The tracks:
There are 14 tracks on Shân’s new CD – many of which are new arrangements by Musical Director John Quirk and were recorded at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea with the National Chamber Orchestra of Wales under the baton of John Quirk in August 2005.

1. Be Still My Soul – Finlandia (Sibelius) arr. Jeffrey Howard (Listen)
This is a fantastic melody that has become a much loved hymn in both English and Welsh. I asked Jeffrey Howard to arrange this as he’s excellent at arranging choral music – he’s written several arrangements for ‘Serendipity’ the mixed choir featured on the track as well as hymn arrangements for ‘Songs of Praise’. I asked him to begin the arrangement in an intimate prayer-like style and let it grow gradually to a massive, epic, mindblowing finish!! Not a lot to ask for I know. By the way the organ grinder in the third verse is … yes, that’s right – Jeff in his glory on the Brangwyn Hall stage for all to hear. He’s also an organ scholar you know. I love it!! Thanks Jeff – you’ve come up trumps again!

2. Caro Mio Ben – Giordani (arr. John Quirk) (Listen)
Well, this one’s a long story! It started with a call from my partner Justin saying  “right, have you got a song ready cos I’ve got a location to shoot a video in the next 2 days!” So a quick decision had to be made – so I drove like the wind down to Penclawdd to see John Quirk and took a bunch of songs with me. This ballad had been on my mind for a while (we used to sing it a lot at an early age while competing in Eisteddfodau). It’s so sweet but should by no means be underestimated, as it needs a long line to interpret it with emotion and feeling. We decided on a more flowing accompaniment to convey the sounds of nature, hence the promo video shot at the beautiful National Botanic Gardens of Wales. We had to record a guide first with piano accompaniment and that was done in a stand-in wardrobe!! Don’t ask! Hey who needs high tech studios!! That came later. Anyway, thanks to all of you that made this track work – especially my Justin – you are a clever man! Hope you all enjoy the video.

3. Once Upon a Time in the West – Morricone (Listen)
I love Morricone – he’s such a cool, quirky composer and orchestrator who never fails to please his audience.
This vocalise is just a beautiful track – the way he writes such simple flowing melodies that grow and build until you want to jump of a cliff! How does he do it??
This is Justin’s favourite and he really wanted me to record this – I’m so glad I did as it’s become one of my favourite tracks. I was thrilled to invite Only Men Aloud! to accompany me on this number and feel that they’ve added the right colour and  authencity to the track.

4. Les Filles de Cadix – Delibes (arr. John Quirk) (Listen)
I’ve sung this quite a bit too – and found that it goes down well with the audience as they like the Carmen style of the music with that flamenco flavour. We invited Myfyr Isaac to play acoustic guitar on the track and to give it that sensual flavour. Even though it’s not as famous as Bizet’s Habanera I think it’s instantly attractive to the listener. It’s a cheeky and flirtatious track and the French language is a very sexy language to sing – so different to Welsh and Italian. It was a hit on the Classic FM cruise I did in 2004 with presenter Nick Bailey – and he particularly took a fancy to it. May I say that Nick was very good at acting the Matador to flirt with on stage! I think he quite enjoyed it!

5. Lisa Lân – Welsh traditional (arr. John Quirk) (Listen)
This is an extremely beautiful traditional Welsh melody. It’s strictly a man’s song but I couldn’t stop myself from recording it as I’ve always loved the melody. John couldn’t wait to work on this as it’s his favourite too. He’s  done a fab job on this – he’s made it so visual and descriptive – it’s like a tone-poem. The male chorus ‘Only Men Aloud!’ have been added to represent the men singing about Lisa Lân and the soprano voice represents Lisa – weaving in and out of the texture like a haunting mysterious siren. I love the orchestral colours and the way the oboe and solo violin take the lead inbetween different verses. Hope you enjoy this one.

6. Motherless Child – trad. (arr. John Quirk) (Listen)
This is another favourite that I just had to record. I’ve performed it a lot in concerts and have found it’s a great song to contrast with a lively aria to try to bring the audience to their knees. It’s very emotional and poignant and I always try to convey the right sentiment in the spiritual. John Quirk has particularly enjoyed arranging this track and has come up with a smashing combination of strings and piano. Dick Roberts features performing what he does best – the piano improvisations or ‘noodles’ as John and I call them! I know John’s favourite bit is the violin solo in the coda – that’s Dai Thomas making that violin sing! Thanks Dai – you’re the man!

7. Ah! Je Veux Vivre – Gounod (Romeo &  Juliet) (Listen)
 I had to record this as I’ve been singing it for a number of years and it’s a great concert starter which says quite plainly – “Ok folks I’ve arrived!” and  then scream your head off in the opening cadenza!! It’s a great waltz tune. Bryan Davies (a dear friend and fantastic accompanist always says “Shân you can’t go wrong with a waltz to get people’s feet tapping.” – and I always listened to him. It’s also an attractive aria to sing to people who might not be that familiar with the world of opera. Thanks to the National Chamber Orchestra of Wales – they did a great job with this one! Not as easy as it seems.

