Con te partirò
"Con te partirò" | |
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Song | |
A-side | "Con te partirò" |
B-side | "Vivere" |
"Con te partirò" (literally meaning "With you I will leave") is an Italian song famously performed by Andrea Bocelli, who first sang it at the 1995 Sanremo Festival and recorded it on his album of the same year, Bocelli. Written by Francesco Sartori (music) and Lucio Quarantotto (lyrics), the single was first released as an A-side single with "Vivere" in 1995, topping the charts, first in France, where it became one of the best selling singles of all time, and then in Belgium, breaking the all-time record sales there.
A second version of the song, sung partly in English, released in 1996 as "Time to Say Goodbye", paired Bocelli with English soprano Sarah Brightman, and achieved even greater success, topping charts all across Europe, including Germany, where it became the biggest-selling single in history.[1][2] That version alone has now sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, making it one of best-selling singles of all time.[3][4]
Bocelli also recorded a completely Spanish version of the song, titled "Por ti volaré". The song, under all three versions, is considered Bocelli's signature song.[5]
"Con te partirò" | |
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Song |
History
The song's original single release by Polydor Records was not commercially successful in Italy, and received little radio airplay there. Elsewhere, however, it was a massive hit. In France and Switzerland, the single topped the charts for 6 weeks, earning a triple Gold sales award. In Belgium, it became the biggest hit of all time, spending 12 weeks at No. 1.[6]
In Germany, East West Records, in conjunction with Polydor, marketed a version of "Con Te Partirò" retitled "Time to Say Goodbye", and with some lyrics changed, as the theme song for the final match of boxer Henry Maske (then the light-heavyweight champion of the International Boxing Federation), having seen previous success when Vangelis's "Conquest of Paradise" was also promoted via Maske's fights. "Time to Say Goodbye" was also turned into a duet with Sarah Brightman, who had performed "A Question of Honour" for one of Maske's previous fights. German producer Frank Peterson, who has worked with Brightman since 1991, opted to give the song an English title rather than the German title "Mit Dir Werde Ich Fortgehen".[7] Recording of the song took place at Peterson's Nemo Studio, in Hamburg.[8]
The match took place on November 23, 1996, pitting Maske against American Virgil Hill, and drew a television broadcast audience of over 21 million. Bocelli and Brightman performed the song to open the match, and it was used again during Maske's exit.[7]
By December, the "Time to Say Goodbye" single, released on East West, had reached number one on the German singles chart, with sales estimated at 40,000–60,000 per day and projected for at least one million by the end of the year. Both singers' albums also received a boost in sales. Airplay on German radio stations such as Norddeutscher Rundfunk was well received by listeners.[7] By February of the following year, the single had broken the all-time sales record in Germany with 1.65 million sales,[9] and would eventually get certified 11x Gold for selling over 2,750,000 copies.[10] It is also the best-selling single in Belgium.[11]
"Time to Say Goodbye" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart upon its release there in May 1997, and was certified gold.[12] It remained in the top 30 for another two months, helped by steady radio airplay on BBC Radio 2, which was overtaking Radio 1 in popularity with an MOR-orientated playlist.[13]
The duet was included on Brightman's 1997 album Timeless, re-titled as Time to Say Goodbye in the U.S. with the song itself moved to the start of the album.[8] Brightman has also recorded a solo version, which was released on the duet single as well as later albums including "Classics" and "Diva the singles collection". A live version was released on "Harem world tour, live from Las Vegas" cd as well as her various tour DVDs.[14][15] Bocelli and Brightman have performed the duet together publicly several times including Andrea's "Statue of Liberty concert" held in New York City, and "Live in Tuscany" concerts.[16][17][18]
Lyrics
The lyrics of the song are in the first person, and the singer is speaking to a lover, saying: “There is no light if you are not here with me. Lands that I never shared with you, I shall experience with you on ships across seas that exist no more. With you, I will go. I know you are with me.″
Cover versions
Since its release, the song has spawned numerous other versions and been performed by numerous other singers. Notable alternative versions include "Por ti volaré", a Spanish version with significantly modified lyrics, and "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)", a dance version performed by Donna Summer. In 2001, Journey guitarist Neal Schon released a solo album, Voice, which features an instrumental version of the song. Nana Mouskouri recorded a version on the 1997 album, "Hommages".
A Taiwanese singer A-Mei (Zhang Hui Mei) recorded the song in Chinese version in the year 2000 (album "Ge Sheng Mei Ying") with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2004, trumpeter Chris Botti released his rendition on When I Fall in Love.[19] Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins included the song on her 2004 album Second Nature. Jenkins' version was also released as a single on February 21, 2005. The song was covered by Italian House DJ Gigi D'agostino in his 2006 compilation album Some Experiments.[20]Gregory Lemarchal recorded a version for his album "La voix d'un ange" which was posthumously released in 2007. New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra included a version on her 2007 album, Amazing Grace – The Best of Hayley Westenra. Swedish singer Sanna Nielsen's English-Swedish versionwas included in her album Sanna 11-22. Andre Rieu with Mirusia Louwerse also recorded a version of this song on the album You'll never walk alone.
South African tenor, Fanie de Jager, recorded the song on his classical CD, My Classical Soul, in 2007. The pipes and drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards covered the song for their 2007 album, Spirit of the Glen. In 2008 Danish pop duo The Loft released their single "Kiss You Goodbye" based on "Con te partirò"/"Time to Say Goodbye" and containing samples from the original. Japanese classical-crossover singer Kanon recorded a version of the song and included it on her 2007 album Precious. French classical-crossover tenor Amaury Vassili also did the same on his 2010 album Canterò. British singer Joe McElderry recorded the song on his 2011 album, Classic and made a video of it.[21] Donald Braswell II recorded this song on his 2011 album Unchained. Operatic pop group Il Divo covered the song on their 2011 album Wicked Game.
