| |||
 |
|
| Home |
|
| News |
|
| History |
|
| Synopsis |
|
| Characters |
|
| Lyrics |
|
| Downloads |
|
| Contact |
|
|
|
|
|
|
BLAME IT ON THE B.B.C.
|
|
|
|
Life was cool I had just been through an amicable divorce and I was becoming a young man again. I had met Michel and he and I were playing gigs around Auckland in New Zealand. We played covers of Carlos Jobim and Salsa numbers. As Usual I wrote a few songs of my own including an Immortal Chachacha involving square frozen fish enjoying a chacha,as the words were in Spanish no one laughed and that's the way I liked it.
|
|
|
|
Life is exciting when you can't sleep. If there is no one in your bed it is your chance to listen to radio programs. On this day the B B C was explaining how Hector Berlioz was madly in love with Ariett Smithson, an Irish actress who was scared senseless of him. She inspired him "La SymphonieFantastique". The 1st time it was played in front of a public: Berlioz was told “Ariett is in the front row”. He had to be pushed on stage to conduct the master piece. It would be a success and the 2 of them would end up married.What an incredible story I though. As my brain was wandering I came with the premises of a story, it would be a great success and it would be called:
|
|
|
|
AMOUR FANTASTIC
|
|
|
|
Little did I know my life would be changed for ever from now on... If it happens to you and you are older than 35, take 4 disprins 2 sleeping pills and go to bed...
|
|
|
|
At the time all was fine I was running a couple of successful businesses I had started 10 years before after emigrating from France to New Zealand, I had invested some money in properties (my ex wife, an excellent Pianist, thought I was better at reading balance sheets than Music sheets... not sure) I had plenty of good friends and a wonderful relationship with a lady I adored and who was a very good cellist too. We would exchange some ideas and build stories together.
|
|
|
|
Then I started to write a basic history, after exchanging ideas with friends some of whom even spoke English…. that helped, I wrote a few orchestrations transfered them on my Synthesizer and when I discovered than Calypso, Michel’s partner daughter sounded wonderful we begun recording.
|
|
|
|
I am an inspired composer and a rather good businessman too. I begun to think all the successful Musicals were based on Shakespeare or Victor Hugo... That of course gave wonderful stories, only problem in my book, most of us on planet earth knew the ending. I, would do something different. I, would use Symphonie Fantastique so people had something to refer to, I would use Some of the Berlioz trick, “idee fixe” or Leit motiv, echoes of notes on the flute and the dialogue between Oboe and Cor Anglais would become my beloved “Dialogue”.
|
|
|
|
BUT
|
|
|
|
In my “Amour fantastic” no one would die and the spectators would not know how it finishes, neither did I for a long time, and I would find an idea in order to write songs not only Arias and Piano Concerti.
|
|
|
|
I wrote a 1st Synopsis, looked good to me. Mrs. Cello seemed to love it too, here we are I said, I sell my business go to Broadway and when successful we both market it around the world. I had a dream “Amour Fantastic The Musical” in golden letters on Broadway, how could we fail, we owed it to the world, there was not much good about after West Side Story, Les Mis and The Phantom, it would have to be our turn to generate the first quality Musical of the 21st century.
|
|
|
|
The story now went: Hector born in Louisville has a super plumber father and a mother who teaches Music at school. He admires Berlioz who has the same name as he. With mother, they convince Dad to fork out so he can go and learn counterpoint in Paris like Aaron Copland. Then he had to promise dad that if he failed, he would help him produce taps for the whole world…(taps and sinks...)
|
|
|
|
He arrives at the conservatoire and produces a pretty daring Piano Concerto that includes the 3 notes of his “idée fixe”. The performance is an absolute flop, that’s it he would go and walk along the river Seine and dump his Cello in the water. At the last minute a bunch of Musicians are playing and they ask him to join in. OK for the last time he would play some Music.
|
|
|
|
Part to the group he notices Aurelie, a sexy attractive Flautist. At the end of the play she tells him
|
|
|
|
-I love your style
|
|
-What style I am a failure
|
|
-What do you write
|
|
-Real Music, Arie, Concerti, my dream was to write a Symphony but no more.
|
|
-Do you write songs?
|
|
-Songs? I am a composer not a noise maker.
|
|
-This is the 21st century, your could try, songs make people happy we have to make people happy.
|
|
-Does not make me happy
|
|
-Hey would you like a glass of wine / beer?
|
|
-I don’t drink
|
|
-Ah well I have to go I love to dance, do u dance?
|
|
-No
|
|
-You don’t drink, don’t dance, what sort of a Musician are you?
|
|
|
|
From then on he will learn to write songs in order to seduce Aurelie, as their love grows, he will become good at it. He will then use all these song themes in order to compose his final concerto. It is my way to teach the children Beethoven / Bob Marley same thing, notes rhythms chords Love.
|
|
|
|
It will be a difficult ride as Aurelie is involved with a rather jealous partner John Sebastian; “Sugar Daddy” as the “left bankers” friends call him. He will do everything he can in order to destroy the Love between Hector and Aurelie. Aurelie thinks Hector loves Music more than he loves her. It will be the fight between Love, Music, Money, a story we can all relate to.
|
|
|
|
Some Friends of mine, who can’t whistle "Frere Jacques" in tune, tell me I am a genius, how can I fail?
|
|
|
|
Next step I sell the business so I can have enough money to survive in the big apple.
|
|
|
|
Then things become difficult. Mrs. Cello wants to talk to me. “I love you but I’m not in Love with you” Where did u find that line darling? Dumping your partner for dummies? I cannot believe it, we are part of one another, part of the dream and she wants me out? Does she think I love Music more than her? Does she want to give me my chance to be more efficient and productive on my own? I will try everything I can in order to win her back and she will marry her new partner within 6 months. I felt hurt and betrayed. Only good thing, it was very good for inspiration, "Empty Restaurant" in Act I came from there, one of my best songs. I decided to work as much and hard as I could, to try to forget, it's the only way to try to do it. And I'm on my way to New York city.
|
|
|
|
I have now been marketing Amour Fantastic for 2 years and it is only starting to interest people now. Again creative friends, if you have not taken your sleeping pills, it's a long way to Broadway and Broadway is probably not the place to start. I had better contacts in Europe or Montreal. I'll keep you posted.
|
|
|
|
Patchi.
|