Newsgroup: it.fan.musica.queen
Titolo: Press Release: 'Barcelona' Newly Orchestrated Special Edition

http://queenonline.com/en/news-archive/press-release-barcelona-special-edition/
 
 
10th July 2012
Press Release: 'Barcelona' Newly Orchestrated Special Edition
 
Island Records announce the release on 3rd September 2012 of a special
25th Anniversary edition of Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé’s
classic ‘Barcelona’ album.
 
Pre-Order through 
Amazon.co.uk
 - CD / Deluxe /Vinyl 
 
“I’m moving into opera now. Forget rock and roll”. Freddie Mercury. 1987.
 
25 years after the original release of the lead single, Queen singer
Freddie Mercury’s most self-defining and personal work, his ‘Barcelona’
album recorded in collaboration with Spanish operatic soprano Montserrat
Caballé, is to have a special re-release in an entirely newly orchestrated
re-working.
 
The special anniversary version of the album ‘Barcelona – The Special
Edition’ is released September 3, coming around what would have been the
singer’s 66th birthday.
 
The original Barcelona album, named after the Spanish city who would host
the Olympics in 1992 and for which Mercury had been asked to write the
theme song, was to become the final solo work Mercury would complete.
 
The title was also a tribute to the home city of his beloved recording
partner Montserrat Caballé with whom Freddie was captivated and had
planned to perform the title song with at the opening of the 1992 Olympics
opening ceremony. Sadly Mercury passed away eight months before this could
happen. 
 
But the album gave Mercury a million selling record and posthumously a
chart topping single when the song Barcelona was chosen by BBC TV as its
title music to its coverage of the Olympics.
 
One of the most audacious, and groundbreaking musical collaborations of
the 80’s, ‘Barcelona’ was for Freddie the embodiment of his long held
fantasy of combining rock and opera and realizing his dream of
collaborating with the woman of whom he said after first seeing her
performing at London’s Royal Opera House in 1981, "I have now heard the
best voice in the world".
 
Freddie had gone to the Opera House to see Luciano Pavarotti in Verdi’s
‘Un ballo in maschera’. Freddie had heard him on record but never seen him
live. However, as impressive as Pavarotti clearly was, it was the mezzo
soprano who blew Freddie away. He was later to play his manager Jim Beach
a record of Montserrat Caballé. “I wish to record with her”, Freddie told
an astonished Jim. “Please arrange it.”
 
Beach arranged a first meeting, at the Ritz hotel in Barcelona.
 
Freddie took with him pianist / arranger, Mike Moran, together with a demo
recording they had prepared for Montserrat entitled “Exercises in Free
Love” which Freddie had sung in falsetto imitating her voice.  Freddie’s
team had arranged for a massive PA system to be installed in the garden at
the Ritz where they met and Freddie played his demo to Montserrat the
moment she arrived.  “Could I sing it next Sunday at my recital at Covent
Garden?” Montserrat asked on hearing it.  They rehearsed it then and there
and the album Barcelona was born.  
 
Nicely completing the circle between that first encounter between Freddie
and Montserrat, this new edition brings to the album for the first time as
an extra track Freddie’s original vocal performance of ‘Exercises in Free
Love’ which Montserrat heard in the garden of the Ritz and formed the seed
of their collaboration.
 
The ‘Barcelona’ Special Edition album will be at the centre of a new
groundswell of interest in the work of the late singer who died in
November 1991 and  in whose memory his birthday is now marked each year
with the HIV AIDS fundraising day, ‘Freddie For A Day’.
 
Arriving at the same time will be a major new documentary “The Great
Pretender” and a freshly authored and illustrated book, “Freddie Mercury:
The Great Pretender - A Life in Pictures” which is released on September
3rd (Goodman,£25).
 
