Sanvean
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Sanvean: I am your shadow is a song sung by Lisa Gerrard of the musical group Dead Can Dance, first appearing on their 1994 live album Toward the Within, and later on Gerrard's 1995 solo album The Mirror Pool and The Best of Lisa Gerrard in 2007. It was co-written in September 1993 by Gerrard and keyboard player/composer Andrew Claxton during rehearsals in Ireland for Dead Can Dance's international tour. Like most of her work, it is sung in a euphonic and emotional pseudo-language, like that of Adiemus.
It has become an iconic song of the 1990/00s through its frequent use on soundtracks (eg Hermes 24 Faubourg advert 1995, UK Health Education Authority immunisation campaign 1998-2003, West Wing TV drama episode 7A WF 83429 2003 etc). It is a favourite choice throughout the world for weddings and other solemn occasions.
The Cadets, a top five drum corps in Allentown, Pennsylvania, performed their own arrangement for spectacularly choreographed brass, percussion and solo vocal throughout the 2006 drum corps season. The use of amplification and the untraditional solo singer caused some controversy amongst drum corps fanatics. A recording of Sanvean as played by The Cadets can be heard by obtaining a soundclip of their 2006 show: Part II: Through the Looking Glass.
[edit] External links
- Video of original live performance on 17 Nov 1993 in The Mayfair Theatre, Santa Monica. Lisa Gerrard vocals, Andrew Claxton keyboard
- 1995 video directed by Nigel Grierson
- 2006 video of live outdoor performance by The Cadets
- Rehearsal audio of The Cadets
- Website of Lisa Gerrard
- Website of Andrew Claxton
- Description of scene from The West Wing
- Discussion of dramatic music as a television trope
