Kiwi West End star releases new solo album   1 Nov 2017

Stage Door Records are pleased to announce the release of West End performer Meredith Braun’s new solo album ‘When Love Is Gone’ on November 10th, 2017 (available on CD / Download / Streaming).

Meredith was born in Auckland and came to prominence as a child actor in New Zealand appearing in several television shows, films and musicals before embarking on a career in the West End. Since 1990, Meredith has been a leading West End performer originating the role of Betty Schaeffer in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Sunset Boulevard' and playing both Eponine in 'Les Miserables' (for over 1000 performances) and Christine in 'The Phantom Of The Opera'. 

Five years following the release of her critically acclaimed debut album 'Someone Else's Story', Meredith returns with her new solo album, 'When Love Is Gone'. The title for the release comes from the Paul Williams song Meredith performed as Belle opposite Michael Caine in the iconic film 'The Muppet Christmas Carol', which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Meredith's new 2017 recording of 'When Love Is Gone' marks the first time she has performed the song since recording the original version for the 1992 film soundtrack.

'When Love Is Gone' takes the form of a narrative song cycle, based around both specially selected material and original songs. The material featured ranges from musical theatre to singer-songwriter ballads, brought together by Meredith's own self-penned and elegantly crafted musical arrangements. Written and recorded between November 2016 and July 2017, the album highlights Braun's musicality, not just as a performer but also as a musician and writer as she embraces a wide range of musical styles and genres across the recording. Meredith is accompanied on the cello by her son, 13 year-old Tiger Braun-White, a student at the Royal Academy of Music and holder of both the Leverhulme and ABRSM scholarships. Speaking about the new album, Meredith commented:

"Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought." - Yip Harburg.
"When Love Is Gone" encompasses all the elements of music theatre that I love. 15 years ago I performed a one-woman play with songs at the National Theatre Studio - 'Cordelia'. It was written for me by the award-winning playwright and lyricist Stephen Clark. I have taken this concept of a narrative song cycle into "When Love Is Gone". Primarily, it is the story of an 'Everywoman' who is living through a painful and difficult relationship. The narrative is driven by both the excerpts and the lyric but the music and the arrangements expand and heighten the experience and, I hope, elucidate the issues."

Songs featured include a heart-rending interpretation of Stephen Sondheim's 'With So Little To Be Sure Of', a rare and unique cover of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'There's Me' (from the original production of 'Starlight Express', arr. James McConnel) Barry Manilow's evocatively tragic composition 'Sandra' and the premiere studio recording of Agnetha Fältskog's powerful and passionate solo ABBA song 'I'm Still Alive'. New material is represented by two compositions written by Meredith ('Hold Me' and 'Everything That's Me') and 'The Rules', a hauntingly dramatic original song written especially for the album by musical theatre writers Stephen Keeling and Shaun McKenna.

The release of 'When Love Is Gone' begins a new chapter in Meredith Braun's performing career. For more information on Meredith visit: http://www.meredithbraun.co.uk

We have a free copy of the album to give away to one lucky reader. Visit our Competitions page for more details.

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