This is one of the most alluring and enchanting pieces of music and I am sure villa-Lobos would have been delighted to hear the guitar arrangement sung by such a beautiful lady, it's a shame that they did not perform it to the end.
Wow...on many levels. Also John Williams makes such a great sound with that spruce Hernandez y Aguado guitar. This video will get many replays. Thanks so much to mnemonyxx for sharing.
For those of you who find her performance of this beautiful piece distasteful or just plain wrong, please do not listen to her performances of other classical works, as you will most likely, not like them either. Nana has a deep love and understanding of classical music and tries to share this appreciation with us. I have been a fan of hers for over forty years and even to listen to her aging voice today, I can still be awed by her performance.
Fortunately, I'm not seeing many negative comments here (none so far but I've not read all of them). As you say, for those who want more conventional performances, look elsewhere - Nana just used her popularity to introduce the odd bit of classical to people who wouldn't otherwise listen to it, and they might then look wider. (Mind you, since you wrote the above 12 years ago, her voice has aged more - like her friend Mireille, I think she should have stopped earlier. [Though Mimi did stop 2019-12-14.] But thanks to RU-vid, we can still enjoy so much of Nana's work, from 1958 [!] to around 2000.)
Further on my comment below: because of her great love of the Classics, Nana has always tried to expose to those who otherwise might not get the exposure, extracts from beautiful compositions like those of Villa-Lobos. Her intent was not to give a full performance of an entire work, but rather just a taste of the main theme or themes. For those who want to hear more, they can listen to other performers. The Classics are just one facet of Nana's broad repetoire.
She started classical training, but was thrown out before completing, for performing in a jazz club or something like that. (1950s Greek academy, rather narrow-minded.)
Super d'entendre un grand maître et une belle voix que je n'ai pas eu la chance de voir ou d'entendre durant ma jeunesse de guitariste... I learn a lot off..
wow..quite a rare old (..but young nana & johns'..) duo, short and sweet as always of that crystal clear voice & cl.gtr touch Is so soothing..tks so much..warm regards..siva..india..(guitsiva)..
Nana Moskouri artista raffinata e poliedrica, qui accompagnata da un grande artista 🎶🎸🙂 Ho dedicato questo video e quello della Serenata di Schubert al ricordo delle vittime dell'11 settembre 2001 🌹😔
Thanks for uploading this. I love her "thank you very much" at the end - it looks to be completely sincere. WHY do BBC4 persist in cropping such material to "shortscreen"? This example is particularly highlighting of the stupidity of that action; it either cuts off his guitar (surely the important part of such a well-known performer) or the top of her head. With the final frame almost beheading them both.
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 - Ária (Cantilena) Heitor Villa Lobos Letra: Ruth V. Corrêa Tarde uma nuvem rósea lenta e transparente. Sobre o espaço, sonhadora e bela! Surge no infinito a lua docemente, Enfeitando a tarde, qual meiga donzela Que se apresta e a linda sonhadoramente, Em anseios d'alma para ficar bela Grita ao céu e a terra toda a Natureza! Cala a passarada aos seus tristes queixumes E reflete o mar toda a Sua riqueza... Suave a luz da lua desperta agora A cruel saudade que ri e chora! Tarde uma nuvem rósea lenta e transparente Sobre o espaço, sonhadora e bela!
John Williams THE John Williams? The E.T. Star Wars, Indiana Jones John WIlliams? Cause that'd be fun. Oh, and as usual, Nana is extraordinary. That voice of hers... *sighs*
No, the classical guitarist John Williams! Best known I think for his version of Concierto de Aranjuez, though of course he's done most of the classical guitar repertoire. He also used to play with the group Sky - their (version of Bach's) "Toccata" certainly blows the dust out of the pipes (I like to think old Johann Sebastian would have approved, though the drum solo in the middle might startle him!); there are a couple of versions of it on here (one from TOTP - yes, it got into the charts! - and one IMO better). I can't believe the two John Williamses weren't aware of each other, though I am not aware of any joint work. (Yes, _of course_ Nana is wonderful.)
