1. Summer Watson
Summer Watson is a British soprano born in Oxfordshire, UK.
Education and Career
Summer Watson completed her Postgraduate diploma at the Royal College of Music under Graziella Sciutti and Iris Dell’Accqua.
Summer Watson released a solo album on the Sony Classical label at Abbey Roads Studios in 2003. This reach #1 on the US and #2 on the UK classical music charts and sold 500,000 copies.
Summer Watson has performed in numerous events worldwide including charity events for the Red Cross.
Awards and Distinctions
Summer is also popular Estonian singer, real name Indrek Raadik.
In 1999 Summer Watson was second place in the Llangollen International Singer of the Year competition. In the same year she was awarded the Countess of Munster scholarship to the Royal College of Music.
Summer Watson has been nominated to as the Amabassador for Magic Bus, a charity involved in getting Indian children off of the street. She has also been nominated the Ambassador of AdoptSriLanka.Com which works to re-build the communities of Sri Lanka after the destruction of the Tsunami.
Wikipedia: Summer Watson
(17 August 2003) Summer is a classically trained vocalist whose rich, sumptuous voice can soar effortlessly over music written by some of the world's all time greatest composers; Beethoven, Vivaldi, Strauss, Rodrigo, Sting, and Ennio Morricone are just some of the names from the past and present whose music Summer has chosen to present on her self-titled debut album (Sony Music Entertainment Ltd (UK) SK89879) released in April 2003.
Although Summer's debut album is more classically styled than others in the crossover genre, it will appeal to enthusiasts of Sarah Brightman review), Emma Shapplin (review), Izzy (review), Filippa Giordano (review), Sasha Lazard (review) and Laura Turner (feature).
Summer is comprised of twelve tracks the artist personally selected and in several cases arranged by the singer herself. Produced by Nick Patrick (Gipsy Kings, Russell Watson), guest musicians include bassist Pino Palladino (Celine Dion, Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton), keyboardist Richard Cottle (Mick Jagger, Manic Street Preachers, Vanessa-Mae), guitarist Dominic Miller (Sting), percussionist Miles Bould (John Martyn, James Asher) and renowned orchestral arranger and conductor Nick Ingman who, on this album, conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
"Putting the album together was exciting and the realisation of a dream," says Summer. "It features a huge range of styles and songs. I really wanted to get across not just the fact that I'm an opera singer but that I love singing everything from purely classical pieces to jazz, world and pop." In an effort to bring something different to the table, Summer sought out pieces from around the world and blended them to create an exquisite mix of classical music, world influences, new arrangements and timeless lyrics.
What separates Summer's debut from anything that has gone before is the seamless fusion that has been achieved between the classical and ethnic musical idioms, a fusion that takes nothing from either genre, but rather adds to both and creates a style that is both emotively powerful and intellectually satisfying. The clearest analogy is the combination of jazz and roots that has made Norah Jones debut album review one of the top selling albums on 2002.
The Summer album includes the exciting opening number "Nella Fantasia" by Ennio Morricone with lyrics by Chiara Ferrau; the Spanish song, "Palabra De Honor," which was a huge hit for the Gipsy Kings; "Aranjuez ma Pensee," an arrangement of the Guitar Concerto written in the 1930s by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo with lyrics by Victoria Kahmi; an exquisite French lullaby "Berceuse" by the the 19th century composer Benjamin Godard; the beautiful "Song To The Moon" by the 19th century composer Antonin Dvorák with lyrics by Jaroslav Kvapil; and an extraordinary cover of Sting's song "Fragile."
2. Summer
Summer is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and visual artist, best known for the singles “Not a Love Song” and "Messed Up." She accompanies herself with acoustic and electric guitar, as well as piano. Her first full-length album, Timing and Lighting, was released in September 2008. She completed a 300-piece series of poster-size pastel paintings of her signature emotive female faces to accompany the album's release. In a surprising move, she chose to give away the entire painting series to fans along with album purchase. Summer's unique stage show (whereby she showcases specific paintings during live performance) has earned her recognition by the Philly Rising Contest and an award as one of the "Top Ten Portland Singer-Songwriters" by the Portland (OR) Songwriting Association.
(In 2003, Summer acquired the trademark to the name, “Summer” in the classes of live musical performance and prerecorded cd's. As a result, she is legally able to perform under the sole name “Summer.”)
==External Links==
* [http://www.timingandlighting.com Summer's official website]
Wikipedia: Summer (Singer)
Cantique de Jean Racine
Summer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Jour éternel de la terre et des cieux
De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence:
Divin Sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux
Répands sur nous le feu de ta grâce puissante;
Que tout l'enfer fuie au son de ta voix;
Dissipe le sommeil d'une âme languissante
Ô Christ! Sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle
Pour te bénir maintenant rassemblé;
Reçois les chants qu'il offre à ta gloire immortelle
Et de tes dons qu'il retourne comblé
The lyrics of Summer's song Cantique de Jean Racine are a prayerful plea to Jesus Christ for His mercy and favor upon humanity. The opening line, "Verbe égal au Très-Haut, notre unique espérance" (Word equal to the Most High, our only hope), sets the tone for the entire poem emphasizing the greatness of God and the hope that He provides to us. The line "Jour éternel de la terre et des cieux" (Eternal day of the earth and the heavens) invokes images of the majesty of Heaven while the following line "De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence" (From the peaceful night we break the silence) invokes a sense of a quiet but grand worship service or prayer meeting. The second stanza speaks of the powerful grace of Jesus Christ which can drive away even hell and awaken a soul that is languishing in a slumber of neglect towards God's laws.
The final stanza, "Ô Christ! Sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle, Pour te bénir maintenant rassemblé; Reçois les chants qu'il offre à ta gloire immortelle, Et de tes dons qu'il retourne comblé" (O Christ! Be favorable to this faithful people, Gathered now to bless you; Receive the songs they offer to your immortal glory, And may they return filled with your gifts), is an invocation of Christ to show favor to the people gathered to worship Him and to receive their songs and worship as a fitting tribute to His eternal glory. The overall theme of the poem is the solemn, peaceful, and prayerful adoration of Jesus Christ and the plea to Him for His mercy and favor.
Line by Line Meaning
Verbe égal au Très-Haut, notre unique espérance
We put our trust in you, Jesus, who is equal with God.
Jour éternel de la terre et des cieux
You are the eternal light that illuminates both the earth and the heavens.
De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence:
As we break the silence of the peaceful night,
Divin Sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux
we pray for you, divine savior, to look upon us with grace.
Répands sur nous le feu de ta grâce puissante;
Pour out your powerful grace upon us,
Que tout l'enfer fuie au son de ta voix;
so that all forces of evil flee at the sound of your voice;
Dissipe le sommeil d'une âme languissante
banish the sleep of a weary soul
Qui la conduit à l'oubli de tes lois!
which leads to forgetting your laws!
Ô Christ! Sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle
Oh, Christ! Be merciful to your faithful people,
Pour te bénir maintenant rassemblé;
gathered here to bless your holy name;
Reçois les chants qu'il offre à ta gloire immortelle
Accept the hymns we sing to your immortal glory,
Et de tes dons qu'il retourne comblé
and let us be filled with the gifts of your grace.
Contributed by Emily O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.