Symphony

Sarah Brightman (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 29, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Manhattan Records
• ASIN: B000TSQCHS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,453 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2008 marks the release of Sarah Brightman's first new studio album for five years. Recorded in Germany, Symphony features all new songs and is created with Sarah's long-time producer Frank Peterson. The repertoire ranges from beautiful ballads 'Symphony', 'Fleur du Mal' and epic power rock scores 'I Will Be With You' to interpretations of the work 'Jupiter' from Holst's The Planets on 'Running' to Faith Hill's 'There You'll Be' sung in Italian as 'Sarai Qui' and many more. On this album Sarah reunites with Andrea Bocelli to sing 'Canto Della Terra', as well as singing duets with Fernando Lima (Mexican tenor) on 'Passion' and Paul Stanley (Kiss) on 'I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go) '. The album showcases Sarah linguistic vocal skills by singing in Spanish, Italian, French and for the first time German. EMI.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

101 of 112 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Sarah Brightman Release January 29, 2008

By Anthony Morelli

Format:Audio CD

I simply love the CD. Picked up my copy this morning and popped it into the CD player. Wow, totally worth the 4-year wait! I was more than thrilled to hear the eclectic array of songs Sarah has chosen for Symphony. There's an edge to the album, which was coming sooner or later, and I'm relieved to finally hear something a little more close to home, rather than her fully themed albums from before. Symphony offers a little something for everyone. The songs which caught my attention are: Gothica, Symphony, Sanvean, Attesa and, surprisingly, Running. "Sanvean" is a Dead Can Dance cover tune, which is beautiful. Even though I reviewed the MP3 of "Running" and bashed it, I've grown to liking it because of that tribal beat which pops up around the middle of the song. I still think that Gustav Holst's original (Jupiter, from "The Planets") should've been left untouched, but Sarah has put her touch on that such classic just the same.

Symphony is voluptuous and living proof that Sarah is truly the best-selling Soprano of all time. Sarah uses a lot more of her higher, not necessarily operatic range on the album, which is pleasing to the ears, cos she's got a really lovely pop voice too. I haven't heard some notes she belts out, in a long time! The whole ethereality of the photos throughout the digipack & booklet are really nice, though some clever editing & airbrushing has been done, giving Sarah a truly different appearance in the photos. Her blonde wig is interesting with that braid across the front top portion of her head. I don't think she makes a great blonde, compared to her long, cascading raven tresses. And the backdrops...how ethereal and lofty everything seems. I like it. It's theatrical and playful at the same time. Sarah has picked up on a totally different fashion style. I love that white angelic number she wears, looking down upon her altar ego in the red dress down below.

Glad to know that Andrea Bocelli has been brought back to Duet with Sarah on "Canto Della Terra". So pretty and breathy and really packs a wallop of sound! I don't really care for Paul Stanley's voice on "I Will Be With You", compared to the original SB version, sung with Chris Thompson. His is a more soothing, smooth voice. But I realize Sarah was going for something a little more edgier, so I presume that is why they settled with the Paul Stanley version for the album.

Tracklisting is as follows:
01. Gothica - 1:20
02. Fleurs Du Mai - 4:10
03. Symphony - 4:47
04. Canto Della Terra - featuring Andrea Bocelli 3:59
05. Sanvean - 3:50
06. I Will Be With You (Where The Lost Ones Go) - featuring Paul Stanley - 04:31
07. Schwere Träume - 3:22
08. Sarai Qui - featuring Alessandro Safina 3:56
09. Storia d'Amore - 4:03
10. Let It Rain - 4:17
11. Attesa - 4:26
12. Pasión - featuring Fernando Lima
13. Running - 6:09

I don't know about the American edition, but my Canadian edition (the cd itself) is glossy red with silver lettering. It's very pretty and unlike any of Sarah's previous discs. I highly recommend purchasing Symphony, because it's really a wonderful album with a lot to offer.
Bonus material is available, through visiting Sarah's official website, once you've purchased the CD.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Symphony of Dark and Light: Brightman's Homage to Baudelaire and the Flowers of Evil. February 12, 2008

