“It is difficult for me to adequately convey the excellence of Nightingale, an album featuring the music of Michael Hoppé, with lyrics by David George and the heartrendingly gorgeous voice of Giuditta (Scorcelletti). It is one of the most beautiful collections of songs I have heard in years. Featuring Giuditta’s husband, Alessandro Bongi, on guitar and keyboards (and a few other guest artists as well), these songs are finely wrought jewels, each with its own alluring facets that will entrance you. Giuditta’s voice is the perfect blend of intimacy and drama and the music’s influences are a mixture of folk and Mediterranean (all but two songs feature English lyrics)”.
Michael Hoppe’s incredible music has gone through many incarnations over the years – in collaboration with piano, flute, cello, harmonica, symphony orchestra, behind recited poetry and prayers, etc. Nightingale, his newest release, came about purely by accident – or destiny. Hoppe and lyricist David George had co-written a number of songs and had been searching for the right voice to sing them for a long time. Hoppe made his singing debut on his 2013 release, Grace, singing “Love Overflows,” but the other songs remained unreleased. When Hoppe and his wife were in Tuscany the summer of 2013, they visited the town of San Gimignano. While on an afternoon walk, they heard a woman strumming her guitar and singing “in a most beautiful voice.” She was selling her CD of Tuscan folk songs and Hoppe bought one, leaving his business card and contact information in her basket. When Hoppe and his wife returned home, they had an email from Giuditta, who had researched Hoppe’s music online and asked if she could record “Love Overflows.” Her version was so beautiful that they decided to do a whole album of music by Hoppe and George, produced by Giuditta’s producer/guitarist husband, Alessandro Bongi. The results are stunning!
Giuditta’s voice is perfectly suited to Hoppe’s heartfelt melodies as well as George’s poetic lyrics. Known as a folk singer in Italy, Giuditta Scorcelletti’s voice is strong yet delicate, passionate and pure, and without affectation. The instrumentation is simple and is mostly acoustic guitar, but a few of the sixteen tracks have subtle flutes, keyboard, bass, cello, and others. However, it is always Giuditta’s voice that is front and center.
Michael Hoppe has been one of my very favorite artists since the late 1990’s, so some of these songs are very familiar as he has created different versions of some of them, but Giuditta’s fresh interpretations make them sparkle as if brand new. David George’s poetic lyrics cover many subjects and Giuditta’s lovely voice brings the words to life. This album is a rare treat for the senses, and one that came about through what Hoppe calls a miracle – it was just meant to be! Sure to be one of my Favorites for the year, Nightingale is available from SpringHillMedia.com, Amazon and iTunes. I give it my highest recommendation!
This interview also appears on Uvi Poznansky’s blog ..
Why did you write Remote Control?
I began Remote Control because I had been writing screenplays in American voices and I wanted to write something closer to my own voice. I was raised in England so I wanted to write British characters.
I started writing what was to be a two-man multi-media stage-play. Harold and Fred were two British ex-pats who lived on the upper floors of a cheap hotel in Los Angeles in the 1980’s. They watch television and become the characters they watch.
The stage would be simply divided into three areas – on the left, an old worn couch facing the audience; on the right a small kitchen table with two chairs. Up center would be a huge rear projection 10′ x 15′ screen which would use a combination of slides and video to provide a variety of abstract and/or realistic images as a backdrop to support the scenes.
So, Harold & Fred would begin a conversation on the couch and at the appropriate moment at the end of the scene one of them would aim a TV remote at the audience and click! The lights would fade on the couch and an image would appear on the screen and Harold or Fred would stand before the screen and become whoever they were watching on Television.
So this was the conceit, that the whole piece would play out as if they were channel surfing – and the action would unfurl like flipping channels.
How long did it take you to write?
I wrote the whole thing in a flash – about six weeks. The whole play came out complete like “automatic writing” – I was possessed.
The structure allowed it to be dramatic, funny, tragic, surreal.
