The piano and strings are gorgeous. I enjoyed them more than her vocals. She's actually quite annoying! Her phrasing is off. Also, when the moduIation occurs, she totally drops the ball. She didn't "bring it home." was pleased when she stopped singing a allowed the orchestra to play. Pretty lady, though.
All I have to say Is I've had the pleasure of communicating with Yulia for several months and I would say that she is one of the sweetest more gracious people I have ever met. There are many who would criticize but even so one cannot deny talent when they see it :) I think she's amazing and I think she will continue to have a great career :)
The instrumental arrangement is brilliant. The vocalist isn't bad, but I don't think she did the song justice. With live musicians creating such a beautiful soundtrack, I think any seasoned vocalist would have been inspired to give us more.
On one of her own sites her voice is described thus: Yulia's voice is often considered a versatile Contralto. This makes sense. She is a bit low for a soprano, despite the newspapers often calling her that. I suspect the NZ newspapers sometimes call any woman singer a "soprano" out of laziness.
thanks Sue for letting us in on such a treasure. Feeling! That's what she puts into her songs. Spartans aren't suppposed to feel but here I am, feeling sooooo warm and happy that I have heard this song bird supreme.
gerry. You are right. She never was. Kiri is still the best singer there. As for Yulia, it takes a while to understand her style. She has quite a deep voice. Hayley is immediately appealing.
Hayley has a very high-pitched voice - she's a light soprano, close to breaking up at all times, but not quite doing it.
On the other hand, Yulia is a true mezzo soprano. She sings in the range of Cecilia Bartoli. I find mezzos more mellow and appealing than sopranos, that's just taste. But mezzos have wider ranges than sopranos. I have a great stereo and when I play Yulia and Hayley singing the same songs, 100% of my guests pick Yulia as the superior of the two.
No computer stereo can compare to my home stereo - matching it today would cost over $20,000. The differences that we really can't hear on computer sound systems, unless we have an extremely expensive sound card and headphones, are instantly apparent. On top of that YouTube is seriously compressed. Music is lost in the compression. The good news is that YT has developed a new player. If you add &fmt=18 to the URL most newer recordings sound much better. Try it.
A point I have to take issue with Gerry is that Mezzo's have wider ranges than sopranos. This is simply not true. It's more likely to be the other way around but will depend on the individual. I have no idea incidently about which of Hayley and Yulia has the wider range. What is plain is that Hayley's range has gone down as she has gotten older (nearly always happens). I was astonished that someone reviewing her piece on Mike Oldfield's Album described her voice as "deep".
Gerryrains, when did you last listen to Westenra? When she was about 12. Some think she is more Mezzo than soprano. I don't necessarily agree but this is why they think it:
nRXyeSXhfX8
Don't worry about whether you like it, but just who is most likely to pull concert crowds.
Hello, Guys!!!!!! I'm very interested in and read Your Comments( It might be said "Argument" ) from Both Sides comparing Yulia and Hayley! I'm writing from Japan. I'm Japanese.
What is Amazing is Yulia Townsent is such highly Estimated as good as Hayley in Your Country! But that make sense to me!!!!!! Because Yulia's Voice is specially Deep and Soothing!!!!!!!!!!!! My Most Concern about Her is She has completely changed Her Music Style since her Marriadge on Februaly, Hasn't She!!!??? Lost???
xisanadu, You are probably thinking of Yulia's controversial "Love Seige" song and her performance on TV. That, fortunately, seems to have been a one-off episode. It was either a publicity stunt, or a very ill-conceived experiment. All material relating to that has been removed from her site and her MySpace. Now on her main site she features a series of ballads like "Scarborough Fair"... a formula that's worked before. ;-)
BTW I don't think Yulia's raw talent is less than Hayley's.
Hello, Mate!!!!!! Dear, Sqid, Thank You very much for Your very interesting and helpful Report!!!!!! If It's True, We thank Godness for Both Yulia Herself and us who awaiting for the "Merge of Another Sarah Brightman (Though I know both type of Voice Quality are different)" from Sub-Equator!!!!!!!!!!
As You said, Sqid, Yulia's Enormous "Raw" Talent should be "polished" more!!!!!!
But on the other hand, I also want Her to retain some raw Charm which attract us and differenciate Her from Others!
Thank you, xisanadu, for your kind words. I do appreciate what you mean by Yulia retaining "raw charm". It is possible, I believe, to be over-trained for popular songs, which is why some opera singers don't do well at them.
