Customer Reviews

Etterna

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Beautiful and haunting follow-up to her first album.
Emma Shapplin has truely grown as an artist because
on Etterna she has co-written all of the compositions.
Etterna is beyond catergorization and effectively
mixes operatic vocals with orchestrated arrangements
and electronic elements. Buy this CD.

I was browsing through an Archambault when I saw Emma Shapplin's "Etterna." I quickly snatched up a copy since I loved her début album "Carmine Meo" and her contributions to the "Red Planet" soundtrack, and "Etterna" followed Emma's tradition of Baroque Italian lyrics, gorgeous melodies, her sensual soprano, and otherworldly sound effects (chanting, water, space sounds). Like "Carmine Meo," "Etterna" is an opera of sorts featuring an exotic cast of characters.

The liner notes are simply gorgeous, featuring Emma as the range of characters: an elf, a witch, an old lady, a little boy, the soul, a crazy girl, all printed in metallic gold interspersed with vibrant colour photos. Whereas the environment of "Carmine Meo" was geared more towards Fire and Earth, "Etterna" is ruled by Water: the sounds of waves gently lapping, the melody wavelike and tranquil. The lyrics are drenched in melancholy, much like "Carmine Meo," although "the hope is in the melody," as Emma explains during the CD-ROM interview (one version is in English, the other in French with English subtitles).

"Etterna" is on label Ark21 after a breach of contract with Pendragon Records (which explains why Emma was not present on "Atylantos," the sequel to "Carmine Meo." A classical crossover success story, Emma Shapplin was born in Paris in 1974. She took singing lessons as a teenager, later joined a heavy metal band in which she mostly screamed and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day in an attempt to "roughen" her voice. Later she returned to her classical roots after seeing an opera performance that touched her deeply. She met up with French composer and rock star Jean-Patrick Capdeville at a party and asked him to write a gothic opera for her, "Carmine Meo," which went on to sell over a million and a half copies. On "Etterna" Emma does almost all of her own scoring and lyrics (with help from Graeme Revell).

To my ears many of the songs drift together, lacking the individuality of "Carmine Meo." Also, there seems to be an overabundance of sound effects during the introductions (many of the songs don't "begin" until 1:30 or later into the track). But seeing as Emma oversaw all aspects of her sophomore release (art direction, scoring, lyrics, performing), "Etterna" is a truly impressive effort and a treat for the senses.

As I write this I'm listening to one of my favorite songs on 'Etterna', "Da Me Non Venni" and am getting chills like you wouldn't believe! In a past interview I read on the internet about 'Carmine Meo', Emma explained how she wanted to use a language that was very poetic (aka 14th-century Italian, which very few people know) for she wanted to convey emotions that you could feel rather than understand. And while that worked on her last studio album, it works even better with 'Etterna' for the music shifts its focuse on her singing without the gorgeous melodies overpowering to steal the spotlight. My introduction to Emma Shapplin was through the Yomanda remix to "Spent le Stelle" though, which spills forth a very addicting techno beat with soaring vocals that are free and unrestrained, so don't misconstrue what I'm saying because her vocals are indeed very strong and can carry through just about anything she puts her mind to! Before you buy this though you should know that this is not proper opera and that Emma has never claimed to be a traditional "opera singer". She sings from the heart...from the SOUL, and because of that her haunting arias with sweeping synthesizers and dramatic string melodies come out beautiful and TRUE. And even though Jean-Patrick Capdevielle did a marvelous job on 'Carmine Meo', producer Graeme Revell, who also worked with Emma on the Red Planet soundtrack, succeeds in making 'Etterna' sound mystical and ethereal with Shapplin composing all of the lyrics, which are dark, seductive and mysterious... "'A sigh from you and I am born again of the Demon's Forge'"... "'Ah! The evil, wicked desire which disarms me! And it leaves...leaves... My life leaves me...'"

Captured within the booklet are also some strange pictures, like Emma playing hop-scotch on a desolate under-shore playground. My favorite, however, is with Emma playing chess beneath the depth of the ocean with a blind-folded cloan of herself! ...

'Etterna' is truly magnificent and I consider it to be the BEST ALBUM of 2002!

Emma Shapplin's Etterna is a mixed bag for me. Although Emma's impressive coloratura soprano voice rises high, it's soaring over mediocre music. The instrumentation tends to be very pedestrian, safe, new agey electronic music. There are exceptions, of course. The choral backgrounds are beautiful, and the string section in Da Me Non Venni is a sweet accompaniment to Emma's voice.

Etterna is a concept album. Like Tori Amos in Strange Little Girls, Emma assumes a different character for each of the songs: a crazy woman, an elf, an old lady, a little boy, etcetera. Theoretically, the photos in the liner notes reflect these personalities, but what is revealed instead is a fashionable collection of pictures of the highly-photogenic singer.

The multimedia included on the CD is similar, demonstrating Emma's pretty walk and theatrical fashion sense.

Etterna is an album based around a water theme, and is sung in 14th-century Italian, a language which Emma believes is the most musical in nature. She could be right.

If you are a fan of the operatic techno of The Fifth Element or recent Delerium, you will love this album. If you're a musical purist, you'll want to keep away. Check it out if you fall somewhere in the middle

Etterna, Emma Shapplin's second album, is much more brooding, haunting and mysterious than her debut album Carmine Meo. Each song is carefully crafted so as to convey what could be some of her darkest emotions (ie, lyrics such as, "I am as one who no longer sees the sky/When the heart is dull/As one who contemplates eternal night/Free me...I am drifting, drifting/Save me"). Her vocal abilities are undoubtedly exceptional as she is able to be passionate, powerful and evocative, yet also at times austere, restrained and delicate. The CD also includes the remix version of the first single, La Notte Etterna and interviews in french and english.

This CD is I better than Caramine Meo. It is like candy to the ears. The multimedia section is fantastic too.

I purchased this CD on the reccomendation of a coworker who also enjoys Sarah Brightman as much as I do. I have only had it for a week, and have listened to it from beginning to end at lesat twice a day. If you check out her website, she explains exactly what she wanted to accomplish, to take you away. Even though the words are in 14th century Italian, the melodies and singing take you to another time and place. It is operatic singing with pop beats and mezmerizing orchestration. Any fan of Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, and similar should definitely buy this CD. I already have Carmine Meo on order, as well as the techno remix. Can't wait for her next recording!

I loved the first CD carmine meo and thought it was hard to follow and on first listening the Etterna I was very dissapointed. I left it alone for a while and then listened to it again and again and now I like this CD so much more. It is breathtaking and all the sound effects are excellent and only add to each track. Best listened to on a personal player or in a quiet room. Also recommend the Red Planet soundtrack which has some excellent tracks featuring Emma Shaplin.

Emma Shapplin is just wonderfull
There is nothing better than Emma Shapplin in the world
She's a angel from heaven and her music like magic

I brought this album in hopes in finding another Sarah Brightman, a cross-over opera singer with a strong and beautiful voice. There is no doubt that Emma Shapplin can't sing, it is just that the music is blan and uncaptivating. Every song sounds like the other, and all of the songs are dull, no gems on this one. Her voice sometimes seems not to be flowing with the music, and it seems as if she is being held back from really displaying her talent. The music also doesn't flow, and it seems as if the musicians can't decide what tune to play next. The whole album is substanceless and the songs aimless. Still, I have just purchased her other ablum, because believe she has the talent to create an album as good as Sarah Brightman's, so I've given her a second chance. However, I certainly wouldn't buy this one again, even if I do like the other.