REVIEWS
Life Upon the Sacred Stage
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 by Retta Blaney
NEVER TOO LATE: The Songs of Jan
Horvath
Now this is different! Usually when
a Broadway performer releases a CD, it’s of classic
show tunes or love songs in traditional arrangements.
Not Jan Horvath, who proves with these 11 songs she wrote
that she’s got the heart of a country girl, and
a crystal clear voice to go with it.
I really enjoy “Country Lilt,”
a quirky little love song reminiscent of those by Kate
and Anna McGarrigle: “So if you’re not waiting
at the pearly gate/I won’t have to think or even
hesitate/I’ll give all the angels back their wings/Their
golden harps and all of their things/Yes if you’re
not in heaven on judgment day/I’ll know you’ve
gone the other way/So to show you that my love is true/I’ll
go to hell dear just for you.” What fun!
For inspiration, Horvath includes
“Questions” and “Never Too Late,”
songs about finding your true path in life, and a lovely
number called “Immigrant’s Anthem,”
which she premiered with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
in 2005, and most recently sang with The Rochester Philharmonic
on a barge in the Erie Canal with about 14,000 people
lining the shores. A well-deserved honor; I hope she will
have many more opportunities to present it.
As a music critic I am blessed with
receiving many CDs that entertain or enrich me. Horvath’s
does both. I’m grateful to have it in my collection.
Retta
Blaney
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