“DIDO’S LAMENT” IS TAKEN FROM THE 10th ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE OF ANNIE LENNOX’S A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA OUT NOW
“DIDO’S LAMENT” HERE
16th December, (London, UK): Today one of the most successful, iconic and revered artists in pop music history, Annie Lennox releases a virtual choral performance of “Dido’s Lament” with London City Voices choir.
Annie Lennox has collaborated with London City Voices choir to bring together a unique performance of her arrangement of Purcell’s “Dido’s Lament”,taken from the 10th Anniversary Edition of A Christmas Cornucopiareleased via Island Records.
The collaboration is in partnership with Greenpeace, who Annie has supported over numerous campaigns as an Ambassador, while Eurythmics supported Greenpeace and Amnesty for their Peace tour in 1999. Viewers of the video will be invited to donate to Greenpeace with this link.
Says Lennox: “It’s been such an honour and privilege to have been able to create this unique event in collaboration with the London City Voices Choir during this unprecedented time of the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic. I’m deeply touched and grateful to my friend and co producer Mike Stevens and choirmaster Richard Swan for making this possible. Also, to each choir member who took part from their homes through the medium of ‘Zoom’. As a long term supporter of Greenpeace I am deeply concerned by the Global Climate Crisis, which I feel is the most urgent challenge we all have to face, particularly with regard to sustainability for future generations. I very much hope to be able to make a contribution by drawing attention towards this vital issue. Additionally, I feel a tremendous sense of empathy and concern for everyone who has lost a dearly beloved friend or family member this year and hope this recording can offer a moment of shared collective mourning for those whose lives have been taken.”
London City Voices is a non-audition community choir made up of three branches across the capital who normally come together twice a year to perform in a 400+ person choir concert. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, the choir would have just performed at their Christmas concert. Each of the 276 members of the choir involved in this choral performance of “Dido’s Lament” video have learnt, prepared and recorded their parts from each of their homes during lockdown, overseen by founder and director Richard Swan.
“Dido’s Lament” is a classical aria written by Henry Purcell in the 17th century referencing the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas as documented in Virgil’s legendary epic poem, The Aeneid, from the 1st century BC. Annie’s recording of “Dido’s Lament” is a unique arrangement of the classical piece, arranged by herself and co producer Mike Stevens.
Premiered by Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2, “Dido’s Lament”, has also received radio support from Magic FM and Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. Annie Lennox has appeared on the BBC’s The One Show and Russell Brand’s podcast Under The Skin over the past week, and is due to appear on Scotland’s Makar to Makar on 17th December and the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on 20th December.
“Dido’s Lament” was released with an accompanying music video depicting a Victorian magic lantern show which starts with the wonders of the natural world, but soon becomes a stark warning of the future and an elegiac lament to the death of the Earth. As part of Annie Lennox’s collaboration with Greenpeace you can now also view this original music video for “Dido’s Lament” on Greenpeace’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
Says John Sauven, Executive Director Greenpeace UK: “This haunting song and captivating music video eloquently capture our collective sadness about the destruction humans have wreaked upon the natural world. We’re thrilled Annie is using this project to bring attention to it, and to highlight and support the work of Greenpeace in pushing for the solutions our planet so desperately needs.”
“Dido’s Lament” is the closing track on the digitally remastered version of Annie’s sixth solo album, A Christmas Cornucopia which features a new track listing and new artwork (across all formats – vinyl, CD and digital).
The music on A Christmas Cornucopia was mostly played by Lennox, in collaboration with co producer Mike Stevens, and originally recorded in his southwest London studio – at the bottom of his garden in 2010. But to achieve the resonance and vibrancy that were integral to Lennox’s ideas for these re-energized reboots, the pair also worked with a 30-piece orchestra at Pinewood Studios. And they travelled further afield too: to South Africa, to record with the African Children’s Choir, a remarkable organization with which impassioned campaigner and activist Lennox has long had a relationship.