I didn’t really know what I had until around page forty – I suddenly understood what I was writing, but I can’t reveal that here so you’ll have to listen to the audiobook/radio dramady!
I should say here that there are drums – African tribal drummers that play us in and out of the scenes. The significance of this will be shown later.
At its core, this is a love story, not only between Harold & Elena, but between the two characters Harold & Fred. Tell us a little about the twists and turns of the story?
Fred reveals in an opening monologue that he fears he might be a woman trapped in a man’s body. He’s not sure about this but desperate, he indulges the possibility and wears a dress, sloppy make-up & stays in the apartment in preparation for the big event. Harold indulges him – they are old friends.
Harold has been secretly writing letters to Elena, a woman he met through the personals in the local paper. Since he has decided he will never meet her, he writes fantastic stories about his life that are pure fantasy. Elena we learn is a caregiver, taking care of her ailing mother.
In one letter Harold tells Elena of one of his adventurous “trips” to Africa on Safari and how he parachuted from a small plane…
After a while Elena begins to fall in love with the dashing man in her letters.
Harold hides the letters from Fred but one day, Fred finds Elena’s letters stuffed under the cushions of the couch and reads them. Fred is shocked and amused, hurt and threatened all at once that Harold has had this secret.
Later when Fred reads that Harold & Elena are planning to meet, Fred writes a letter in Harold’s name (unknown to Harold) canceling the proposed meeting.
How did you go from a stage play to the audiobook?
Well it occured to me much later that this could work as a “radio play” without much adjustment.
So I decided to produce it myself with music and sound effects. My brother Brian George (Babu on Seinfeld, The Indian father in Big Bang Theory) agreed to play Harold and other multiple roles; I would play Fred and other multiple roles. I had written Harold for Brian to play and he was familiar with the role.
Here is an excerpt. My brother Brian George as Harold writing to Elena about his “travels” in Africa:
HAROLD: Dear Elena, when I was in Africa I had an opportunity to sky dive which I naturally ‘jumped’ at the chance to do.
(pause)
I have to tell you this has to be one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. Have you ever tried sky diving? The most wonderful feeling is to leap out of the side door of that small aircraft. I remember preparing to jump, the loudness of the twin engines vibrating the body of the plane: the density of the wind blowing outside the door. The air is as thick as…cheese! You get a definite sense of what’s holding you up. I can’t remember actually leaping out, but there I was in a free-fall – arms and legs outstretched.
The roar of the engines diminished to a distant hum, and then…silence.
(pause)
This was the closest thing to flying I’ve ever experienced except maybe in a dream. I was driven to delay the chute opening for as long as possible to maximize the thrill. I looked from side to side…
…while the air pushed against my face and pressed up against my opened palms. Below, I could see the African Veldt, stretching out like a painter’s canvas. In one corner, there was movement: a microscopic herd of Spring Bok darting across the wild, yellow, grassy, plain. They were barely visible except for their long shadows in the rising sun. I looked over at my right hand. The slightest movement of either hand will change your direction in a freefall. I tilted my hand slightly…
(pause)
I was now facing a mountain range to the south, and beyond the mountains I could see the ocean shining like a sheet of blue glass. I pulled the cord. The rustle of silk and rope: then a whoosh! The harness dug in as my body lurched and the chute opened!
(pause)
I floated down to earth as it rushed up to greet me.
(pause)
A new perspective. Trees towered above my head. I was knee-deep in tall grass, and the sound of the African birds filled my ears with their wild song! Elena, you should have been there!
Lights fade on Harold.
Remote Control by David George available on Audible & iTunes
I have just completed the narration for the novel Fell’s Hollow by AJ Abiatti. It will soon be available on iTunes, Amazon and Audible.com
Here is a note from the author:
“I am SO happy and impressed with your work. Your skill and performance really makes the novel come to life. Better than I had ever hoped. I sincerely hope you will be available for the sequel! I will be marketing this to the hilt once it’s released. This is so well done, I hope it serves as a catalyst to send the book and audio onto the best seller list! Always hard to judge your own work, but I can certainly judge yours, and the quality is top notch.”
