I know that I need to finally post my part deux of Broadway vibratos, but with classes starting soon, it could be a little longer…
For now, I wanted to just post two choral songs that really resonate with me in a big way, mainly having to do with the lyrics, let alone the beauty of them. The first is, perhaps, one of the most beautiful choral pieces written (yeah, argue you all you want about “how many other pieces there are out there”; this is merely OPINION). “Stars I Shall Find” was composed by David Dickau, its lyric setting by Sara Teasdale. In a quick summary, the text is basically about a girl committing suicide; however, she doesn’t look at suicide as something dark and brooding…or sad. Rather, she sees her suicide as a final release and opportunity to join the stars that once gave her so much hope. This is why I find this poem so beautiful. Here is the best recording I could find on YouTube, performed by the University of Utah Singers:
I’m sure we’ve all heard of Dante, yes? Italian writer? Well, he’s most famous for writing The Divine Comedy. Z. Randall Stroope (one of my favorite composers of the 20th Century) took an excerpt from Dante’s Inferno, and created one of his most poignant and moving works to date. I have to give you the text’s translation in order to fully appreciate the beauty of this piece (it’s sung in Italian).
But soon it will be night
Now is the time to depart this place
For we have seen and experienced it all
Return [to paradise]
The wings of hell’s monarch are heard nearby!
But soon it will be night
I climbed toward paradise with no thought of looking back
I passed through a small opening
And finally saw heaven and the supreme light
And beheld once again the stars
Note: The Philippine Madrigal Singers (MADZ) is the greatest choir. Ever.
1. Oren Lavie
2. Radiohead
3. Christopher O’ Riley
4. Sunday In The Park With George and Bernadette Peters being amazing
5. Parade and Jason Robert Brown writing amazing [things]
The thing I love and hate about iTunes gift cards is the liberty you have with them and the meticulous time you can spend making sure that you buy something you’ll appreciate more than a few weeks after you buy it. After a few weeks of listening and doing research (reading reviews, in other words), I took a huge leap of faith and purchased my first indie album from iTunes. Title of album and artist? “The Opposite Side of the Sea” by Oren Lavie.
I could spend a good portion of my pathetic New Year’s Eve ranting and raving about this album, but I’ll reserve it into a nutshell. The opening song, “Her Morning Elegance,” was a perfect choice to start the album with in order for the listener to feel the mood of the kind of music that’s in the album. Check out the phenomenal video that was made with it while you’re at it. It’s all stop motion on a bed (I know that implies perverted things, but just YouTube it and you’ll know what I mean). Take a good listen to the samples provided by iTunes before purchasing. It’s an acquired taste sort of CD, but Lavie’s vocals are very smooth and relaxing, and his harmonies on the acoustic instruments are very refreshing and original.
For all of the people who feel that if somebody is behind in the music world then they deserve to die, skip this paragraph so we can spare an innocent life. I found out about a song called “Gagging Order” by the renowned band, Radiohead, through another CD I purchased with the iTunes money. The version I had was just a piano playing all of the parts in the song, but I wanted to listen to the original version that Radiohead produced. Perhaps one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard done by a rock/whatever-you-want-to-classify-them-as band. The lyrics are very poignant, describing the author’s encounter of a homeless person on the street and the ignorance of the people passing him while he suffers. Very awesome.
And the way I heard about Gagging Order? Through Christopher O’ Riley’s album, “Hold Me To This.” He completely reinvents the wheel and plays a bunch of well known Radiohead songs, all on the piano. Very soothing music to listen to on a sunny day (or anywhere for that matter). You can find his music on Pandora Radio really easily, and I really recommend listening to the iTunes samples. While you’re at it, make sure to listen to the distinct (yet really amazing) differences between Radiohead’s and O’ Riley’s versions of “How I Made My Millions.”
I think this whole post deals with stuff I found on iTunes that’s been out forever. Haha. Anyway, I recently listened to the original version of “Move On” from Sondheim’s Sunday In The Park With George, starring Bernadette Peters. While Peters is now in her early 60s (crazy!!!), her voice is still just as youthful and raw as it was back in the day. She does a beautiful job singing perhaps one of the best songs from this Tony Award-winning musical.
And to end my rather un-detailed post: “All The Wasted Time” from Jason Robert Brown’s Parade. The beginning piano part says it all; it tells you right away that this is going to be one of the best and most emotional songs of the show. I know that Carolee Carmello sings the part of Lucille in this song, but at the moment I cannot think of the man who did a beautiful job singing Leo’s part. I guarantee this song will make you sit in reflection for a few minutes after the song ends with the snare drum playing a final beat, before you’ll finally listen to it again…and again.
