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The Angel (feat. Natasha Ghent)

by Valerie Ghent

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about

I am delighted to announce the release of The Angel, a classical cantata written by my mother, violist Natasha Gudkov Ghent, in a performance that she and I recorded together in 1988.

The Angel was a lifelong work for my mother, rooted in her trilingual childhood. Born in Paris to Russian parents, she created her own translation of the classic Mikhail Lermontov poem. Featuring my mother on violin and viola, I am singing soprano in Russian, and both she and I added additional parts on the synclavier.

I have wanted to release this piece for years. Today, 33 years after we recorded together, I am thrilled to release The Angel in tribute to my mother’s life and undaunted spirit. Listening to her play is timeless.

The Angel is the only existing recording of my mother’s beautiful and emotive expression on both viola and violin. If you’ve only heard me sing blues, jazz and R+B/soul, get ready for something completely different!

The Angel
a Cantata, for soprano, violin, viola, synclavier
music: Natasha Gudkov Ghent
poem: Mikhail Lermontov

lyrics

Ангел

По небу полуночи ангел летел,
И тихую песню он пел,
И месяц, и звезды, и тучи толпой
Внимали той песне святой.

Он пел о блаженстве безгрешных духов
Под кущами райских садов,
О Боге великом он пел, и хвала
Его непритворна была.

Он душу младую в объятиях нес
Для мира печали и слез;
И звук его песни в душе молодой
Остался - без слов, но живой.

И долго на свете томилась она,
Желанием чудным полна,
И звуков небес заменить не могли
Ей скучные песни земли.

Mikhail Lermontov, 1831

The Angel

Along the midnight sky, an angel was flying
Singing a gentle song;
And the moon and the stars and the clouds all as one:
Heeded the sacred strain.

He sang of the blissfulness of sinless spirits
In the endless gardens of Paradise.
He sang about an Almighty God,
And his praise was unassuming.

He cradled a young soul in his embrace as he flew
Toward a world of sadness and tears
And the peal of his song
Gave resonance in the young soul: wordless but alive.

And she languished on earth for a long, lingering time
Filled with wonderful desire
And the heavenly sounds never were replaced
By earth's tedious melodies.

Translation by Natalie Ghent

credits

released May 7, 2021
Credits:

Natasha Ghent - viola, violin, synclavier piano
Valerie Ghent - voice, synclavier angels, harp, marimba

Produced by Valerie Ghent
Recorded at The Stereo Society, NYC on August 6, 1988 on Synclavier/Direct-to-Disk system by Valerie Ghent
Mixed by Valerie Ghent
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound

The Angel courtesy of Hildegard Publishing
Theodore Presser Company authorized representative

Cover Design: Christopher Kornmann for Spit + Image
Flying Angel print public domain

© 2021 West Street Records/Cavos Music All Rights Reserved

Sheet music for The Angel: A Cantata by Natasha Gudkov Ghent available from Hildegard Publishing (hildegard.com)

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Valerie Ghent New York, New York

NYC recording artist Valerie Ghent weaves together blues, soul & jazz into soul-stirring, uplifting songs full of vitality and joy.

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