AJ Abiatti, Nov 2013
I like to describe this work as as if Tolkien, JK Rowling and Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milk Wood” were tossed into a hopper. So if that piques your interest, you won’t be disappointed.
Audiobook I Produced & Narrated is now available on Audible, Amazon & iTunes!
The year is 1870. Torn from the protective community of American missionaries in China, young, innocent teenager Lydia Holt has no idea of the harsh realities she will soon face. Forced into a loveless marriage to a sadistic Chinese nobleman, she gives him a son and then a daughter. Lydia pleads for her newborn daughter’s life and saves from execution. Lydia escapes her cruel confines and flees with her half-chinese daughter to San Francisco. Racism against the Chinese forces her daughter to pretend she is Lydia’s maid. In San Francisco, she meets the man she once trusted with her life – a Scottish trader who now threatens to destroy the cosmetics empire she has established and rules with an iron hand.
Booster Shot is a collection of short stories by Jesse Craignou, a French author. I just completed producing and narrating the audiobook version of this anthology. I have to say while this was a very demanding job it was very satisfying to bring the stories to life in an audio book. Jesse’s writing style is a kind of “Jazz”/ “stream of consciousness” / “poetic” narrative style that lends itself really well to performance. Each of the stories are different in tone. I’m happy to say Jesse was pleased with my work. When an author trusts you with his “baby” the pressure is on to not disappoint. I’m in Los Angeles and Jesse is in Paris. After I uploaded the files, the next day I get an email from Jesse saying he spent a day with me in the car driving around Paris and proofing my audio files. Now that is cool! Here’s a short sample of Guyaneh’s Last Dance: https://davidsgeorge.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/booster-shot-by-jesse-craignou_audiosample_guyanehslastdance_-narrated-by-david-george.mp3
Booster Shot by Jesse Craignou Narrated by David George is available now on iTunes, Amazon & Audible.com very soon check for it!
Choral Arrangement for our original song I Am The Moon (Hoppe/George). This is a synthesizer reference track – the real choir will sound better but you get the idea! Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah and our best for the Holiday Season!
Please contact for SATB Sheet Music
I Am The Moon
I am the moon At night I rise And watch the children sleeping Bridges still, in cities dark A lover lost and weeping
In ghostly light Where little stirs A streetlamp vainly shines. On cobbled streets in dim relief They sleep through troubled times
I am the moon I journey on A dark and starry sky Below a cloud has drifted by A lighter rain is falling
I am the moon I see it all A thousand nights I rise I watch over humanity And kiss the slumbered eyes
I am the moon At night I rise And watch the children sleeping Bridges still, in cities dark A lover lost and weeping A lover lost and weeping
If you accept that our social movements take two steps forward and one step back, then it looks like we’re on the threshold of another two steps forward lurch. (more…)
). This is a synthesizer reference track – the real choir will sound better but you get the idea! Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah and our best for the Holiday Season!
The Round Table 
Latest US review by Bill Binkelman of our CD Nightingale:
Posted: September 23, 2015 in CommentaryTags: Allesandro Bongi, David George, Giuditta Scorcelletti, Linus Entertainment, Michael Hoppe, Spring Hill Media, True North
“It is difficult for me to adequately convey the excellence of Nightingale, an album featuring the music of Michael Hoppé, with lyrics by David George and the heartrendingly gorgeous voice of Giuditta (Scorcelletti). It is one of the most beautiful collections of songs I have heard in years. Featuring Giuditta’s husband, Alessandro Bongi, on guitar and keyboards (and a few other guest artists as well), these songs are finely wrought jewels, each with its own alluring facets that will entrance you. Giuditta’s voice is the perfect blend of intimacy and drama and the music’s influences are a mixture of folk and Mediterranean (all but two songs feature English lyrics)”.
Bill Binkelman – Music Reviewer
Nightingale – Spring Hill Music
http://springhillmedia.com/