Hollywood Stars Read Immortal Poetry Set to Classical Music on Inspirational 'Words For You' Album

Hollywood Stars Read Immortal Poetry Set to Classical Music on Inspirational 'Words For You' Album

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A unique album featuring great poems recited by great voices--from Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Ruby Dee, and Amber Rose Johnson to James Earl Jones, Garrison Keillor, Terence Stamp and Meryl Streep--and set to classical music arrives just in time for April's National Poetry Month. Words For You (Mighty Village/Universal/UMe), released April 12, 2011, brings together the emotional words of the likes of Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe and Maya Angelou with the powerful music of classical giants such as Chopin, Debussy, Grieg and Mahler as well as others.

Drawing on their music and the vocal brilliance of movie, television and radio stars, along with Amber Rose Johnson, the teenage winner of the 2010 Poetry Out Loud competition (a national poetry recitation contest), Words For You brings to life the words of great writers spanning the centuries. Produced by Tris Penna (Marc Almond, Andrew Lloyd Webber), the all-new album follows the unexpected global success of the 2009 U.K. disc of the same name, which hit #1 on the compilation chart, sold more than 200,000 copies and became one of the biggest selling albums of the year there.

All artist royalties from Words For You will be donated to the charity First Book, which provides brand new, high-quality books to children in need as a means of fostering literacy.

Tracklisting:
1) On Marriage (Khalil Gibran)
Georges Bizet - La poupee (Berceuse) from Jeux d'enfants
READ BY MERYL STREEP
2) Let America Be America Again (Langston Hughes)
Stephen Darrell Smith - Recovery
READ BY JAMES EARL JONES
3) On Easter Day (Oscar Wilde)
Anton Bruckner - Symphony No. 5 in Bb major (2nd Mvt. Adagio)
READ BY JIM BROADBENT
4) The Star-Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key)
Graham De Wilde - Shenandoah
READ BY RUBY DEE
5) A Dream Within A Dream (Edgar Allen Poe)
Gustave Mahler -Symphony No. 3 in D minor (6th Mvt. Langsam, ruhevoll,
empfunden)
READ BY TERENCE STAMP
6) Warning (Jenny Joseph)
Antonin Dvorak - Waltz No. 1 (Op. 54)
READ BY HELENA BONHAM CARTER
7) Once I Pass'd Through A Populous City (Walt Whitman)
Francisco Tarrega - Adelita
READ BY GARRISON KEILLOR
8) Sonnet CXVI (William Shakespeare)
Edvard Grieg - Arietta (Op. 12) from Lyric Pieces
READ BY AMBER ROSE JOHNSON
9) Happiness (Raymond Carver)
Claude Debussy - Prelude a l'apres midi d'un faune
READ BY TERENCE STAMP
10) Phenomenal Woman (Maya Angelou)
Music by Stephen Darrell Smith
READ BY RUBY DEE
11) If (Rudyard Kipling)
Guiseppe Verdi - La Forza del Destino (Overture)
READ BY JIM BROADBENT
12) A Dream (Christina Rossetti)
Bedrich Smetana - My Country
READ BY HELENA BONHAM CARTER
13) Because I Could Not Stop For Death (Emily Dickinson)
Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons Concerto No. 3 "Autumn" (Mvt. 2 Largo)
READ BY MERYL STREEP
14) When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom'd (Walt Whitman)
Frederic Chopin - Prelude No. 13 in F major
READ BY JAMES EARL JONES
15) Topography (Sharon Olds)
Edvard Grieg - Piano Concerto in A minor (Op. 16 excerpt, 2nd Mvt.)
READ BY GARRISON KEILLOR
16) Today Is Ours, Let's Live It (Anonymous)
Music by Stephen Darrell Smith
READ BY RUBY DEE
17) All The World's A Stage (William Shakespeare)
John Downland - Gagliarde
READ BY JIM BROADBENT
18) A Blessing (James Wright)
Felix Mendelssohn - Notturno from A Midsummer Night's Dream (Op. 21/61)
READ BY GARRISON KEILLOR
19) Silver (Walter De La Mare)
Frederic Chopin - Nocturne in C# minor
READ BY HELENA BONHAM CARTER
20) Solitude (Ella Wheeler Wilcox)
Francisco Tarrega - Gran Vals
READ BY MERYL STREEP
21) Endymion (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
Robert Schumann - Kind im Einschlummern from Kinderscenen (Op. 15)
READ BY TERENCE STAMP
22) Walking Down Park (Nikki Giovanni)
Music by Stephen Darrell Smith
READ BY AMBER ROSE JOHNSON

About First Book

First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy - access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 80 million free and low-cost books in thousands of communities. First Book has offices in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, please visit us online or follow our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises

Universal Music Enterprises

CONTACT: Sujata Murthy, SVP of Publicity sujata.murthy@umusic.com, or Keren Poznansky, Director of Publicity, +1-310-865-7797, keren.poznansky@umusic.com, or Meg McLean, Manager of Publicity, +1-310-865-9804, megan.mclean@umusic.com, all of Universal Music Enterprises

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