It was my intention though to emphasise Yulia's natural talent rather than imply she needed polishing. My instrumentalist friend who has heard many singers of different types rates Yulia technically as good as Hayley, despite Yulia not having had the same training!
xisanadu, just to clarify the point, I don't agree with some of the comments made about Hayley here, but that doesn't meant that I am rating Yulia lower.
I think Yulia has enormous raw talent. I say "raw" talent because she has had next to no training of any sort. Hayley had the advantage of voice coaching from Dame Malvina Major when she was very young and has a highly rated voice coach in London.
Yulia is completely untrained! She has enormous natural talent.
Gerry, Have you actually listened to clips of Hayley's recent performances?
VU4SACzg4hQ
kaMIly5G6xc
And here is a duet with her old singing teacher Dame Malvina Major in which Hayley is taking the Mezzo role.
-nmpCq7L3ss
It is supposed to be recorded on an amateur vidcam and the singers where not using microphones... It may not be the greatest version ever in opera terms. One is not an opera singer and the other is not what she once was, but they are having a lot of fun.
I don't like this business of "better", "best". I know Gerry is saying it is a matter of taste, and my comments are not aimed at him so much as those who insist that opera singers are for some reason they can never explain "better" than other singers.
To say one thing is better than another you need a standard by which to judge them and an authority to justify that standard. My friend who has played in an orchestra for 25 years and never talks of one singer being better than another.
The friend I was talking about doesn't like Hayley's voice much, he prefers Yulia and Kathy Jenkins, but he rates Hayley's ability on arias etc, much higher than I would have expected. "As good as Yulia's"!. In response to a question from me, he sees Yulia as just as naturally talented as Hayley. I think at this level that it is just a matter of taste. Although some voice coaches an NZ newspaper approached all rated Hayley as technically the "best" of the Kiwi popera.
Not that I take too much notice of voice coaches. One was almost snide about Yulia, giving her points for "trying".
But let's get something straight swanny: Her Ladyship may be the best opera singer in New Zealand, but she is useless at anything other than opera - most of her fans agree. your claim that her "May it be", "raises the bar" is not one that many would agree to. I wouldn't pick between Hayley's best versions and Lisa Kelly of Celtic Woman's version, but Kiri's doesn't rate.
BTW Swanny, yesterday Hayley took part in the PBS Capitol Fourth extravaganza at the US Capitol. If I understand it correctly she will have broken that other singers record for the biggest audience a New Zealander has sung to. As my orchestra playing friend remarked, Her Ladyship will be mightily pleased about that! You'll hear her screaming with fury in Sweden.
You bloody imbeciles! (You both know me, I never flame.) What about Bic Runga, Hollie Smith, Brooke Fraser, and Sir Howard Morrison? Sir Howard being another pop singer who has been knighted. And the Finn brothers? BTW Swanny, the order of Australia has various levels starting at Knight/Dame but Cretinous Kiri the bland boring and insipid was awarded only a "Companion of the Order of Australia". As for Enya being a better singer than Lisa Kelly or Hayley, you are a numbkrint nonpareil.
BTW swanny have you managed to grasp yet that the "We Love Kathy Jenkins" site is a hate site run by people who hate her? Do you understand what I am saying? When they say that Kiri the gibbering Dame attacked "our Kathy and Maria Callas", they are being satirical - attempting to be humorous. They are not serious. I have defended you against all those who say you're the dumbest person on the planet, but you make a liar out of me when you take that site seriously.
Yulia Townsend can be seen with me and others in MuSoC's version of Urinetown the musical in Christchurch. If you keep an eye out on my page you may see a little more of her.
rip withney
ASAFYY 2 weeks ago
The piano and strings are gorgeous. I enjoyed them more than her vocals. She's actually quite annoying! Her phrasing is off. Also, when the moduIation occurs, she totally drops the ball. She didn't "bring it home." was pleased when she stopped singing a allowed the orchestra to play. Pretty lady, though.
GospelAccording2ME 1 year ago
Marry me! Your voice is so gorgeous!
kleinbogen 1 year ago
Excellent voice, but I do like the Three Degrees version of this song.
richardsonjames1971 1 year ago
she's gorgeous and beautiful...nice voice too
sundaeflow 1 year ago
All I have to say Is I've had the pleasure of communicating with Yulia for several months and I would say that she is one of the sweetest more gracious people I have ever met. There are many who would criticize but even so one cannot deny talent when they see it :) I think she's amazing and I think she will continue to have a great career :)
Misty15big 2 years ago
I love her enthusiasm, but she didn't stay in charachter until the music was done...
tokyolover86 3 years ago
The instrumental arrangement is brilliant. The vocalist isn't bad, but I don't think she did the song justice. With live musicians creating such a beautiful soundtrack, I think any seasoned vocalist would have been inspired to give us more.