A Christmas Cornucopia is far from a saccharine packaged selection box. As befits its title, it offers an abundant track listing drawn from British, French and German traditions covering the well-known alongside more untrodden ground. It’s broad spectrum encompasses a wide range of narratives and emotions – from joyful and celebratory thorough melancholic and haunting to poignant and timely. On “Lullay Lullay”, for example, Lennox draws direct links between the Nativity and the plight of Africa’s child soldiers.
Vibrant but vintage, classic and contemporary, glorious but with a polemical edge, Annie Lennox’s A Christmas Cornucopia is no ordinary collection of seasonal songs.
WATCH THE CHORAL PERFORMANCE OF “DIDO’S LAMENT” BY ANNIE LENNOX & LONDON CITY VOICES HERE:
http://annielennox.lnk.to/DidosLamentLCV
DONATE TO GREENPEACE HERE
https://annielennox.lnk.to/GreenPeace
“DIDO’S LAMENT” IS AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS NOW:
https://annielennox.lnk.to/DidosLament
10th ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE OF ANNIE LENNOX’S A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA IS AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS NOW:
https://AnnieLennox.lnk.to/ChristmasCornucopia
DOWNLOAD IMAGERY HERE:
HI-RES VIDEO STILLS
A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA HI-RES ARTWORK
A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA LO-RES ARTWORK
HI RES ANNIE LENNOX PRESS SHOTS
FOLLOW ANNIE LENNOX HERE:
Website
YouTube
ABOUT ANNIE LENNOX
Celebrated and named as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine, Annie Lennox’s iconic musical career spans over four decades, going back to the early 80’s when the internationally renowned ‘Eurythmics‘ was formed in collaboration with Dave Stewart.
In the early 90’s she went on to establish an acclaimed solo career.
Over the years she has won eight Brit Awards, including Best British Female Artist six times – four Ivor Novello Awards and 26 ASCAPs.
In the US she has been awarded four Grammy Awards, with eleven nominations and three MTV Awards.
She was awarded both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award, as well as a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard magazine.
Having sold over 83 million albums worldwide, she is the first woman to be recognised with an ASCAP Fellowship.
Over the years, she has worked on behalf of countless organisations, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, The British Red Cross and Comic Relief.
Working with UNAIDS as a Goodwill Ambassador, she became well known for her work as a tireless HIV/AIDS activist and advocate.
She has been a Special Envoy for the Scottish Parliament and the City of London, receiving the Woman of Peace Award at the 2009 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. In 2011 she was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her humanitarian work.
She is a Royal Academician and the first female Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University in her native Scotland, where she was also honoured with the prestigious Livingstone Medal in 2016. Her work in the visual arts includes an exhibition launched at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; ‘The House of Annie Lennox’ – and more recently in 2019 – a conceptual installation at MASS MoCA, entitled “Now I Let You Go”…
Annie Lennox is the original founder of The Circle : A non – profit organisation of women working together to achieve equality for women and girls in a fairer world
ABOUT LONDON CITY VOICES
London City Voices is a non-audition community choir in central London, with three branches in Soho, the City of London and Waterloo. The aim is to give people a place to sing their hearts out every week after work.
The choir brings people together to have some fun and make a great sound. When they’re not going through a pandemic, as well as up to three rehearsals a week, they also have frequent trips to the pub, plenty of public performances and even singing holidays in Europe. During April 2020, in the first UK lockdown, London City Voices raised in excess of £100K for Women’s Aid.
ABOUT GREENPEACE
Greenpeace is a global movement of people who are passionate about defending the natural world from destruction. Their vision is a greener, healthier and more peaceful planet, one that can sustain life for generations to come. They confront governments and corporations that are harming nature by investigating, documenting and exposing the causes of environmental destruction. They work to bring about change by mobilising the public and putting pressure on corporate and political leaders. They take peaceful direct action to protect our Earth and promote solutions for a green and peaceful future. They don’t take money from governments, corporations or political parties, and are funded by ordinary people.
