"Noah" - Ave Maria; Deep River; Notte di Luce; Shenandoah; Amazing Grace et al.

It is hard to believe that only a few years ago Noah was a receptionist at New York's Carnegie Hall, working to pay for his singing lessons. He has of course, since then, performed on that stage and is now building a fine reputation as fast-rising operatic tenor, equally accomplished in interpreting such core roles as Don Jose in Carmen or Rodolfo in La Boheme or pioneering new roles in contemporary opera. But Noah also knows that there was a time when being an operatic tenor didn't just mean performing at the opera house, but could encompass all kinds of popular and traditional songs too. From Enrico Cauro to Luciano Pavarotti, history's classics tenors all ahd the popular touch.

The disc includes fine renditions of the operatic arias Recondita armonia, from Puccini's Tosca, and Pourquoi me reveiller, from Massenet's Werther, as well as the enduringly popular Bach/Gounod version of Ave Maria. But it casts its net much wider too. With inspirational input from producers and arrangers Steven Baker and Christian Seitz, the album also present Noah's rich, resonant voice in the spiritual classic Deep River, and the traditional tunes Silent Night and Nearer My God To Thee.

When he was at high school, Noah gained some experience of the pop music industry when he sang backup for Mariah Carey at Madison Square Gardens and appeared on the David Letterman Show with rapper Coolio, so he had a feel for how to tackle pop standards like Nights in White Saint (with Italian lyrics) and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. There's also a visit to the movies with a stirring new arrangement of the theme from Exodus.

The disc even contains a fresh reappraisal of that all-American favorite. the Star Spangeld Banner, which - after dreaming about it for years, Noah sang at the NFL International Series game at Wembely Stadium in October last year and will be singing at future US sporting events.

The Independent
All those for whom the album 'Noah' gives the pleasure of hearing this magnificent tenor voice for the first time must agree that, whether it's serious opera or popular repertoire, Noah Stewart certainly is "the real thing".

Notes & Reviews:

Personnel: Susanne Dubach (violin, viola); Inka Sasdi (cello); Wolfgang Drechsler (woodwinds, horns).

Tenor Noah Stewart, a native of Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood, has won raves not only in the U.S. but in Britain, where he became the first black artist to hit the number-one spot on classical sales charts. Stewart delivers the goods, and you'll certainly be hearing his name more frequently in the future; he has the elusive star quality connected with making notes throughout his considerable range seem easy. Stewart's roots are in jazz, and he certainly executes in the crossover material here, which you might call updated Mario Lanza. In the mid-range on a piece like Without a Song he's quite affecting, although he can tend toward the gimmicky; Nights in White Satin gains nothing from being sung in Italian. Where you really sit up and take notice, though, is in the operatic selections and in other songs where he really gets to stretch out into his top register. It's difficult to pull off The Star-Spangled Banner [on the U.S. Verve release] in a fresh way, but Stewart's combination of smoothness and power is undeniably compelling. He appears to be plunging right into opera, with appearances at major houses in both the U.S. and Britain, and his "Recondita Armonia" leaves you eager to hear more straight opera. This young tenor already delivers the goods and deserves his commercial success; he may well rise to the top of his profession. ~ James Manheim

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Works Details

Mantovani : Cara mia

Performer: Noah Stewart
Conductor: Nicholas Dodd
Running Time: 3 min. 10 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Burleigh, Henry Thacker : Jubilee Songs of the USA

Performers: Steven Baker (Piano); Steven Baker (Synthesizer); Fridrik Karlsson (Guitar); Noah Stewart
Conductor: Nicholas Dodd
Running Time: 2 min. 57 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1916

Puccini, Giacomo : Tosca :: Recondita Armonia

Performers: Noah Stewart; Susanne Dubach (Violin); Susanne Dubach (Viola); Inka Sasdi (Cello); Anna Verkholantseva (Harp); Christian Seitz (Synthesizer); Christian Knollmueller (Synthesizer)
Conductor: Johnny Bertl
Running Time: 2 min. 33 sec.
Period Time: Post Romantic
Form: Opera/Operetta
Written: 1900

Hayward, Justin : Nights in White Satin

Performers: Steven Baker (Piano); Steven Baker (Synthesizer); Noah Stewart
Conductor: Nicholas Dodd
Running Time: 3 min. 57 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance

Youmans, Vincent : Without a Song

Performers: Noah Stewart; Fridrik Karlsson (Guitar)
Conductor: Nicholas Dodd
Running Time: 3 min. 27 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: circa 1929

Cohen, Leonard : Hallelujah

Performers: Christian Seitz (Voice); Matthias Simoner (Guitar); Christian Seitz (Percussion); Anna Verkholantseva (Harp); Christian Knollmueller (Keyboards); Werner Laher; Elisabeth Dorn (Voice); Harry Hintringer (Drums); Christian Knollmueller (Piano); Noah Stewart; Christian Knollmueller (Voice)
Conductor: Johnny Bertl
Running Time: 3 min. 30 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary

Traditional, American : Shenandoah, folk song

Performers: Noah Stewart; David Juritz (Violin); Christian Seitz (Synthesizer)
Conductor: Richard Hein
Running Time: 3 min. 33 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 18th Century

Gounod, Charles : Ave Maria

Performers: Inka Sasdi (Cello); Anna Verkholantseva (Harp); Noah Stewart; Susanne Dubach (Violin); Susanne Dubach (Viola)
Conductor: Johnny Bertl
Running Time: 2 min. 50 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Written: circa 1852

Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus / Stig Anderson : I Have a Dream

Performers: Noah Stewart; Fridrik Karlsson (Guitar); Steven Baker (Piano); Steven Baker (Synthesizer)
Conductor: Nicholas Dodd
Running Time: 4 min. 23 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Brodszky, Nicholas : I'll Walk with God, song for voice & piano (or orchestra)

Performers: Christian Seitz (Synthesizer); Christian Knollmueller (Organ); Christian Knollmueller (Synthesizer); Johnny Bertl (Synthesizer); Noah Stewart
Conductor: Johnny Bertl
Running Time: 2 min. 50 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Form: Vocal

Newton, John : Amazing Grace

Performer: Noah Stewart
Conductor: Richard Hein
Notes: Composition written: 1779.
Running Time: 3 min. 24 sec.
Period Time: Classical
Written: 1779

Traditional : This Land is Mine

Performers: Steven Baker (Synthesizer); Steven Baker (Piano); Fridrik Karlsson (Guitar); Noah Stewart
Conductor: Nicholas Dodd
Running Time: 3 min. 34 sec.
Form: Vocal

Smith, John Stafford : The Star-spangled Banner

Performers: Noah Stewart; Anna Verkholantseva (Harp); Christian Knollmueller (Synthesizer); Johnny Bertl (Synthesizer)
Conductor: Johnny Bertl
Running Time: 1 min. 56 sec.
Period Time: Classical
Form: Choral
Written: circa 1799

"Noah" - Ave Maria; Deep River; Notte di Luce; Shenandoah; Amazing Grace et al. / Noah Stewart, tenor

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