Darlene called upon Larry Steelman to collaborate on the arrangement and track of a most sensual version of Sous le dome epais from Lakme (1883) by Leo Delibes. (Darlene sang the Yanni version, “Aria,” in his Yanni, Live at the Acropolis concert/video.) Darlene and Larry’s setting takes you back in time with an Indian princess, Lakme, and her handmaiden to an 1800’s garden river in India, complete with white swans. Koldenhoven and Steelman skillfully blend the elements of the composition together with tabla, sitar, sounds of water and birds, soothing synth sounds, and Darlene’s floating vocal duet lines. The arrangement between voice and accompaniment blends the original 6/8-meter into 4/4 while maintaining the basic harmonic and melodic structure of the original piece. Darlene chose to open the album with her arrangement of this piece as a vocalise. Closing the album is the full version with the normally, sung recitative, spoken in the French, with the aria also sung in the original French.
from the opera Lakme by Leo Delibes, arranged by Koldenhoven/Steelman
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