'The Songs of the Auvergne' sung in English by Janette Miller are a fresh, original up to date interpretation of these querky French folk songs.
Easy to listen to, easy to enjoy, they make you feel that youth and love can last forever.
Joseph Canteloube spent over forty years working on his clever witty orchestrations of these traditional Auvergne airs. Canteloube wrote for a full classical orchestra and his orchestrations are a mass of cross rhythms and the odd change of time and key signature that make them very diffiuclt to sing and play for the ordinary professional musician and practically impossible for those who are not!
Added to that 'The Songs of the Auvergne' are not even written in day to day French but in the Auvergne patois so that the witty , naughty, slighty risque lyrics are hardly ever understood which is a shame for "The Songs of the Auvergne' are fun!
Janette Miller first heard these songs when she was 18 and has had to wait a few years to be able to perform them in public. A full orchestra, or even a competent accompanist were impossible to find. Every pianist she asked took one look at the accompaniments and disappeared.
Enter Apple Mac, Garageband, the extraordinary 'midi" music application and producer Janette Heffernan who discovered that she could write out the difficult accompaniments by hand and re orchestrate, re mix, and record to acceptable modern standards. Heffernan also decided to translate the songs to make the lyrics more accessible to a mainstream audience.
For that is where these songs belong. They are not serious classical 'Lieder' in the traditional sense to be put on a pedestal and listened to in awe but lively, lovely folk songs of the young people who impart a love of life and the joy of loving. 'The Songs of the Auvergne' like 'The Sound of Music' and 'Mama Mia' make you 'feel good'.
Janette Miller says she feels 18 when she sings these songs and she is delighted to be able to share them with you. They can be purchased on iTunes worldwide where they can be sampled but as she lives in New Zealand where she records they can be heard in full on Amplifier.com where they are available for download either as a Album or individual songs.
Soon Music videos to accompany each song will be available on iTunes and DVD - 'Limousin' and a 'Sampler' of songs can be seen on YouTube.
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