8. Suo Gân – Welsh Traditional (arr. John Quirk) (Listen)
Now we performed this arrangement of Suo Gân back in 1998 on the ‘Shân Cothi’ music series for S4C and so John (MD) had it sitting on the shelf ever since. We’ve pulled it out a couple of times but it was a great shame not to do anything with it ever again. So this was a perfect opportunity to record and document yet another lovely Welsh lullaby with a new arrangement. It works beautifully with the solo violin weaving in and out of the voice. It’s a much loved tune anyway, but it’s wonderful to put our own stamp on it at last.

9. Chemins de l’Amour (The Ways of Love – Poulenc) arr. John Quirk (Listen)
Yet another favourite of mine – I love singing this song. Great songs are important in a singer’s repertoire and should never be ignored in a concert programme. Poulenc has written so many beautiful café songs and this one I find really emotive and sexy. The arrangement works really well as it’s kept the intimacy I wanted (as it’s a piano accompaniment originally). It’s also given it a fresh approach and interpretation – really quirky and cheeky but also filled with sentiment. Hope you enjoy it too!

10. Pie Jesu – Faure Requiem (arr. John Quirk/guest artist Catrin Finch – harp) (Listen)
I’m really pleased with this track’s simplicity. We thought of featuring the harp for this track and combining it with other forces but decided that the simplicity and tenderness of the words and music didn’t warrant anything bigger. So Catrin was let loose to accompany in her own fabulous style and has kept it clean and pure and uncluttered. She’s a gem to work with and a true artist and I was very honoured that she agreed to play on the album. Diolch o galon Catrin!

11. Let the Bright Seraphim – Samson (Handel) (Listen)
Now you can’t release a disc without putting a bit of Handel on it!! Ok – so not everyone’s a fan but any singer worth his or her salt will have Handel in their repertoire. It’s a good old sing and definitely clears the cobwebs. It gets your muscles working and colours the cheeks too! Seriously – this piece is important in a soprano’s repertoire and remains a classic. Thank you National Chamber Orchestra of Wales for playing it at my tempo!!

12. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again – Phantom of the Opera (Lloyd Webber) (Listen)
Some of you may know I was in ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in ‘Her Majesty’s Theatre’ in West End. I didn’t play Christine though – I was the other one, Carlotta Guidicelli – you know the ‘Prima Donna’ with fiery red hair and a voice and temper to match! It was great fun so I decided when making my rep list that I had to record something from the show as a souvenir. I don’t think you would have appreciated the opening cadenza that opens the show as a track – so I opted for ‘Wishing’ – I think it’s a good album track and Lloyd Webber certainly knows how to write a good tune. Thank you for a fabulous musical Mr. Lloyd Webber – I had a ball!

13. Auf Flugeln des Gesanges – Mendelssohn (arr. John Quirk) (Listen)
This is a lovely melody. I don’t know exactly why this lieder came to mind but I think it was because I sang it in my brother’s wedding – so this is for Eirian and Catherine and my nephews, Dafydd and Alwyn. I sang it in Welsh in the wedding as most of the guests were Welsh. But I thought I’d record it in the original German language for the album. John has written a really sweet pretty arrangement that flows along gently and is really apt for the song. Thanks John – I know it’s one of your favourites!

14. Dros Gymru’n Gwlad – Finlandia (Sibelius) arr. Jeff Howard (Listen)
Well – this is the big finale track to tie in with the opening of the album (I suppose it’s a bonus track – I couldn’t decide for ages which to put first and last ) and there’s no particular reason now but I do like the fact that I leave the listener with Lewis Valentine’s fabulous famous Welsh words to the hymn tune Finlandia. They’re so powerful.These words are like the second National Anthem to me and I’ve often found myself driving through Wales in a very emotional state if I’m listening to this track. Jeff – you’ve done a fantastic arrangement. Thanks to Serendipity for belting this one out!! Can’t wait to perform it again.

 

Guests on the ‘Passione’ Album

 

Shan wanted to feature guests on the album ‘Passione’ but wanted the artists featured to be a reflection of real musical relationships as opposed to more commercial partnerships.

Catrin Finch: (and her Harp!)
Catrin has become a friend (if you meet her ask her about our ‘cup of tea’ club!!) and our musical relationship has developed as a result of being invited to the same concert events. We always try to make an effort to do an item together and she’s such a joy to work with and an absolutely brilliant harpist. She was born to play that instrument!

I was thrilled when she said “of course I’ll do a track with you”.

