I would love to dedicate this post and these songs to my Mum who has her birthday later this week. She has always been an inspiration to me and my very best friend, although she will probably kill me when she sees that I have put this picture of us both on my blog 🙂
I have been working on ‘Art is Calling for Me’ for several years now, I have always imagined that I was a Princess and I when I first heard this song I just had to learn it 🙂
I used to get the cute factor when I was belting it out when I was thirteen but as each year has gone by all of my vocal teachers have expected improvements, extra frills, trills and as you watch it you’ll see what I mean, more character. I’m still working on that and there is still more comedic acting I could do, space allowing.
Russell Lomas, Charlotte Hoather and Colin Blamey ( Clarinet )
I have two versions of this recording, the first at Lytham Assembly rooms on 2nd August 2013, with the beautiful piano accompaniment of Russell Lomas, who was the former Head of Accompaniment at Chetham’s School of Music until his retirement in 2003, he was the only accompanist to appear on at least one televised programme in every series of the BBC TV Young Musician of the Year competition between the first year of the competition 1978 and 2004, Russell graduated from the Royal Manchester College of Music with a distinction in both Performers and Teachers Diplomas and was awarded the Ricordi Prize for Accompaniment.
The second recording was during my concert at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday 5th August, with Marcus Kitchen accompanying me on this complicated piano piece, he also did a fabulous job and it was a newly learned piece for him.
I just could not decide between the two which one to post for you to watch. So I’ve decided to put both on in this post; let me know which you prefer and I’ll put the one with the most votes on to my performance (videos and recordings) page 🙂
Art is Calling For Me (I want to be a Prima Donna) is from the Broadway Comic Opera ‘The Enchantress’ (Victor Herbert / Harry B Smith). First performed in 1911 in the New York Theatre, New York. The style of the piece is ‘Romantic’.
I absolutely love this piece of music, I feel it was written for me 🙂 even though I can only dream of being a Princess.
First Version
Second Version
I hope you enjoy listening to them and please vote for your favourite 🙂