Elizabeth Marvelly Releases her Sophomore Album - 'Home'

The story of Elizabeth Marvelly is one where dreams come true - but not necessarily of the perfect princess type tale. Those are somewhat untouchable, the kind so readily and unrealistically portrayed in the classical crossover genre.

Elizabeth Marvelly has always aimed for the stars. Yes. But always, with her feet on the ground.

She is a down-to-earth Kiwi girl who seized her opportunities early. From an early stage she learnt to trust her instinct and grow up in the professional realm rather quickly - because it was demanded of her - when you have talent there is no time to waste.

Taken to the national stage in 2006 by Sir Howard Morrison, recording her debut album in 2007 with Carl Doy, touring Australasia in 2008 and then Europe in 2009 with Paul Potts; Ms Mavelly’s musical life  has been a wonderful ride. Somewhere along the way she found the time and focus to take the next step.

Elizabeth Marvelly releases her sophomore album Home in February 2011. It is an album that reflects a natural love of her country, an admiration of our native songwriters and a desire to celebrate the source of her inspiration after a few whirlwind years on the international stage.

Her back story to this album is one that informs her sensibilities and the songs selected. Home is an album of predominantly cover songs (although Marvelly penned the opening and title song).

It is a foray into timeless Kiwi pop classics, with the elegant versions of ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ by Crowded House and ‘Welcome Home’ by Dave Dobbyn.

It also hosts grand, stirring renditions of traditional Maori songs, ‘E Papa’, ‘Tarakihi’ and the beautiful duality of ‘How Great Thou Art (Whakaaria Mai)’ and ‘Amazing Grace (Te Atua).

The sense of universal appeal is complete with Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’, Cassini’s ‘Ave Maria’, plus ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’, ‘The Prayer’ (featuring Paul Potts) and ‘Over the Rainbow (I’m Always Chasing Rainbows)’. The latter, a personal favourite, one Elizabeth will always associate with her inspiration, mentor and relative; Sir Howard Morrison.

“That was a song that I sung on my first major NZ tour: ‘A Knight with a Dame’ with Sir H and Malvina Major in 2006. At the time I was 16 and Sir Howard took me under his wing. My Dad would pick me up from Kings College in Auckland and take me back on Saturday mornings to the Bay of Plenty for my weekly rehearsal with Sir H. He was notoriously a hard task master, but it enabled me to grow up very quickly. On that tour I was introduced to his audience and amazing parts of New Zealand. I was also witness to his sense of stagecraft; his comfort and confidence – he was such an amazing entertainer and I feel very lucky to perform under his guidance.”

Since this initial break her debut album and international tours with global pop-opera star Paul Potts have given Elizabeth a wealth of experience and opportunity to perform small heartland locations, large arenas and purist destinations (especially Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House).

While in the U.K. and involved with the Paul Potts tour in 2008, Elizabeth Marvelly made an initial meeting with veteran producer Nick Patrick and recorded some demos at his elaborate home studio in the cathedral city of Salisbury.

“One of the objectives of Home was to let it grow organically, so we recorded rough cuts and got a general feeling of how we worked together. It was decided after some deliberation that the orchestral parts of the songs I had chosen would be performed by the NZSO and I would do the vocal overdubs in Salisbury with Nick. We knew from the beginning it was about New Zealand, me and my journey – so I felt it was important to do as much as I could here. ”

For a 19 year old girl, this was no mean feat, convincing the NZSO to record the instrumental foundation of her sophomore album. However the headstrong drive of Elizabeth’s naïve charm and the National Symphony’s admiration enabled the logistics to be implemented and an album was born.

“It was one of the most amazing artistic experiences of my life. I had time to sit with the songs - partly due to the upheaval in the record industry - and my decision with Nick Patrick to record the album independently. The last few years have been tough in terms of certainty, but as an artist, I feel I have grown.”

All these factors have created a young artist with the edge of informed wisdom, the fountain of youth and a desire to create a homecoming album that pays homage to place and time.

“I tried to perform these songs in a spirit that is true to the original, but also brings that sense of reinterpretation. You have to make it your own, sit in the skin of that music, but also think – how is that going to reflect me? The songs on this record are home to me, they reflect my time travelling and also where it all began.”

Home they say is where the heart is. Elizabeth wears it plainly and honestly on her sleeve. This record is coming of age - a coming home - both these things are true. With this spirit and a delicate sense of song choice, Home is a record that reflects the joy of a young artist paying her respect to inspiration and embracing the future with open arms.
 

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