"The Millennium
Song" is a song to announce the dawn of the third millenium. It is an
arrangement of Frederic Chopin's Prelude op. 28 no. 20 in C minor, with original,
idealistic lyrics that speak of the coming of a new era, and which implores
humanity to forget and forgive the past. It is a monumental song for a monumental
period in the time we are living. I live in Catalonia, Spain, and an interesting
fact that I discovered recently was that Chopin composed many of these preludes
during his stay in Mallorca.
The musical
idea was to incorporate four different musical styles in one song: classical
music, rock music, jazz and, finally, a modern techno rhythm. The challenge
was to pass from the classical original to techno in three minutes!
But the
most innovative aspect of my idea was to release the song simultaneously in
several languages. I wrote the lyrics in English, and then asked friends from
other regions of Spain and then other parts of the world to make various translations
and adaptations of the words. All four principal languages of Spain have been
recorded: Catalan, Castillian (Spanish), Basque and Gallician. All these versions
as well as the original English version and an Occitan version (the language
of southern France) are available on this web page in MP3 format for downloading.
Technical questions or problems regarding these files are dealt with here.
In addition,
the backing music, without voice, is also available for download. Because it
is of higher quality (CD-level rather than radio), the file will take somewhat
longer to download. I would encourage all of you who are sensitive to the music
and to their own language, wherever you are, to adapt the song. Chopin's original
sheet music is also available. Once you have done your translation, there are
two possibilities:
- submit
the translation to us for possible recording at a later date.
- have
your version recorded and submit the recording to us for insertion in this web
page. Some tips for translating and adapting the song to your own language may
be obtained by clicking here.
In either
case, you should contact us at michael@upf.es,
so that we can coordinate your efforts. This may be the first truly global song
in history!
HAPPY MILLENNIUM!