Sundays are for Beauty - Nella Fantasia

Because there was such an outpouring (from both readers of this Blog) of accolades for Ennio Morricone's Gabriel's Oboe, posted on Sundays are for Beauty- Part 14, I did some more searching. Turns out that Sarah Brightman (the world's best-selling soprano) was granted permission to make it into a song, which is called Nella Fantasia (In My Fantasy), and just how she was able to obtain permission to do that makes for an interesting anecdote. Here's Sarah Brightman in her own words:

"About three years ago I wrote Mr. Morricone, asking if he would give me permission to turn this particular piece into a song. He flatly refused. So every two months I would send yet another begging letter, until I think he got so sick of me he finally relented. And I am really glad that he did, because I think it works beautifully as a song."
The lyrics, by the way, are by Chiara Ferraù.

Of course, no one can sing it better than Sarah Brightman, but I was surprised to find that in all the versions she has recorded, there was not one with an oboe solo. Since the original piece had Oboe in the title, and all renditions of it prominently featured an oboe solo, I kept searching. The above video by Chloë Agnew of Celtic Women sounded exactly right, and the oboe solo by her father, the Irish oboist David Agnew, is terrific. It makes a beautiful way to start a Sunday.