GospelAccording2ME 3 years ago
On one of her own sites her voice is described thus: Yulia's voice is often considered a versatile Contralto. This makes sense. She is a bit low for a soprano, despite the newspapers often calling her that. I suspect the NZ newspapers sometimes call any woman singer a "soprano" out of laziness.
Sqid101 3 years ago
She sings nice
Musicbyveronica 3 years ago
thanks Sue for letting us in on such a treasure. Feeling! That's what she puts into her songs. Spartans aren't suppposed to feel but here I am, feeling sooooo warm and happy that I have heard this song bird supreme.
spartan6344 4 years ago 2
I've talked to her ^^
She gets tutored by my singing teacher sometimes and they keep in contact. She's so nice!
dashaX3 4 years ago
That performance was gorgeous, so is the singer. Hayley Westenra is no longer the best singer in New Zealand.
(If you don't agree, then it's a matter of taste which does not require flame comments.) :-)
gerryrains 4 years ago 3
gerry. You are right. She never was. Kiri is still the best singer there. As for Yulia, it takes a while to understand her style. She has quite a deep voice. Hayley is immediately appealing.
swanningaround 3 years ago 3
swanningaround,
Hayley has a very high-pitched voice - she's a light soprano, close to breaking up at all times, but not quite doing it.
On the other hand, Yulia is a true mezzo soprano. She sings in the range of Cecilia Bartoli. I find mezzos more mellow and appealing than sopranos, that's just taste. But mezzos have wider ranges than sopranos. I have a great stereo and when I play Yulia and Hayley singing the same songs, 100% of my guests pick Yulia as the superior of the two.
gerryrains 3 years ago
swanningaround, (continued)
No computer stereo can compare to my home stereo - matching it today would cost over $20,000. The differences that we really can't hear on computer sound systems, unless we have an extremely expensive sound card and headphones, are instantly apparent. On top of that YouTube is seriously compressed. Music is lost in the compression. The good news is that YT has developed a new player. If you add &fmt=18 to the URL most newer recordings sound much better. Try it.
gerryrains 3 years ago
A point I have to take issue with Gerry is that Mezzo's have wider ranges than sopranos. This is simply not true. It's more likely to be the other way around but will depend on the individual. I have no idea incidently about which of Hayley and Yulia has the wider range. What is plain is that Hayley's range has gone down as she has gotten older (nearly always happens). I was astonished that someone reviewing her piece on Mike Oldfield's Album described her voice as "deep".
Sqid101 3 years ago
Gerryrains, when did you last listen to Westenra? When she was about 12. Some think she is more Mezzo than soprano. I don't necessarily agree but this is why they think it:
nRXyeSXhfX8
Don't worry about whether you like it, but just who is most likely to pull concert crowds.
A duet not long before:
D9t05FpBq9g
Could Yulia make a hit album out of these?
Ve8O5mcT-E0
hportiah 3 years ago
Hello, Guys!!!!!! I'm very interested in and read Your Comments( It might be said "Argument" ) from Both Sides comparing Yulia and Hayley! I'm writing from Japan. I'm Japanese.
What is Amazing is Yulia Townsent is such highly Estimated as good as Hayley in Your Country! But that make sense to me!!!!!! Because Yulia's Voice is specially Deep and Soothing!!!!!!!!!!!! My Most Concern about Her is She has completely changed Her Music Style since her Marriadge on Februaly, Hasn't She!!!??? Lost???
xisanadu 3 years ago
xisanadu, You are probably thinking of Yulia's controversial "Love Seige" song and her performance on TV. That, fortunately, seems to have been a one-off episode. It was either a publicity stunt, or a very ill-conceived experiment. All material relating to that has been removed from her site and her MySpace. Now on her main site she features a series of ballads like "Scarborough Fair"... a formula that's worked before. ;-)
BTW I don't think Yulia's raw talent is less than Hayley's.
Sqid101 3 years ago
Hello, Mate!!!!!! Dear, Sqid, Thank You very much for Your very interesting and helpful Report!!!!!! If It's True, We thank Godness for Both Yulia Herself and us who awaiting for the "Merge of Another Sarah Brightman (Though I know both type of Voice Quality are different)" from Sub-Equator!!!!!!!!!!
As You said, Sqid, Yulia's Enormous "Raw" Talent should be "polished" more!!!!!!
