Composer and pianist GéNIA goes exclusively behind the title song of her new EP, “Valse à la française.” Her music has been featured on the hit American show “Killing Eve” and British show “Cold Feet.”

In Her Own Words

I composed this piece of music, as I wanted to write a French tune in the form of a waltz. I love France, with its incredible cultural inheritance and well as the weather and food, and I felt that this piece somehow encompasses all of the above. 

I first heard it in my head and then wrote it on paper. Having said that, I did spend some time at the piano just ‘fooling’ around, getting in a mood. Then a theme just popped out.

This is an original composition, however, it is written in a style of waltz with a modern twist. It has 3 parts, and in the second, the piano slightly changes its tune, and plays a few passages which someone might expect a singer to sing! So it almost breaks into a new tune, like a song.

I think the middle is the most challenging, as it needs to be very melodic, yet light whilst retaining its ¾ rhythm. It is supposed to create an illusion of going forward and being free, and yet keeping close to the original rhythm. 

I recorded this track on my Steinway grand piano in my home studio. I also produced it myself (One of the good side-effects of lockdown, for me, was acquiring some recording and production skills and starting to produce my own music. At the final stage, I took this track for mastering to ALCHEMY at AIR, a very well known mastering studio, a part of AIR Studios in London, where many great artists, such as  Adele, Jamie Cullum, Coldplay and classical pianist Murry Perahia have all recorded.

Cicely Balston, my longstanding mastering engineer, added the final touches to this track. She is my good luck charm, as she always brings me luck, with her incredible mastering skills.

GéNIA

www.genia-music.com

Natasha Barbieri, Editor

Editor

Creator of Classical Crossover Magazine. For Natasha music has always been closely tied to her faith. At age 18, Natasha made her opera debut playing the part of the mother in Menotti’s ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ with the Eastern Festival Opera. At 20, she was a winner of the 2011 Young Artist Competition at Andrews University. Natasha graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Music. Natasha has released a series of Holiday singles “A Place Called Home” (2020), “One Little Boy,” and “The Perfect Year” (2021). In 2021, she was nominated for the ‘Future Classic Women Awards’ show on Men’s & Women’s Radio Station. Natasha is the creator and editor of ‘Classical Crossover Magazine’ a venture that has allowed her to interview many of the top stars in the genre including Sarah Brightman, Celtic Woman, Mirusia, Paul Potts, and more. During the covid-19 pandemic, she created an online concert series for the magazine that has seen her perform in the same line-up as Alex Sharpe, Lucy Kay, Barbara Padilla, Classical Reflection, and more on the virtual stage. In 2022, Natasha was included on the charity album “Stars of Classical Crossover: Christmas” in benefit of the Wallace & Gromit Children’s Charity.