Skip to main content

Musical Adventure 2: Pearl Jam, Elgar Cello Concerto, Strauss' Elektra

Okay, so tonight's new music for me and my thoughts thereupon were as follows: (And--I'm posting this entry right ON TIME as promised in the entry before last---I'm quite proud! ;) )

1. "Betterman" by the band, Pearl Jam was a song that I found after typing into Pandora as my channel "Counting Crows": catchy tune, loved the guitar playing which made it seem almost like music you'd hear at a blues concert, and good moral to the story of the song. Definitely a classic tune, too.

2. Jacqueline du Pre performing the first movement of Edward Elgar's "Cello Concerto" was found on YouTube and can be listened to here by you: I like the really strong and heroic sound of the orchestral accompaniment on the introduction of the theme and the recurrence of the theme throughout, the thickness of sound that du Pre can get out of the cello on each and every note is amazing and I am really captivated by the expression of the sound that she makes- it sounds like the cello is weeping at some points. As a final thought, boy does Daniel Barenboim look young on this video!!

3. Marilyn Zschau and Deborah Voigt performing an excerpt from Strauss' opera, Elektra, which you can see on YouTube here: at about 2:00, Deborah Voigt gets a really possessed look on her face and sings the heck out of these Straussian lines---I loved it! Also, what a wonderful piece for Sopranos to sing, right? I was thinking that while listening to this and how it's composed--the lines keep going upward and never really downward (at least only for a moment when they do) and it is wonderful I'm sure to sing for voices that lie higher on the staff.  And at 6:28 she sings such a beautiful line after which the strings pick it up and continue the melody---what a wonderful and beautiful aria! Gosh...I'm overwhelmed!! Why isn't this opera performed more often!?

Okay, that's it for today: see you guys on here tomorrow with more! :)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What do Opera Singers DO all day long?

That question has been asked of me by many a person, and many a non-opera singer (of course). I'd like to use this post to debunk any and all myths associated with being an Opera singer and rid the minds of the masses of the perception that this career is easy, or that there is enough to do to maintain it in only 3-4 hours per day.  If you have Opera singer friends, or family members, then you already know that Opera singing is really a very time-consuming and demanding profession. Just ask my boyfriend- I've got plenty of work; he nearly has to pry me off the computer at night just to get me to sleep. So, what is it that takes up all of this time, you might ask? Well, let's hack away at this answer categorically, shall we? First, there is the necessary musical preparation that takes at least 3-4 hours per day (and I am talking here just about sitting at the piano and going through your music note-by-note). Normally for me, I practice singing full-voic...
4 comments
Read more

From the Other Side of the Opera Stage- Life as a Conductor, Coach and Collaborative Pianist: An Interview with William Hicks

All too often I find myself forgetting that there are many valuable perspectives to be examined in the world of Opera and not just that of the Singer. So today I'd like to introduce you to one such perspective from an interview that I held recently with the very talented Conductor, Coach and Pianist, Maestro William Hicks. Although his extensive experience with many of the legends of Operatic, Classical and American Music would surely lead you to believe that he holds numerous advanced degrees from Juilliard, Mr. Hicks actually only completed two years of study as a Piano, Voice and Piano Accompanying Major at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and he did not finish high school. (This, of course, just makes his considerable achievements all the more impressive!) He grew up in Lexington, Kentucky; an only child raised by his maternal Grandparents and attended private school until his musical precociousness gained him early acceptance to CCM at age sixteen. Though h...
2 comments
Read more

How Long Can Opera Singers Sing Per Day?

To those readers who aren't singers (or even those who are) I would like to take some time today to talk about the proper and measured use of our voices (speaking and singing) during the course of a normal day and over the course of a normal week. This subject has come to mind for me because of factors relating to everyone' normal daily lives.  We are technologically-connected beings who are constantly communicating with someone, somewhere, somehow.  Sure, it's great to talk at work with your co-workers during lunch break, or have a phone conversation with your Grandmother for an hour every Tuesday, but just how much is all that talking really weighing on your voice in an overall evaluation? Because I have been singing six days a week for at least two hours since last June (and have really kept that schedule up- amazingly--okay, except for Christmas break at which point I didn't sing for 1.5 weeks) I've noticed that speaking frequently over the course the day wo...
2 comments
Read more