Structure and style Sarah Brightman's official website describes the album as "heady and intoxicating" and "without doubt, the most expansive and cinematic of Sarah's albums yet". Brightman and producer Frank Peterson combined their contemporary and dance-oriented sensibilities with the
exotic instrumentation and melodic phrases of bygone eras.
Harem is part of Brightman's continued experimentation with
concept albums. It explores
World music-related styles, such as
Arabic and
Indian music. According to Jerry McCulley of
Amazon, "Brightman steps into that pan-cultural hall of mirrors here, wedding her fascination with the music and rhythms of the 'forbidden places' (the title's Arabic meaning) of the Middle East to her own oft ethereal vocal charms and rock-solid sense of drama". Jason Shawhan of
Artist Direct said "the entire record is built around a Middle Eastern theme, and many instruments native to that region flow through the mix of
baroque pop, crunch-opera,
eurodisco, and passionate
balladry". The editorial review of
Barnes & Noble states that "the disc dips into
worldbeat territory while showcasing the multi-million-selling artist's haunting voice".
Songs and lyrics The title track of
Harem is an adaptation of "Canção do Mar," a classic from
Portugal's
fado tradition.
Roxanne Seeman, Sarah Brightman and producer
Frank Peterson wrote new lyrics for the melody, in which the singer hears a connection between Middle Eastern sounds and the ancient inspirations of fado. Brightman said, "I've loved this song for ages. In our version, I wanted it to have a contemporary, Arabian Nights feel – love, the desert, passion and fire but also with a dance feeling." The singer's imagination drove a new sound for some classic hits – ranging from "
What a Wonderful World" and "
Stranger in Paradise" – both bathed in the Eastern atmosphere that has inspired her. "Stranger in Paradise" circles back to Borodin's voluptuous Polovetsian Dances for its rich orchestral textures, cradling Brightman's crystalline singing. "What a Wonderful World" is an audacious reinvention of a well-traveled pop feel-good anthem – edgier this time, tinged with melancholy. "It's a Beautiful Day" features the singer's operatic voice; in this song Puccini's "Un Bel di" is artfully coalesced with driving synthesizer beats and Middle Eastern refrains. "The melody has this feeling of space, of mystery, of times gone by", Brightman said. "What You Never Know" is the album's first Canadian single and the work of songwriter Stephan Moccio who wrote "
A New Day Has Come", the title song for
Céline Dion's album. Brightman said that her first meeting with him sparked the collaboration. "It was wonderful", she said. "He even knew the key I sound best in. He understood about simplicity, and I told him, 'I don't want you to have barriers – write something for me that you really feel.' This song has that 'inside' feeling. I heard it immediately". "The Journey Home" comes from Indian film composer
A. R. Rahman's hit West End Bollywood musical
Bombay Dreams, produced in London by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was Lloyd Webber who brought the song to Brightman's attention. "I've been in love with
Indian films, and I've known Rahman's music for a long time. When I heard the song I really, really liked it. It has a different interpretation here than in the musical, but it has the right feel". "Free" lends
Harem the French connection Brightman wanted it to have. The song was actually written in German, about the cathartic end of a love affair. The lyrics were, to Brightman "amazing, but it was very difficult to make them fit in English". A French translation of the English version helped solve the problem, and the gentle commentary of Kennedy's violin gives the track an even greater intensity. The lyrics of "Mysterious Days" lend Harem a hipper, more modern sensibility in its evocation of American expatriates in Marrakech – Paul Bowles, in particular, and The Sheltering Sky. "It talks about the Casbah, working in the attic, the mix of the city and the Americans working there, and it has a dance aspect to it as well", Brightman said. "The War Is Over" embraced an end to the conflicts in love – eloquently brings Sarah Brightman together with the Iraqi singer Kadim Al Sahir, as well as the classical violin virtuoso Kennedy. "We asked Kadim to do this song with me because we knew of his voice", Brightman said. Brightman takes on an active writing role in this album and is credited with writing or co-writing the lyrics and/or music to
Harem, "It's A Beautiful Day", "Free", "The War Is Over Now" and "You Take My Breath Away". == Release ==