Well, those were my recent finds these past few days and I hope you’ll enjoy them as much I as I have!
I’ve always been a connoisseur of vibratos in Broadway singers.
Yes, I’ve always enjoyed theatre, I’m occasionally involved in theatrical productions, I sing, blah blah blah, etc. Anyway, something that has always intrigued me about singing is, of course, vibrato. There’s just something about this naturally occurring phenomenon with the human voice that seems to tell me a lot about a singer. ***DISCLAIMER: this blog post is merely opinions. Even if you think I’m wrong on my school of thought, I’m here to tell you that I am in no way a professional; merely an opinionist.***
My taste for vibrato is this:
1. It needs to not only sounds natural, it needs to be unrestrained NOR strained.
2. I prefer faster vibratos over wobbles. I will make occasional exceptions to slower vibratos if it isn’t distracting or annoying.
3. The thing that tells me whether a vibrato is natural or not is if it amplifies or strengthens the power of the sounds.
I have a few examples that help me prove my point. First is one of my biggest Broadway crushes, Marla Mindelle.
Okay, go to 2:34 for the time being (you can watch the rest later). Listen to that solid D#! And her vibrato naturally begins to oscillate and you can hear the sound pulsating violently (but naturally!) from Marla. Ah-mazing!!! Granted, Marla is a little bit slower on the speed, but she makes up for it without straining it and amplification.
Next is Company-revival cast lead Raul (pronouned “rah-woo-l”…I can’t get the accented “u” on here) Esparza. I have been extremely fond of this guy’s voice. There is such a warm, passionate sound that listeners can relate to. Esparza’s big break was his screamer role in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Broadway, but his lead role in Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…BOOM! won him an Obie Award. One of my favorite songs from TTB is “Why.” “Why” is about Jonathan reflecting on his friendship with his friend Michael and if he’s able to take care of him as Michael’s AIDS begins to destroy his body. This is, perhaps, one of the hardest songs to sing for a guy…well, if you’re a tenor, then it’s no problem and I hope you die…kidding! (I’m a baritone, haha). Either way, there’s a lot to this song, and Esparza pulls it off flawlessly on the cast album.
My favorite part of this song (which also happens to be the second, and biggest, climax of the song) is at 3:57.
“I sing, ‘Come to your senses,
Defenses are not the way to go.’
Over and over and over till I got it right
When I emerge from B minor or A
Five o’ clock, diner calls
I’m on my way.”
Esparza literally lets his voice go completely loose. His belt is goosebump-inducing and his vibrato is just to my liking. I realize that many people hate his vibrato, but I believe it’s more of an acquired taste. If you do not enjoy TTB, I highly suggest giving the revival of Company. His voice is a lot more refined since he’s got a little more experience under his belt at this point.
My newest found love is Julia Murney, of Wicked fame. Murney was also one of the starring roles in Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party. I found this video, literally, today and I think it really showcases Murney’s ability to quickly spin her air in her higher belt range (and let me say, this girl’s belt combined with her vibrato equals wicked and violent sound…I. Love. It.)
Murney does something with “creAtion” that I’ve never heard done before: no straight tone on the D, and she has a more long “a” sound as opposed to a darker “eh” sound (see: Natalie Weiss’ rendition). She vibratos the note from beginning to end. It’s something that’s almost unwanted by most people; I’ll go so far as to say almost annoying. It has really started to grow on me, though! It almost makes her straight-toned “-tion” a lot more fulfilling and satisfying (and her undertones on that last C are to DIE for). Another thing that I love about Julia Murney is that she doesn’t put the typical breath between “creA” and “-tion” like most singers do. If you want to hear Murney do other awesome stuff, I suggest hearing a performance of “Defying Gravity” on YouTube and “Raise the Roof” from The Wild Party.
I could go on, literally, forever about singers with fast oscillating vibratos and certain songs that they do justice. Here are some other singers you can find on YouTube that I also recommend: Nic Rouleau, Carolee Carmello (of Parade fame), Natalie Cortez (Broadway revival’s Diana in A Chorus Line), Audra McDonald (search Once On This Island by Flaherty and Ahrens), and Dee Roscioli (currently playing the principal Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway).
I will, eventually, make a blog post covering my favorite singers with slower vibratos since it only seems fair and I don’t want to come across as bias. As I said, it’s a preference, but there are singers who do slower vibratos justice, and I will make them known. Until then, have a merry Christmas and enjoy my favorite sacred choral piece for the holiday. Note: this choir is now named the Chamber Choir of Europe. Check out their Lauridsen album when you get the chance (it’s amazing!).
I have always found it ironic, in my mind, that high school graduates miss high school so much and are reluctant to leave home for college.
