Musical Adventure 3: Mahler Lied, Arcade Fire, Brahms String Quintet No.2

Okay, so I've got some exciting things to listen to this evening, and a few from suggestions from colleagues. Here they are in no particular order.

1. "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen", sung by Waltraud Meier, composed by Gustav Mahler, and found on YouTube here. My impressions were as follows: what a beautiful poem, and quite simplistic, but also very poignant. Waltraud Meier sings wonderfully here in this song, but boy---it seems as if anyone could sing this song well because it's so beautiful!

2. "Mountains Beyond Moutains" by Arcade Fire: This song was recommended by a string player colleague this evening, and I listened to it and liked it a lot. It has a rather lulling experience since it almost sounds like a bunch of tiny fairies singing (because of their voices...) but, I actually really really liked it. It was almost like an adult lullaby.

3. Brahms' String Quintet No. 2 can be found on YouTube here. My thoughts were: what a really cool rhythmic organization this piece has! And, how unlike Brahms at times...not hugely lyrical, not super smooth long legato lines....very refreshing and very pretty.

So that sums up today's thoughts---hope you enjoyed! More new stuff tomorrow!! :)

And--I'm singing in a masterclass tomorrow with Joan Dornemann here at IVAI in Virginia, and I've got four coachings/lessons before that---so wish me luck! :)

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