By Kaoru Hiratsuka

Format:Audio CD

For fans of Sarah Brightman this latest album may be something of a shock. Unlike earlier works, it is dark, brooding, and at times deliberately uneven. So before you buy, some explanations of what Sarah is doing here might help you appreciate it better. Unfair criticisms have been leveled at Sarah that she is trying to "re-invent" herself here. People making these criticisms fail to realize that Sarah and Frank Peterson, her manager/partner, have always visualized her projects as being separate stand-alone mini-musicals. Eden was themed around Africa/and Nautical motifs. La Luna had a mythological Moon-Goddess theme. Harem was the Arabian Nights. In order to understand this latest work of Sarah's, a fan needs to read Baudelaire's controversial set of poems "Les Fleurs du Mal" (the Flowers of Evil.) In particular, they need to read a poem entitled, "Femmes Damnes" (The Women who are Damned.) Unlike Sarah's earlier works, Symphony is a soul-searching journey through mid-life crisis, mirroring Sarah's own journey through the past couple of years (unfortunately this hasn't been the happiest of times for her on a personal level.) If you read "Fleurs du Mal" (you can order it from [...] for a reasonable price) you will be amazed to see how well Sarah and Frank tied the whole album into the poems, including the cover art and the souvenir booklet insert. Once you acquaint yourself with Baudelaire, the album, art work and photos will make sense to you. So when approaching this latest work of Sarah's remember: 1. It's themed on "Les Fleurs du Mal" by Baudelaire. 2. It's more soul-searching than previous works probably because Sarah had to do some soul-searching herself. 3. It's a stand-alone work, like all of her previous ones, since each album is intended to be a mini-musical of sorts. Fans of Sarah may need to listen to it a few times to get used to her journey here...but the effort will be well worth it. Incidentally, least you worry about Sarah, not all is darkness. Like any dark stormy day, there are flashes of light through the clouds. One song in "Symphony," her version of "Where the Lost Ones Go" by Sissel, was used as the official theme song for the Tenth Pokemon film, "Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkai." So, despite some personal tragedies, Sarah still obviously is maintaining the same sense of gentle wit and humor which her fans have always loved.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good, decent album from Sarah Brightman February 1, 2008

By GarionOrb

Format:Audio CD

Symphony is Sarah Brightman's first studio album in 4 years, so it's been quite a wait! The last time we heard her was on Harem, which was an incredible concept album. Now comes Symphony, and yes it's a good album, but still falls short of where it could've been.

The album begins very strongly, with the haunting instrumental "Gothica" intro that segues wonderfully into the dramatic "Fleurs du Mal". This is by far the best track on the album. It's thrilling, dark and possibly one of the best songs Sarah has ever done. Once it's over, it slows down for the beautiful "Symphony", which has totally grown on me. After this one, the album sadly falls apart a bit. We're treated to some beautiful duets, and some soaring arias, but the album doesn't quite attain that fire that started it. "Canto Della Terra" is pretty good, but it builds up too soon and too dramatically. It almost takes you by surprise, especially since Andrea Bocelli's voice overpowers Sarah's. "Sanvean" is nice and haunting, but goes nowhere. "I Will Be With You" is a good song that strongly reminds me of her album, Fly (except softer). It's one of the better songs on here. After this is filler: "Schwere Traume", "Sarai Qui", "Storie D'Amore". Those songs are just bland. It picks up again with the beautiful "Let It Rain", slows down again with "Attesa", then back up again with the GORGEOUS "Pasion". The album ends with the upbeat "Running", which is clearly an attempt to recreate her earlier hit, "A Question of Honour" from the Fly album. But while "Running" is a good song, it's not as striking as "Honour" and fails to reach that mark.

This album has great potential, but it doesn't capture me the way that Eden, La Luna or Harem did. Still, I find myself listening to it a lot because it IS pretty, just not epic like her previous records. This is sad because the amazing photography and album art/packaging suggests an album of tremendous quality. However, I was definitely left wanting more.