up as the song continues and there is a beautiful
key change on the last chorus. If you ever listen to this song
on CD, there is no way to do it but loudly, as loudly as if
you were in concert and he was merely feet away. ‘Here’s to
the Heroes’ was Mario’s final song of the first half and the
audience quickly learning that we were not going to be disappointed
by him. I challenge anyone to sit and listen to this song and
not be completely and utterly drawn into it. It begins slowly
and calmly with the main focus on the words being sung rather
than the music or orchestra behind him. There, once again, was
a gradual build during the song with the emotion of it in every
word and every expression in Mario’s face.
There was a moment when he tried
to replace the microphone onto its stand and it simply wouldn’t
go. No worries! Mario simply looked at the audience half shrugged,
said; “Nothing goes right today”, put the stand to one side
and continued without it. He wasn’t the only one to have problems
with the stand either. Hayley also encountered the dreaded stand
later, but she battled and won, with the comment; “These things
are really hard!” and her well-known giggle.
Hayley then returned to the stage
and sang another favourite of mine ‘Mary Did You Know?’ This
was truly amazing and as I sat listening to her beautiful voice
filling the Symphony Hall I was silently grateful that I would
be able to see this fabulous set again the next day in Cardiff.
Hayley has stated that this song is one of her favourites and
it was evident in the way she sang. As ever, all her effort
was poured into the song; into every word, but there was something
in her face that plainly said (to me anyway!) “I am really enjoying
this and I believe in this song truly”. After this Hayley announced
that her re-release of ‘Pure’, not yet released in shops, was
actually available in the foyer and had 7 bonus songs, ‘Mary
Did You Know?’ included.
‘In Trutina’ was the final song
before the interval and it was brilliant. There is that well-known
pause in the song and I, like Roger, got worried at this point,
but for a different reason. While he was worrying that someone
would applaud in the wrong place and thus ruin the effect and
the song, I was worried due to the fact that I had forgotten
‘In Trutina’ had a pause and didn’t think anyone was applauding!
Luckily I remembered after a second or two and immediately relaxed
for the remainder of the song.
We were in for yet another treat
after the interval when Fiona Pears, 1st Violin, leader of the
band and also from Christchurch, New Zealand, took to the stage.
She played 2 of her own compositions ‘Turkish Fantasy’ and ‘Memories
of Martin and Mary’. It was evident right from the start that
the latter was written in, around or for Ireland. The Celtic
sound shone through and I was almost expecting the cast of ‘Riverdance’
to appear behind her! What was so brilliant about Fiona’s performance
was her obvious enjoyment. She danced around the stage and twice
at the height of ‘Memories of Martin and Mary’ she shouted ‘Yeah!’
as played which only added the wonderful performance. I defy
anyone who has seen Fiona play and doesn’t have the urge to
get up and dance with her. She was just so clearly loving it
and having the time of her life. Her spirited performance completely
won the hearts of the audience and I am sure I wasn’t the only
one left wondering if she had an album available.
After this Hayley re-took the stage
and sang ‘Beat of your Heart’. Always a wonderful song, it is
even more so when she sings it live. ‘Wiegenlied’ followed.
This is the theme from a Japanese film called ‘Lorelei’. Hayley
told us that she had had to learn the song not only in German,
but also Japanese! Quick as ever to guess what everyone was
thinking she hastily added “But I’m only going to sing it in
German tonight”. What a shame! I will definitely be keeping
my ears and eyes open for a chance of hearing her sing it in
Japanese. ‘Wiegenlied’ was a beautiful song and suited Hayley’s
voice incredibly well. After finishing, she said, “This is another
one from ‘Pure’, I hope you all know it”. I am willing to bet
that I wasn’t the only one thinking “She’s finally going to
sing Pokarekare Ana”. But no, ‘Never Say Goodbye’ was next on
the programme. This is one song that I love, but never seem
to listen to that much for some reason. The advantage of this
was that I was almost unprepared for the loveliness of it and
it was almost as if I was hearing it for the first time.