@607777777 The composer spent his young-adult life wandering Brazil and playing in cafes for tips & meals -- at length, he had collected a musical treasure from Amazonas, a region where many explorers lose life or sanity. Chants by Indians, slaves, miners, and farmers were heard through the his cello and guitar. This is one of them. Brazil recognized this, gave him a grant and a teaching position. Samba-cansão, Afro-sambas, Brazil's street music -- had a beginning with Villa-Lobos.
This is maestro John Williams. Not the same from E.T., Star Wars, etc... This John Williams is a guitar maestro from England. MAESTRISIMO! Great video!!!
@Solnitron I believe that it is not always prerequisite to be an opera singer in order to sing a classical song. Artists can and must experiment, this is creation! Nana created something new, I agree that it is not their strongest performance for both artists, but I can understand the different character of this version...
I don't think there's anything wrong with his performance at all. As for hers, I don't either: it's not _conventional_ operatic perhaps, but that doesn't make it bad - only different. (She started out going for that career anyway, but got thrown out of the conservatoire for performing in a jazz club or similar. And I'm very glad!)
This is a shortened version...However, it was - up to the interruption... - well played. I like John Williams' perfomances in general, and his is quite good here; but this is a composition mostly for the soloist (soprano in the original). Its second part (an intermezzo, with lyrics in Portuguese) puts a big challenge to the singer and was not sung... I wonder how would it be...
@607777777 So it's a primitive chant inspired by a primal, volcanic landscape so intense it takes away your breath and your words -- so when you find a way to express it musically, this is what it might sound like. And the guitarist -- taught by Segovia, provides a clear accompaniment. John Williams has an interest in modern and experimental forms -- very adaptable as guitarists cannot always be. I dunno, I've been there, felt the hot humid air, gasped at the volcanic up-surges...sounds like it.
@Solnitron "One foot in the academy and you are changed for the worst!" -- Heitor Villa-Lobos, the composer. Villa-Lobos was an amateur folk-musician who played cello in cafes in marginal villages. He was known for doing everything a properly trained music professor would disapprove. So, I would ask you how you are so sure the self-taught street-musician who lifted this indigenous chants would have disdained re-scoring it within another folk-singer's limited range?
Les avis sont partagés sur cette adaptation d'une pièce musicale célèbre. Rappelons que Nana Mouskouri n'est pas une cantatrice, même si les premières années de ses études au conservatoire d'Athènes semblaient devoir l'y conduire. Lorsqu'elle a touché le répertoire lyrique en souvenir de ce temps, elle ne l'a fait qu'en tant que chanteuse populaire, avec tout de même un potentiel vocal bien au-dessus de la moyenne. Tous ceux qui l'ont entendue sur scène n'ont cessé d'en témoigner. La comparaison faite avec une autre chanteuse renommée ou avec la soprano Kiri te Kanawa me semblent sans objet ou relève d'un parti-pris sans aucun intérêt. Pour finir, je doute que cet enregistrement date de 1968. Nana a eu son fils aîné au début de cette année. On la voit ici lors de sa deuxième grossesse, avant la naissance de sa fille.
J'ai un CD de Kiri, avant que quelq'un dit qu'elle peut être soprano (elle chantait in night-clubs etc.). Je la préfere tres. (Elle etait excellent soprano aussi, ca va sans dire.) Je suis tres heureux que Nana a choisi la route qu'elle a. (Avec - comme ci! - deviation occasionel a classique.)
@@G6JPG Kiri ? Kiri te Kanawa ? Aurant dire qu'on ne peut faire la comparaison. Une remarque tout de même : en début de carrière, Nana avait une registre de Mezzo-Soprano. J'ai été témoin de son passage vers le soprano dans les premières années années en France.
@@jean-jacquessimon6703 Kiri (yes, te Kanawa) started in night-clubs or similar, _not_ singing classical - and with a quite different voice. Which I much prefer, excellent operatic singer though she became after someone told her she could and encouraged it (the operatic female voice is just a _sound_ I do not enjoy - in the same way I do not like some foods, without saying there is anything wrong with them).