But on the other hand, I also want Her to retain some raw Charm which attract us and differenciate Her from Others!
xisanadu 3 years ago
Thank you, xisanadu, for your kind words. I do appreciate what you mean by Yulia retaining "raw charm". It is possible, I believe, to be over-trained for popular songs, which is why some opera singers don't do well at them.
It was my intention though to emphasise Yulia's natural talent rather than imply she needed polishing. My instrumentalist friend who has heard many singers of different types rates Yulia technically as good as Hayley, despite Yulia not having had the same training!
Sqid101 3 years ago
xisanadu, just to clarify the point, I don't agree with some of the comments made about Hayley here, but that doesn't meant that I am rating Yulia lower.
I think Yulia has enormous raw talent. I say "raw" talent because she has had next to no training of any sort. Hayley had the advantage of voice coaching from Dame Malvina Major when she was very young and has a highly rated voice coach in London.
Yulia is completely untrained! She has enormous natural talent.
Sqid101 3 years ago
Gerry, Have you actually listened to clips of Hayley's recent performances?
VU4SACzg4hQ
kaMIly5G6xc
And here is a duet with her old singing teacher Dame Malvina Major in which Hayley is taking the Mezzo role.
-nmpCq7L3ss
It is supposed to be recorded on an amateur vidcam and the singers where not using microphones... It may not be the greatest version ever in opera terms. One is not an opera singer and the other is not what she once was, but they are having a lot of fun.
Sqid101 3 years ago
I don't like this business of "better", "best". I know Gerry is saying it is a matter of taste, and my comments are not aimed at him so much as those who insist that opera singers are for some reason they can never explain "better" than other singers.
To say one thing is better than another you need a standard by which to judge them and an authority to justify that standard. My friend who has played in an orchestra for 25 years and never talks of one singer being better than another.
Sqid101 3 years ago
The friend I was talking about doesn't like Hayley's voice much, he prefers Yulia and Kathy Jenkins, but he rates Hayley's ability on arias etc, much higher than I would have expected. "As good as Yulia's"!. In response to a question from me, he sees Yulia as just as naturally talented as Hayley. I think at this level that it is just a matter of taste. Although some voice coaches an NZ newspaper approached all rated Hayley as technically the "best" of the Kiwi popera.
Sqid101 3 years ago
Not that I take too much notice of voice coaches. One was almost snide about Yulia, giving her points for "trying".
But let's get something straight swanny: Her Ladyship may be the best opera singer in New Zealand, but she is useless at anything other than opera - most of her fans agree. your claim that her "May it be", "raises the bar" is not one that many would agree to. I wouldn't pick between Hayley's best versions and Lisa Kelly of Celtic Woman's version, but Kiri's doesn't rate.
Sqid101 3 years ago
BTW Swanny, yesterday Hayley took part in the PBS Capitol Fourth extravaganza at the US Capitol. If I understand it correctly she will have broken that other singers record for the biggest audience a New Zealander has sung to. As my orchestra playing friend remarked, Her Ladyship will be mightily pleased about that! You'll hear her screaming with fury in Sweden.
Sqid101 3 years ago
You bloody imbeciles! (You both know me, I never flame.) What about Bic Runga, Hollie Smith, Brooke Fraser, and Sir Howard Morrison? Sir Howard being another pop singer who has been knighted. And the Finn brothers? BTW Swanny, the order of Australia has various levels starting at Knight/Dame but Cretinous Kiri the bland boring and insipid was awarded only a "Companion of the Order of Australia". As for Enya being a better singer than Lisa Kelly or Hayley, you are a numbkrint nonpareil.
Sqid101 3 years ago
BTW swanny have you managed to grasp yet that the "We Love Kathy Jenkins" site is a hate site run by people who hate her? Do you understand what I am saying? When they say that Kiri the gibbering Dame attacked "our Kathy and Maria Callas", they are being satirical - attempting to be humorous. They are not serious. I have defended you against all those who say you're the dumbest person on the planet, but you make a liar out of me when you take that site seriously.
Sqid101 3 years ago
Yulia Townsend Stars in my 48 hour film festival film which can now be viewed on my channel. Titled 'Fatal Symptoms"
shermanrory 4 years ago
Yulia Townsend can be seen with me and others in MuSoC's version of Urinetown the musical in Christchurch. If you keep an eye out on my page you may see a little more of her.
shermanrory 4 years ago
Thanks Sue. This is one of my favorite Boz Scaggs' songs. So this is how it sounds sung classical sytle! Especially like the ending.
alvastarr 4 years ago 2
Wow! She is so beautiful and I love her voice. I am still waiting for her second album here in Japan.
selfdual 4 years ago 2