Mario reappeared after this and
sang 2 more songs. ‘Follow your Heart’ was his final rendition
and was inspired. This is the title track from his latest CD
and was the perfect way for him to finish.
Hayley then took over again and
sang ‘Bridal Ballad’ from ‘The Merchant of Venice’. It was so
lovely to hear another new song especially in a hall with such
exquisite acoustics. ‘Across the Universe of Time’ followed
– another favourite (what a surprise!). I always wonder how
she will perform this. When I saw this sung on QVC I wondered
how she would manage the harmony during the song but with a
backing track it was still sustained. When she sang this song
earlier in the year, Sophie was there to sing with her, but
this time there was no backing and no Sophie. Hayley simply
sang half of it high and half of it low. It was a pity that
the beautiful harmony was missing, but she still made it sound
astounding and I fell in love with the song all over again.
Hayley then announced that the
next number was her final one and I prepared, again, for ‘Pokarekare
Ana’. But ever one to keep us guessing, she sang Schubert’s
‘Ave Maria’. What a wonderful way to supposedly close the show.
She ended Hampton Court with this and I no longer expected her
to sing any more, although I was a bit confused as to why Mario
hadn’t been invited back to the stage for a bow. There was thunderous
applause as Hayley finished and she bowed and left the stage.
The applause just carried on going…and going…until she re-appeared
and finally treated us all to ‘Pokarekare Ana’. Wow. There aren’t
many more words to describe what we heard. She sang the vocalise
version – by far my favourite – and made every note sound marvellous.
She took her bows for the second time and once again left to
a huge round of applause that once again just continued on…and
on! With a little smile she came back to the stage and began
her final song, ‘Hine e Hine’. At the beginning of the second
verse we heard Mario sing and he walked back on the stage to
join Hayley. They sang the remainder of the song together with
Hayley singing some harmonies throughout. What a magnificent
way to end the show. After that everyone took their bows and
left the stage for the last time. The only thing that disappointed
me a little was that ‘Wuthering Heights’ wasn’t sung, but I’m
sure there will be other times!
Roger and I sat around talking
about it for a little while and then proceeded to where we had
been assured Hayley would appear. Sure enough a little while
later there she was. Roger and I hung back while she signed
and chatted away to the crowd. Roger chatted to Gerald for a
little while about the family and America during the wait, a
conversation I listened to with much interest not having met
Jill, Sophie or Isaac yet. After about 40 minutes it was our
turn as everyone else had left. Hayley looked at me first as
we stepped forward and had that look of someone who knows they
have met someone else before but can’t quite remember where.
Half a second later though she looked at Roger and, having met
him many times before, exclaimed “Oh wow!!” She then looked
back at me and I gave her the key words with which she might
remember me (Hampton Court, red coat, video camera, giggly),
and she did. How amazing, she meets so many people but she seems
to recall everyone she has met before! We talked while she signed
a few things for us, my piano music book included. When Hayley
she saw this she instantly said “Do you play the piano?” to
which I nodded, and she continued “I wish I had more time to
practice”, “Me too”, I agreed. Roger then presented her with
our present (a glass paperweight with a ballerina inside) and
after her thanks she did a half sigh “I really want to dance
again now, I haven’t for ages!” We gestured to the ample floor
room and said why not, but she declined and we continued talking.
We stood around chatting for a while longer in which time I
told her how I had wanted to shout out during the concert. She
instantly exclaimed, “oh you should have!” to which I replied,
“Well, if you give the same speech about your exams and results
tomorrow then I will”. She said ok and continued talking. As
we emphasised the point by saying that we would see her tomorrow,
it suddenly sunk in as she realised we were going to more than
one concert. Roger dropped his bombshell that he was going to
all of them and she looked amazed (and very happy), “You’ll
be sick of me!!” Oh Hayley, that would never happen! At that
point she was told that she had to go and we went our separate
ways.
On
to Cardiff!!
Kirsty
Heard
14th November 2004
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