We’ve kept it simple as the harp is such an emotive instrument and Catrin produces such clarity in her playing. John came up with the idea of simply replacing the organ with harp in the lovely pure ‘Pie Jesu’ from Faure’s Requiem (Track 10). We had this piece on the list for a while but needed inspiration – Catrin was certainly that and her playing is spot on. What a true star!!

Serendipity: (Mixed choir)
Shân has been working a lot with MD/Chorus master Timothy-Rhys Evans over the past 2/3 years (e.g. the current Cothi & Cream tour of Wales with Only Men Aloud!) and various concert work. (Tim was MD for Dunvant Male Voice Choir and Shân has been a guest artist in many of their concerts as well as being on the panel of judges for their new annual music theatre competition established to promote young Music Theatre singers in Wales.)
Therefore, it was a natural choice to ask the 2005 Côr Cymru winners ‘Serendipity’ (MD – Timothy-Rhys Evans) to feature on the album. ‘Serendipity’s’ accompanist Jeffrey Howard has also worked with Shân over the years and has a great track record in choral arranging. Jeff was invited to write an arrangement of that fabulous hymn ‘Finlandia’ by Sibelius. Shân was so pleased with the result that she decided to feature two versions of the track on the album. (Track 1 and Track 14). Both English and Welsh versions have strong lyrics that mean a lot to many people – ‘Be still My Soul’ and ‘Dros Gymru’n Gwlad’ (the Welsh version has become a second anthem for Wales  and is Shân’s favourite hymn – words by  Lewis Valentine).

Only Men Aloud! (Male chorus)
Timothy-Rhys Evans is also chorus master for the young male chorus Only Men Aloud! They feature on the charming arrangement of  the traditional Welsh Folk Song ‘Lisa Lân’ (Track 5) and the fabulous vocalise ‘Once upon a time in the West’ by Morricone. (Track 3). Only Men Aloud! and Shân have sung together in many prestigious events over the past 2/3 years and have developed a fabulous working relationship which brought about the concept of the extremely successful ‘Cothi & Cream’ tour (which received rave reviews all over Wales).

Myfyr Isaac: (guitar)
A wonderful guitarist and musician. Les filles de Cadix (the Ladies of Cadix) by Delibes is a really quirky song (Track 4) and was always intended to be a quite an intimate arrangement. However, it’s grown to be a quirky little number rather than a big orchestral affair. Myfyr was the icing on the cake – the timbre of the acoustic guitar has given it that intimacy we were after in the texture – and has given the track another flavour. I think it’s rather cheeky and sexy! Thanks Myf!

Richard Roberts: (piano)
There was only one man for this job! ‘Motherless Child’ (Track 6) is a fabulous melody which tugs at your heart strings. I’ve sung this a lot at concerts and first performed it back in 1998 on the ‘Shân Cothi’ TV series for S4C. But this is a new arrangement again which has given me a fresh interpretation once again. It was an absolute delight to record this. John Quirk and I wanted to write this for strings and feature the piano – Dick Roberts came in on the day and said ‘alright Shân?’ sat down and just played! Pure genius – he is the noodle man!! His playing makes me beam with joy!

Thanks to Bryn Terfel for his lovely kind words – these are on the CD sleeve:

“Yn gyntaf, llongyfarchiadau I Shân ar menter newydd. Cothi yr Eisteddfodwraig, Cothi y berfformwraig sioe gerdd, Cothi y cyflwynydd teledu, Cothi yr actors, ac yn olaf, ond nid y lleiaf, Cothi yr artist recordio. Pluen arall yn ei chap!”

“First of all congratulations to Shân on her new venture. Cothi the Eisteddfodwraig, Cothi the music theatre performer, Cothi the TV presenter, Cothi the actress and finally, last but not least, Cothi the recording artist. Another string to ones bow, another feather in ones cap.

No matter how one describes the phenomenon there’s no denying the musicality, the sensitivity which are integral to her performance but always touched with that wonderful sense of humour and that undeniable twinkle of the eye. There you have it, the ingredients are there, the equation solved.”

Also thanks to Nick Bailey Classic FM for all his support and kind words.

“I first met Shân Cothi when I was hosting a Classic FM music cruise on board P & O’s liner Aurora in 2004. Not only did she steal the show, but was a real trouper when, with the onset of extreme seasickness, she insisted on going on stage during a particularly rough passage through the Bay of Biscay!

I’m especially pleased she’s included ‘Ladies of Cadiz’, one of the songs she sang on the cruise, which brought the house down. But it’s as the lady of the Cothi V alley that Shân brings true meaning to ‘Suo Gân’ and ‘Lisa Lân’, and with Only Men Aloud! joining her for a wonderful vocalise version of Morricone’s ‘Once upon a time in the West’.

Shân is not only a wonderful singer, but also has great passion for everything she does, which makes the title of this album particularly apt…”

Nick Bailey, Classic FM