La Luna (Sarah Brightman album)

La Luna (Italian and Spanish for "the Moon") is the seventh album recorded by English soprano Sarah Brightman in 2000. It was released under license by Nemo Studios to Angel Records. The album combines pieces written by classical and modern composers. It is the 17th top-selling classical album of the 2000s in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and is Brightman's second highest seller in the country after her 1997 release Timeless/Time to Say Goodbye.[2][3] Aside from the US, the album experienced its strongest sales in Asia, where it received a quintuple platinum certification in Taiwan and earned Brightman's first Gold award in Japan.[4]

La Luna
Studio album by
Sarah Brightman
Released25 April 2000 (2000-04-25)
Recorded1999–2000
GenreClassical crossover
Length60:59 (USA)
LabelEast West (Europe)
Angel Records (USA)
ProducerFrank Peterson
Sarah Brightman chronology
Eden
(1998)		 La Luna
(2000)		 The Very Best of 1990–2000
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Album information

The classical pieces are "How Fair This Place" ("Здесь хорошо") by Rachmaninov; "Figlio Perduto" is based on the second movement "Allegretto" of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7; "Solo Con Te" is based on Siegfried Ochs' (attributed to Handel) Dank sei dir, Herr; "La Luna" is an adapted Italian version of the aria "Song to the Moon" from Dvořák's opera Rusalka. With La Luna, Brightman combined elements of classical singing with her newer style of pop music. "Hijo de la Luna" is a cover originally performed by the Spanish synthpop band Mecano. "La Califfa", composed by Ennio Morricone, is the title track of the 1970 Italian film with the same name. The underlying concept of the album is the moon.

Track listing

Europe

This original European track listing is now out of print. All pressings now use the USA track listing, along with its versions of "This Love", "Here with Me", and "La Luna". It also replaces "How Fair This Spot" and "She Doesn't See Him" with the lyrically different "How Fair This Place" and "He Doesn't See Me". "La Luna" is performed in full soprano here compared to the more contemporary USA version and "First of May" is removed all together from later releases.

No.TitleLength
1."This Love"6:19
2."Scarborough Fair"4:12
3."Figlio Perduto"4:36
4."La Califfa"3:05
5."Here with Me"5:12
6."Serenade"0:51
7."Здесь Xорошо" (How Fair This Place a.k.a. How Fair This Spot)2:09
8."Hijo de la Luna"4:29
9."She Doesn't See Him"4:28
10."Solo Con Te"3:05
11."Gloomy Sunday"3:47
12."La Luna"5:01
13."First of May" (Live – Encore Track)3:03
Total length:50:21

United States

La Luna was changed considerably for its US release. Song additions include "La Lune", "Winter in July", and Brightman's covers of the Procol Harum classic "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and Henry Mancini's "Moon River". Song changes include replacing the European release's versions of "How Fair This Spot" and "She Doesn't See Him" with the lyrically different "How Fair This Place" and "He Doesn't See Me", along with an extended version of "Serenade" and a more contemporary "La Luna". EMI later used La Luna's US version for their SACD 5.1 release of the album.

No.TitleLength
1."La Lune"2:53
2."Winter in July"4:32
3."Scarborough Fair"4:11
4."Figlio Perduto"4:37
5."A Whiter Shade of Pale"3:38
6."He Doesn't See Me"4:28
7."Serenade"1:16
8."Здесь Хорошо" (How Fair This Place a.k.a. How Fair This Spot)2:10
9."Hijo de la Luna"4:27
10."Here with Me"5:24
11."La Califfa"2:47
12."This Love"6:11
13."Solo Con Te"3:06
14."Gloomy Sunday"3:47
15."La Luna" (Features hidden track "Moon River" 20 seconds after "La Luna" at the 5:16 mark.)7:18
Total length:60:57
Barnes & Noble Edition
No.TitleLength
16."Heaven Is Here" (Features hidden track "Moon River" after "Heaven Is Here" instead of "La Luna".)6:29
Total length:60:05

Singles

"Scarborough Fair" was released as the album's lead single in January 2000. It became the biggest hit of Brightman's career in Asia and was a chart topper in China and Taiwan, propelling the sales of La Luna throughout the continent. Brightman brought the song renewed popularity in eastern markets through her successful adaptation.

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" was released as the album's third single on early 2001. The single debuted at number thirty eight on the Japanese Singles Chart, and due to its massive airplay in the country, the song reached the top of the International Singles Chart, staying there for nineteen weeks. It is the tenth single with most cumulative weeks at the No. 1 spot in the history of this chart.[5] The song was certified twice Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. The first time, as a CD single, denoting shipments of over 50,000 copies, and the second time, in 2011, as a digital single, denoting sales of 100,000 copies.[6] In the United States, the song was Brightman's first entry into the Billboard's top Dance/Club Play Songs chart.[7]

The second and fourth singles from the album, "La Luna" (2000) and "Here with Me" (2001) were released in Brazil and Europe respectively in a limited number of pressings.

Charts and certifications

See also

References
  1. Buss, Bryan. La Luna at AllMusic
  2. "Sarah Brightman". Billboard. 19 January 2008. Archived from the original on 23 August 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  3. "Classical Albums | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  4. "莎拉·布莱曼是早在中国". Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  5. "Sarah Brightman Chart History in Japan". ORICON. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  6. "Paid music certification for January 2011" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
  7. "Sarah Brightman's A Whiter Shade of Pale in Hot Dance/Club Play Songs chart". Billboard. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 41.
  9. "swedishcharts.com – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  10. "www.collectionscanada.gc.ca – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  11. "Listen - Danmarks Officielle Hitliste - Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark - Uge 20". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. 21 May 2000.
  12. Mexican Top 20 International Albums Chart – 20 February 2008 Archived 24 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Sarah Brightman/Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  14. "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2000". Jam!. Archived from the original on 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  15. "자료제공:(사)한국음반산업협회/이 자료는당협회와 상의없이 가공,편집을금합니다". MIAK (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  16. "Argentinian album certifications – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  17. "Canadian album certifications – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". Music Canada.
  18. "Japanese album certifications – サラ・ブライトマン – ラ ルーナ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2000年12月 on the drop-down menu
  19. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
  20. Panas, Dan (29 December 2000). "Marie är popens drottning år 2000". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  21. "Best Selling Foreign Album in Korea (1999-39/2008)". Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  22. "Gold Typhoon 金牌大風". gold-typhoon.com.tw. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  23. "American album certifications – Sarah Brightman – La Luna". Recording Industry Association of America.
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