NEWS FLASHES!
HEBREW TRANSLATION BY LIRON DORFMAN JUST POSTED! 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. Seven of
these versions, including the original English version, an Occitan version (the language
of southern France) and a Norwegian version, have been recorded by the
Canadian soprano,
Gurdeep Stephens,
and 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.
Already we have other translations in Afrikaans, Dutch, German,
Irish, Wolof, Belarusian, Serbian, Slovene, Swedish, Latin, Icelandic,
Italian, Bulgarian, Polish, Schwyzerdütsch, Asturian, Greek,
German, Bavarian, Schwabian, Amharic, Tigrigna, Portuguese, Piedmontese,
Danish, Fanti, Hindi, Hungarian, Surinamese, Turkish, Czech, Xhosa,
Persian, Flemish Dutch and Albanian.
Some tips for translating and adapting the song to your own language may
be obtained by clicking here. 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. 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!
This idea has already become a reality - four times!
On 22 December 1999 the playback music was downloaded from our web site
to the VideoLab recording studio in Durban, South Africa,
and the song was recorded the same day in Zulu by South Africa's
one and only
Sibongile Khumalo.
The music and voice were mixed and and
an MP3 file of the Zulu version was uploaded to us during the night
of 22-23 December 1999 and immediately posted on globalsong.net. I am indebted
to Marcel Sellas and Jaume Torras, of the Fundació Caixa de Manresa, for their enthusiasm
throughout this project and for organizing partial
sponsorship of the music recording; and to Enric Argullol and Joan Brunet of the Universitat
Pompeu Fabra, for their partial support, both financially and in the use of the facilities
of the university's Department of Journalism and Audiovisual Communication,
in the production of the video recording of the song.
HAPPY MILLENNIUM!
Michael Greenacre P.S. Please add your comments to our guest book below. Page launched during the night of Tuesday 21 December 1999
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16 December 2000
Video conference of The Millennium Song, connecting schools
on five continents in song.
15 December 2000
Japanese Millennium team produces six translations!
29 November 2000
Latest translations of The Millennium Song.
2 October 2000
Slovenian recording at Radio Slovenia, Ljubljana.
20 July 2000
The Millennium Song goes to I*EARN Conference in China.
30 June 2000
The Millennium Song reaches 50 translations!
7 June 2000
Sibongile Khumalo sings for Bishop Tutu in Barcelona.
31 May 2000
Choral version of The Millennium Song recorded.
19 April 2000
Leo Théron's Exhibition "A Life in Glass"
"The
Millennium Song" is a song to herald the dawn of the third millennium
during the year 2000, the Millennium Year.
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 implore 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 exercise has now been repeated by the same team on 21 January 2000
when Bronwen Forbay recorded the Millennium Song in Sjoerd Beute's
Afrikaans translation and Rosemarie Nagel's German translation.
And recently, on October 2, at the studios of Radio Slovenia in
Ljubljana, the young Slovenian soprano from the University of
Ljubljana,
Nusa Drascek, recorded the Slovenian translation by Anuska Ferligoj
and Vlado Batagelj.
Thanks to Volker Hooyberg and son
Nicholas in Natal, South Africa,
as well as to recording engineer
Philipp Maier
and his team for an excellent job.
Also to Djuro Penzes, head of music at Radio 1,
and Sound Engineer Dare Novak and everyone who helped at Radio
Slovenia.
You made it all happen!
Sant Fruitós de Bages, Catalonia
Last updated Saturday 19 March 2003 12.00 GMT
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