The re-created Barcelona album is being hailed as the version Mercury
would have wanted to make at the time had he felt able to work with a full
symphony orchestra
 
Mercury recorded his original album almost entirely on keyboards. This
2012 special edition replaces Mercury and co-writer and producer Mike
Moran’s synthesized arrangements with a full symphonic orchestral score
performed by the eighty piece FILMharmonic Orchestra, Prague, one of the
most sought after recording orchestras in Central  Europe, featuring
leading members from Czech foremost orchestras (Czech Philharmonic, Prague
Symphony).
 
Called on to transcribe and re-orchestrate the Mercury and Montserrat
Caballé tracks which featured on the original album was arranger and music
director Stuart Morley whose connection with Queen and Mercury lie in his
MD role of the band’s hit musical We Will Rock You. Morley is at the heart
of this new special edition of the album; alongside Queen sound engineer
Kris Fredriksson, Morley is also its producer.
 
Morley set about creating a new score by “basically listening to the album
over and over in short sections and noting down the harmonic structure,
lead orchestral lines and instrumental voicings along with the vocal
lines. I then proceeded to expand into making a full orchestral score
(with a 2B pencil, ruler and erases –the old fashioned way) working at the
piano and constantly referring back to the original recordings to make
sure the work I was doing remained faithful to Freddie and Mike Moran’s
original intentions.”
 
Morley also cites as important references along the way:  “Rimsky
Korsakov's treatise on orchestration as well as various orchestral scores
including Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony, Scheherzade and Dubussy's La Mer. It
was important to me,” he says, “that the re-orchestration was constructed
and voiced in an authentic classical style whilst remaining faithful to
the sound world of the original album.”
 
After months at the pencil and eraser, Morley arrived at the first day of
recording in Prague. “I remember feeling a mixture of nerves and
excitement when I made the short walk from the hotel to the studio.
Hearing just over 80 people tune up before striking the first notes when
the conductor gives their first downbeat is always slightly nerve racking
for an arranger, but these feeling were amplified ten-fold because of my
knowledge, respect and admiration of the original album and its creators."
 
“I'll never forget the wave of emotion that hit me later on that day when
I was handed the headphones while we were recording one of the tutti
sections from ‘The Fallen Priest’ (which was incidentally the biggest and
most challenging orchestration to complete) and I felt the sheer power of
the orchestra giving it their all, with Freddie and Montserrat soaring
over the top of it. That was the moment I knew that we were a part of
something really special.”
 
In addition to the orchestral score performed by the Prague FILMharmonic
Orchestra, other live instruments have been added for the first time.
Naoko Kikuchi, one of the few koto players in the western world, flew
especially to London to add the ancient oriental instrument to ‘La
Japonaise’. Rufus Taylor, Queen band member Roger Taylor’s son, has
replaced the drum machines on ‘The Golden Boy’ and ‘How Can Go On’ with
live percussion. The latter song also boasts a new violin solo from
classical violinist David Garrett joining Queen’s John Deacon’s original
bass part. 
 
‘Barcelona - The Special Edition’ is finally the album it should have
been. The world will undoubtedly rediscover and fall in love with it all
over again.  The only downside is that the visionary behind this
masterpiece is sadly not around to hear it too.
 
The album will be available in CD & Deluxe CD and Digital formats to
include bonus audio and DVD extras. See track listings.
 
‘Barcelona- The Special Edition’ album release is accompanied by a brand
new TV/DVD documentary ‘The Great Pretender’ (Eagle Rock) focusing on
Freddie’s solo career and life outside Queen produced and directed by Rhys
Thomas. The documentary features never-before-seen footage of Freddie,
including hilarious and emotional interviews re-discovered in the Queen
archives for the first time recently. ‘The Great Pretender’ is released on
DVD & Blu-ray on September 24. Pre-order here on 
Amazon.co.uk
.
 
