Symphony (album)

Symphony
Studio album by Sarah Brightman
Released 28 January 2008 (2008-01-28)
Recorded Germany (Nemo Studio), the US and the UK (Angel Studios)
Genre Classical crossover/opera, classical, symphonic rock, symphonic metal
Length 54:09
Label Manhattan Records
Producer Frank Peterson
Sarah Brightman chronology
Diva: The Singles Collection
(2006)
Symphony
(2008)
A Winter Symphony
(2008)
Singles from Symphony
  1. "I Will Be with You"
    Released: 16 July 2007
  2. "Running"
    Released: 28 August 2007
  3. "Pasión"
    Released: 6 November 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Symphony is an album from the English Soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in January 2008 (see 2008 in music). This classical crossover album is a contrast to her previous collaboration with producer Frank Peterson, 2003's Harem; using more Gothic influences instead of Eastern.

"Running" was the IAAF's Green Project Charity song, which Brightman performed at their 2007 Championships opening ceremonies in Ōsaka, Japan. An alternate version of "I Will Be with You", featuring Chris Thompson, was the theme song for the tenth Pokémon film: The Rise of Darkrai. The Spanish duet with Fernando Lima, "Pasión", the theme song for the period Mexican telenovela of the same name, was also a single. The London Symphony Orchestra and Brightman's younger sister Amelia Brightman also perform on the CD.

Contents

Singles

Cover songs

The album features a number of cover songs including, "Where the Lost Ones Go" (under the title "I Will Be with You"), originally by Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø and the song "Symphonie" (in its English form, "Symphony"), from which the album lends its name, originally by Silbermond. "Schwere Träume" is an adaptation of the fourth movement of Gustav Mahler's fifth symphony. "Sanvean" is a song originally by Lisa Gerrard with her group Dead Can Dance. The duet with Andrea Bocelli, "Canto della Terra", is again, like "Con te partirò", a cover/duet of one of Bocelli's songs, from his Sogno album. "Sarai Qui" is an Italian translation of Faith Hill's "There You'll Be". "Attesa" is adapted from the symphonic Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. The single version of "Running" also features a piece from "Jupiter", from Gustav Holst's The Planets.

Track listing

  1. "Gothica"
    (Carsten Heusmann, Frank Peterson) – 1:20
  2. "Fleurs du Mal"
    (Sarah Brightman, M. Himmelsbach, K. Hirschburger, Matthias Meissner, Peterson, Thomas Schwarz) – 4:10
  3. "Symphony"
    (G.Black, Brightman, Stefanie Kloß, Andreas Nowak, Johannes Stolle, Thomas Stolle) – 4:47
  4. "Canto della Terra" (featuring Andrea Bocelli)
    (Francesco Sartori, Lucio Quarantotto) – 3:59
  5. "Sanvean"
    (Andrew Claxton, Lisa Gerrard) – 3:50
  6. "I Will Be With You (Where the Lost Ones Go)" (featuring Paul Stanley)
    (Espen Lind, Magnus Rostandmo, Amund Bjorklund) – 4:31
  7. "Schwere Träume"
    (Brightman, Hirschburger, Peterson, Michael Soltau) – 3:22
  8. "Sarai Qui" (featuring Alessandro Safina)
    (Diane Warren, Michelangelo LaBionda) – 3:56
  9. "Storia D'Amore"
    (Brightman, P. Cordel, LaBionda) – 4:03
  10. "Let It Rain"
    (Heusmann, Hirschburger, Peterson) – 4:17
  11. "Attesa"
    (C. Ferrau, P. Mascagni) – 4:26
  12. "Pasión" (featuring Fernando Lima)
    (Avendaño Lührs Jorge) – 5:14
  13. "Running"
    (Brightman, Hirschburger, Peterson) – 6:09

Bonus tracks

Live concert album

A PBS special concert was filmed on 16 January 2008 at the Cathedral Stephansdom in Vienna. This was subsequently shown on PBS stations, premiering on 4 February. A version of the concert is available from PBS on DVD and the worldwide release of the DVD and live CD was on 10 March 2009.[2]