If you’ve ever seen the movie, “Big,” with Tom Hanks, you’ll probably remember the final scene of that movie when Josh (Tom Hanks) asks Susan (Elizabeth Perkins) if she wanted to go back, with him, to being 14 again. Clearly, Susan had no desire to go back with him. Kids who watch this movie will have no clue about the undertones that scream from this scene, while adults and viewers who are old enough to understand will be deafened by them. Adolescence sucked, and we all know it.
So, if high school graduates are well aware of how much adolescence was a downer, why are they so insistent on holding on to it? I realize that adult life is no easy task, and I am in no way prepared for it; however, I was more than happy to be done with high school. It did hardly anything good for me and I accepted (and embraced) college with arms wide open. It baffles me that graduates don’t want to go to college, be away and done with high school, and away from the drama, pressures, and rebellion (and hormones for that matter).
After my last final of my first semester of college, I will only have two more days out here before going back to my hometown. Needless to say, I’m not looking forward to it at all. It almost seems like…well, it does, seem like my hometown is nothing but negative energy. I spent a good majority of my time in my hometown and high school being alone and depressed. My weekends were spent in my room listening to music or practicing my instrument…sometimes writing music.
But, once I get out to college, this raincloud was gone. I had so many friends and acquaintances, my weekends were spent hanging out with friends, and I was finally enjoying myself. With only a few days left here until winter break, I sense myself feeling like that high schooler that doesn’t want to leave home…only, I don’t want to leave school. I can already feel the negative energy that followed me in my hometown and I don’t like it at all.
So, the way I look at is this: the more I try to busy myself with stuff and disregard the fact that my part-time job will never be exciting (or intellectually stimulating for that matter…gotta love HyVee), the more I’ll just think about school and how good I have it out there. I don’t mean to come off as a whiner or spoiled…I am more than willing to admit how good I have it all the way around. It just sucks when you can’t be happy being home.
Okay, if there’s anything I’ve noticed since becoming a music student and taking aural theory is that slowly, but surely, all musicians go a little crazy because hearing becomes such a vital and heavily used sense. I mean, sure: you need vision to see the music you’re playing or viewing, and the sense of touch to play your instrument (if you aren’t a singer). I don’t know if taste or smell exactly play into performance, but if you can think of a way, then let me know! Haha.
Anyway, since taking my first (and now completed!) semester of aural theory, I’ve noticed that I’m much more tuned in to what I hear around me. What’s weirder is that even speaking and hearing people talk has a much bigger effect on me. For example, I’m taking a German course right now and I find the sounds and shapes of it to be very intriguing compared to a more nasal language like French, or a more percussive language like Spanish. What I’m getting at is that there’s something about the guttural (and albeit “a little” angry sounding) sound of German that makes it seem very intellectual and somewhat pretty. I still hold Italian to be the prettiest sounding language…but German comes at a close second.
Now, on to my main topic. I was studying for my German final tonight, and while browsing through my iTunes library, I was definitely in the mood for some choral music. I like listening to classical music (as in, more contemporary sounding classical music) while studying, especially for German. I have an entire Pandora Radio station devoted to 20th Century piano music just for the occasion. As I was looking through, I was definitely in the mood for some of my favorite choral composer: Morten Lauridsen. This man’s work never fails to astonish me. I hadn’t listened all the way through his Mid-Winter Songs song cycle in awhile, so I flicked it on.
Now, mind you: even though I was getting a lot accomplished with German, I am much more in tune with my hearing. As the cycle progressed to movement three, “She tells her love while half asleep,” I all of a sudden started noticing the unsurpassed beauty of this whole work, let alone the seamless craft of Lauridsen’s work. All of his ever-changing harmonic foundations bring a vitality to the work that I honestly can’t comprehend or put into words. By movement four, “Mid-winter waking,” I couldn’t help but stop what I was doing to just listen.
You know how after you’ve listened to a song for a while, you’ll sometimes put it away or not listen for a while because you’re so tired of it? But then when you finally listen to it again, you start noticing things in that song you never noticed before? That’s how I felt about Mid-Winter Songs. I couldn’t help but just write down how I discovered a new found love of this song cycle. If you’re interested, I recommend you listen to Polyphony’s recording on their album, “Lauridsen: Nocturnes” with the Britten Sinfonia. While you’re at it, listen to the three Nocturnes on that album. I originally only intended on buying movement three from the Nocturnes (the prominent “Sure on this shining night”), but on a whim, I purchased the other two. Best. Decision. Ever.
I guess that pretty much wraps up what was on my mind tonight. Of course, there are many other things I could discuss, but I think my first post is plenty long already.