The illustrated book ‘Freddie Mercury The Great Pretender: A Life In
Pictures’ (Goodman) containing captivating shots of Freddie and revealing
the many sides of his colourful life is published September 5. The book
package also includes additional CD of a rare interview by Mary Turner in
which Freddie candidly discusses his life of stardom. Pre-order here on
Amazon.co.uk
.
 
www.freddiemercury.com
 / 
www.freddieforaday.com
 
 
BARCELONA FORMATS - CD, Vinyl Deluxe CD/DVD and Digital
 
STANDARD VERSION - CD/VINYL
 
1. Barcelona
 
2. La Japonaise
 
3. The Fallen Priest
 
4. Ensueno
 
5. The Golden Boy
 
6. Guide Me Home
 
7. How Can I Go On
 
8. Exercises In Free Love
 
9. Overture Piccante
 
Bonus Track - 10. How Can I Go On Feat. David Garrett
 
DELUXE ALBUM – 3 CD DISCS & 1 DVD
 
Disc 1 – Barcelona – The Special Edition – New Orchestrated album
 
1. Barcelona
 
2. La Japonaise
 
3. The Fallen Priest
 
4. Ensueno
 
5. The Golden Boy
 
6. Guide Me Home
 
7. How Can I Go On
 
8. Exercises In Free Love
 
9. Overture Piccante
 
Bonus Track - 10. How Can I Go On Feat. David Garrett
 
Disc 2: The Best of the Rarities & Session Out-takes
 
1. Exercises In Free Love (1987 B-side)
 
2. Barcelona (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal)
 
3. La Japonaise (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal)
 
4. Rachmaninov's Revenge (The Fallen Priest) (Later Version: Freddie's
Demo Vocal)
 
5. Ensueno - Monsterrat's Live Takes
 
6.The Golden Boy (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal)
 
7.Guide Me Home / How Can I Go On (Alternative Versions)
 
8.How Can I Go On (Alternative Piano Version) 
 
Disc 3: – DVD Disc
 
1.Ku Club Ibiza Performance – Barcelona
 
2. La Nit Barcelona Performance
 
- Barcelona (5m46s) 
 
- How Can I Go On (3m58s) 
 
 - The Golden Boy (5m58s)
 
3. Barcelona – Classic Video 4m25s
 
4. Barcelona – The Special Edition EPK
 
5. Barcelona – 2012 edit by Rhys Thomas 4m49s
 
Disc 4: – Barcelona – The Special Edition   Album Orchestral Version
 
BARCELONA – The Special Edition Credits:
 
Orchestrations by Stuart Morley. Based on the original arrangements by
Mike Moran and Freddie Mercury.
 
FILMharmonic Orchestra, Prague.
 
Conducted by Adam Klemens.
 
Music Contractor: Petr Pycha. 
 
except ‘Exercises In Free Love’ Conducted by Stuart Morley.
 
Produced by Kris Fredriksson and Stuart Morley.
 
Original production by Freddie Mercury, Mike Moran and David Richards,
except ‘Exercises In Free Love’ original production by Mike Moran.
 
All songs written and composed by Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran except
lyrics on ‘Ensueño’ by Montserrat Caballé and lyrics on ‘The Fallen
Priest’ and ‘The Golden Boy’ by Tim Rice.
 
 
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 Press Release: 'Barcelona' Newly Orchestrated Special Edition
 
 
Disc 2: The Best of the Rarities & Session Out-takes
 
 
 
1. Exercises In Free Love (1987 B-side)
 
2. Barcelona (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal)
 
3. La Japonaise (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal)
 
4. Rachmaninov's Revenge (The Fallen Priest) (Later Version: Freddie's 
Demo Vocal)
 
5. Ensueno - Monsterrat's Live Takes
 
6.The Golden Boy (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal)
 
7.Guide Me Home / How Can I Go On (Alternative Versions)
 
8.How Can I Go On (Alternative Piano Version)
 
 
queste sono già TUTTE nel boxone, giusto??
 
 

> queste sono già TUTTE nel boxone, giusto??
 
yes! :-)