In media
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2011) |
Although the song is most associated with sporting events, it has featured frequently in film and television and is a favourite concert item. It is also a very popular piece for funerals.
- The song has been featured in the films Wanted, Ronin, Blades of Glory and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
- The climax to the film Step Brothers features Will Ferrell singing "Por ti Volaré", a Spanish-translated version of the song.
- The song was sung by Maria Lucia at the closing ceremony of the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
- The song was sung on multiple episodes of America's Got Talent, including twice by Jackie Evancho in 2010 (once together with Sarah Brightman).[22]
- In 2008, the song was used as the theme song to Welsh television show Con Passionate.
- Ricardo Marinello, the winner of the Germany's Got Talent (Das Supertalent) (2007), took this song as the opening song on his first record "The Beginning"
- The song was used in a few episodes of the TV show Providence and is featured on the CD Soundtrack.
- When Andrea Bocelli appeared on Sesame Street he sang the song to Elmo as "Time to Say Goodnight."
- It has been used a number of times in the television series The Sopranos as one of Carmela's themes, starting with the first episode of the second season. It is especially prominent in the episode Commendatori Season 2 Episode 4.
- Kenny McCormick sings a muffled version of the song with a 'Singing Like Bocelli for Dummies' guide tape in the South Park episode "Quintuplets 2000".
- One of the signature songs of Filipino singer Lani Misalucha and Macedonian superstar Tose Proeski.
- On July 24, 2011, analog television shut down in Japan. One television station in Sapporo chose to play this song on its analog termination warning. This is a violation of analog shutdown rules since most stations were not allowed to play vocal music on their analog termination warnings.
- The song was featured in season eight of Shameless.
- The song was used in The Simpsons episode The Real Housewives of Fat Tony (Season 22, Episode 19) which originally aired May 1, 2011.
- The song was used in the animated film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted during a romantic montage of King Julien XIII and Sonya the Bike Riding Circus Bear wooing in Rome
- MMA fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama uses the song as his entrance music.
Charts and certifications
Chart performance
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CertificationsCertifications are for the Sarah Brightman/Andrea Bocelli "Time To Say Goodbye" version, unless stated otherwise.
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References
- ^ Bocelli on Decca.com
- ^ Andrea Bocelli Biography
- ^ Andrea Bocelli on singing to thousands, losing his sight and making a fortune July 2, 2011, Daily Mail
- ^ Angel records
- ^ "Con Te Partiro". Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ Con Te Partiro at abmusica.com
- ^ a b c Spahr, Wolfgang (December 21, 1996). "Boxer's song proves a knockout for EastWest in Germany". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 51. pp. 38–39. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b van Geffen, Jos (December 12, 2006). "Sarah Brightman — Timeless / Time to say goodbye". Home Page of Jos van Geffen. Retrieved March 5, 2007.
- ^ Dezzani, Mark (February 22, 1997). "Italy's Bocelli breaks Euro sales records". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 8. pp. 1–2. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli; 'Time To Say Good-Bye')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ Andrea Bocelli Online Biography
- ^ Zywietz, Tobias (March 22, 2005). "Chart Log UK: Billy Bragg — David Byrne". Chart Log UK. The Official Zobbel Website. Retrieved March 5, 2007.
- ^ Jackson, Alan (July 17, 1997). "As Huey Lewis once said, it's hip to be square". The Times. p. 35. ISSN 0140-0460.
- ^ Sarah Brightman. "Classics (Sarah Brightman album) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ Sarah Brightman. "The Harem World Tour: Live from Las Vegas – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ "sarah brightman & Andrea Bocelli Time to say goodbye live". YouTube. August 8, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ Andrea Bocelli. "Vivere Live in Tuscany – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ van Geffen, Jos (December 11, 2006). "Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli — Time to say goodbye". Home Page of Jos van Geffen. Retrieved 2007-03-00.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "When I Fall in Love overview". Allmusic.com.
- ^ "Gigi D'Agostino – Some Experiments (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ Joe McElderry videos joemcelderryofficial.com. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
- ^ Daly, Sean. "Jackie Evancho Performs with Sarah Brightman", AGTNews.com, September 15, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2012
- ^ a b c d ""Con te partirò", in various singles charts". Lescharts. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
- ^ ""Con te partirò", UK Singles Chart". Chartstats. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f ""Time to Say Goodbye", in various singles charts". Lescharts. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
- ^ "Irish Singles Chart, database". Irishcharts. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
- ^ ""Time to Say Goodbye", UK Singles Chart". Chartstats. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
- ^ "Austrian single certifications – Sarah Brightman/Andrea Bocelli – Time To Say Goodbye" (in German). IFPI Austria.
- ^ "Paid music certification for July 2009" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Time To Say Goodbye')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ^ "British single certifications – Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli – Time To Say Goodbye". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Time To Say Goodbye in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
External links
- 1995 songs
- 1996 singles
- 1997 singles
- Andrea Bocelli songs
- Sarah Brightman songs
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Austria
- Number-one singles in France
- Number-one singles in Germany
- Number-one singles in Switzerland
- Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
- Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
- Singles certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
- Songs written by Francesco Sartori
- Songs written by Lucio Quarantotto
- Italian songs
- Sanremo Music Festival songs