Chart performance

In the early 2008 release, the album garnered a remarkable set of chart accolades around the world, including a very good debut in the US Billboard 200 Album chart at 13 (Brightman’s highest charting record in the USA) moving 32,033 copies in first week.[3] It hit number one in the Mexico International charts and the US Billboard Classical Chart, the top five in Japan and Canada and top twenty across Europe.[4] The album failed to match the success of it's predecessors in the United States but represented an opening for the Mexican musical market becoming an instant success and receiving a Gold certification.[5] Sales were satisfactory in Asian countries like Japan and China where the album was awarded with several Gold and Platinum records.[6][7] The commercial reception was acceptable in Canada receiving Gold as well.[8]

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[9] 31
Austria Alben Top 75[9] 10
Belgium Flanders Ultratop 50 Albums[9] 8
Canada Top Albums[10] 4
Finland Albums Top 40[9] 27
Ireland IRMA Albums Top 100[9] 50
Japan Oricon Top Albums[11] 4
Mexico Top 100 Albums Chart[9] 5
Netherland Album Top 100[9] 20
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Top 40[9] 28
Poland OLiS Top 50[9] 18
Portugal Albums Top 30[9] 20
Spain Top Albums[9] 43
Swedish Album Chart 2
Switzerland Alben Top 100[9] 24
UK Albums Chart[9] 13
U.S. Billboard Top 200 Albums[3] 13
U.S. Billboard Top Classical Overall Albums[3] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Classical Crossover Albums[3] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums[3] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Digital Albums[3] 16

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[8] Gold 50,000^
China (SARFT)[6] Platinum 20,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[7] Gold 100,000^
Mexico (AMPROFON)[5] Gold 40,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Album art

The album art for Symphony pictures Brightman in Gothic clothing and surroundings, which was based upon concept art from Guild Wars by Daniel Dociu.[12]

Promotion

On NBC in the United States, Sarah Brightman performed several songs from the album, on the Progressive Fashion on Ice show on 20 January 2008. Other American television appearances included The Early Show (CBS), The View (ABC), Martha and Fox & Friends.

In the United Kingdom Brightman's promotion for the album included appearing on the cookery shows Saturday Kitchen and Ready Steady Cook with Lesley Garrett. Other UK television appearances for the album included, Channel 4's The Paul O'Grady Show, ITV's Loose Women, five's The Wright Stuff and the BBC News. Brightman also appeared on radio on Classic FM and Jonathan Ross' show on BBC Radio 2.

Around this time Brightman appeared at Canada's Juno Awards 2008 and she later appeared at the UK Classical BRIT Awards 2008 in May.

References

  1. ^ [Symphony (album) at Allmusic
  2. ^ "Symphony: Live in Vienna DVD delayed". Sarah-Brightman.com. http://www.sarah-brightman.com/htm_news/2.php?ID=3125. Retrieved 2008-05-16. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Sarah Brightman's New CD, Symphony is Soprano's Highest U.S. Chart Debut". PR Newswire. 6 February 2008. http://hitsdailydouble.com/sales/archcht.cgi?cht279. Retrieved 2008-04-09. 
  4. ^ "Sarah Brightman scores highest charting album in over a decade". EMI press releases, news. 2008-02-06. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20080802040304/http://www.emigroup.com/Press/2008/press48.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-09. 
  5. ^ a b "Mexican album certifications – Sarah Brightman – Symphony" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. http://www.amprofon.com.mx/certificaciones.php?artista=Sarah+Brightman&titulo=Symphony&categoria=ALBUM&contenido=buscar. 
  6. ^ a b "莎拉·布莱曼"交响美声"广州演唱会". http://ent.163.com/09/0304/15/53IQJBU900032PPQ.html. 
  7. ^ a b "Japanese album certifications – Sarah Brightman – Symphony of the Gods" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. http://www.riaj.or.jp/data/others/gold/200809.html. 
  8. ^ a b "Canadian album certifications – Sarah Brightman – Symphony". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Symphony&sa=Sarah+Brightman&smt=0. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Sarah Brightman - Symphony". acharts.us. http://acharts.us/album/33421. Retrieved 2011-09-07. 
  10. ^ "Sarah Brightman's Symphony chart History". Billboard. 12/15/11. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/sarah-brightman/symphony/1095580. 
  11. ^ "Sarah Brightman chart History in Japan". Oricon Top. 15 December 2011. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/73615/ranking/cd_album/. 
  12. ^ "Community". Guild Wars. http://www.guildwars.com/community/. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 

External links