Violinist & TikTok sensation Esther Abrami reveals her new single ‘Chocolat’, her interpretation of the score from the movie of the same name, which was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Original Score’. Composed by Academy & Emmy Award winning composer Rachel Portman, this dreamy and mysterious single is a medley of Esther’s favourite parts of the score of the movie, which has been exclusively rearranged by Rachel herself to create Esther’s composition.
The track will feature on Esther’s self-titled debut album, out on March 25th via Sony Classical, and is accompanied by a music video, also out today. Listen to ‘Chocolat’ here, and pre-order the album here.
Since a very young age, Esther has been a fan of Rachel Portman, and working with the composer was a childhood dream. Speaking about the single, Esther says “Rachel Portman has been an inspiration for me since I was very young – for her compositions first, but also for being the first woman really well-known in the movie scores industry. ‘Chocolat’ is my favourite score, and working with her on it was a dream come true. Everything started from an Instagram message! I asked her if she would like to rearrange the music for my album but I had little hope she’d say yes, and to my great surprise she accepted! Without a doubt – one of my best experiences so far to work with her.”
Accompanied by a video, filmed in a little village around Tours, Esther takes viewers back to the village from the movie, telling us her own story. Armed with her violin, Esther lights up and colours the world around her music, in the same way that Chocolat’s main character Vianne does with her chocolaterie. “We wanted to keep the essence of the movie, where the main character brings life, light and colour to this village, but without doing a remake of the movie. So it’s a nod to the movie, with my personal touch!” You can watch the video here.
Rachel became the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Musical or Comedy Score, a real inspiration for Esther who made it her mission to spotlight female composers in her album, so girls entering the classical music world have role models, as well as expanding the repertoire written by women. She notably released Tomorrow by Annelie and Romance by Clara Schumann on International Women’s Day 2021.
Last week, Esther released the first episode of her YouTube series ‘Women In Classical’, filmed at Abbey Road studios, where in each episode she interviews a different woman from the classical music industry. More than an interview, Esther describes it as an exchange, where she can have an intimate conversation with the guests, in order to offer inspiration and advice to young and aspiring musicians, through recounting challenging experiences or personal anecdotes. Again, Rachel Portman supported the young violinist as she sat with her for an episode, out today for International Women’s Day. WATCH HERE
