Classical Music II

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

I think I agree with you, his diction can be pretty sloppy.

I know she could've played some pants roles with that thick voice of hers, but really Hector!!! :P

I've been meaning to get that, but everytime I start getting I put it back. It's the cover, my mom would never understand if she saw it...

Yeah, the cover was a little... ummm... odd. I think, maybe, if she were just a little younger it would make more sense, but a woman her age doing that pose just seems...

odd.

Not that she doesn't look quite sexy and everything, but still. o.O

I personally just got it on iTunes, although these days (for some reason) I seem to be veering away from that. I find that I'd rather pay an extra $7 or so and get the real CD for most things.

Neither have I, the only CD being a recording of Handel cantatas.

Try to get your hands on a recording of her 'Voce Sapete' from the Marriage of Figaro. She's excellent!

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Tessar

I know she could've played some pants roles with that thick voice of hers, but really Hector!!! :P

Very funny...
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Pic-Bio...arilyn-12.jpeg

Yeah, the cover was a little... ummm... odd. I think, maybe, if she were just a little younger it would make more sense, but a woman her age doing that pose just seems...

odd.

Her age? What, she's not young enough? She's young enough for me...

Not that she doesn't look quite sexy and everything, but still. o.O

Well yeah, it was a little overly....overt
I just don't want her prostituting her beauty, thats all...

I personally just got it on iTunes, although these days (for some reason) I seem to be veering away from that. I find that I'd rather pay an extra $7 or so and get the real CD for most things.

Me too. I love CDs...

Ok, I have all my music on my iPod. BUT, that means none of my CDs will get scratched

Try to get your hands on a recording of her 'Voce Sapete' from the Marriage of Figaro. She's excellent!

Also very good looking...

[Tessar]

Have you heard the CD of duets that Cecelia and Bryn Terfel did? FANTASTIC stuff. Their voices were made to sing together.

Bryn is one of my favorite baritones.

[hectorberlioz]

No, I haven't. I've heard that Byrn Terfel is really good...I'm sure I'll get something with him in it sooner or later, probably not an album first though. I tend to go for the whole enchilada before I buy the soloist album stuff. Bartoli is my one exception.
Might as well get the Bartoli/Terfel duo set then?

http://www.geneve.ch/fao/2004/images...artoli_big.jpg

[Tessar]

You need to hop on iTunes and listen to some of his stuff--he's the sort of baritone that I envy hugely. While my voice is baritonal and very light/thin, his is big and has a bass' richness.

He's probably my favorite baritone, although I also love Samuel Ramey.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Tessar

You need to hop on iTunes and listen to some of his stuff--he's the sort of baritone that I envy hugely. While my voice is baritonal and very light/thin, his is big and has a bass' richness.

He's probably my favorite baritone, although I also love Samuel Ramey.

I do have some fav baritones, namely Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau...but sometimes I get them mixed up with Basses . Robert Lloyd is a good bass.

[Tessar]

It can be very hard some times, and really in a few cases it boils down to the fact that some times the only -real- difference between a Baritone and a Bass is that some 'Baritones' are Basses who have learned the trick of singing into head voice properly, and some 'Basses' are Baritones who never got their head voice act together .

There's one Bass (who's name I can't think of right now) that's somewhat popular and he can sing well up into the Baritone/Tenor range with great ease. I also know my old voice teacher's husband was a Bass II who could sing (don't know about easily, but he could do it) up to a C7 at least. I met another Bass once who sang tenor arias for kicks, and of course my current male voice teacher has a mellow baritone voice, but sings Nessun Dorma up to the D#5.


So go figure .

[hectorberlioz]

It's all over the place, isn't it...

I'm sure thats always how it's been. Maybe. Possibly.

Robert Lylod must a Bass XVI, because his voice is pretty deep

[Tessar]

Ever heard of Tim Storms?

Oh my GOD, his voice is LOW. Like, beyond low-kind-of-low. There's this thing where he sings amazing grace with some other singers, does a solo, and then starts doing some bass harmonies that are incredibly, incredibly low. So low that they really don't sound like vocals any more... sort of the male version of whistle register, I suppose.


Except that males can use whistle register.

OH NOEZ! My analogy has failed me.

[hectorberlioz]

Well whistles aren't exactly synonomous with LOWness

Never heard of him, but I'll look him up on google in just a sec...


EDIT: Holy cow...Guinness records setting. Two octaves lower than a piano?!!!

[trolls' bane]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Really? Probably Ian Holme or McKellen...

Now narrators for Peter & the Wolf are pretty darn famous. I have a version with Sting narrating, Claudio Abbado conducting the Chamber Orch. of Europe. Awesome.

Let's see, famous narrators: Patrick Stweart, Sean Connery....

Sean Connery narrated Peter and the Wolf?
I have the Patrick Stewart recording on my hard drive somewhere.

Yes, McKellen. And Sting played the soldier.

[hectorberlioz]

Hey, that is neat. I'll have to look into it....

[Tessar]

Relistening to some of Bryn Terfel's stuff tonight. OMG, sooooo fantastic. He does this amazing little 'quazi-falsetto' riff on Non Piu Andrai from the Marriage of Figaro that I absolutely adore.

Who says you can't use falsetto in opera?

[hectorberlioz]

I like falsetto, for the most part...but I have a hard time liking the countertenor sound.

What do you think of Rolando Villazon? Pretty big hype about him, even in my Gramophone Guide, and I've nearly bought an album of his two or three times...

[hectorberlioz]

You guys sure leave a lot of the talking to me...


*looks around the Opera House*


Hello?

*cold wind blows through open window.

[Tessar]

Alright, lets talk Renee Fleming.

Ah, Renee, how you taunt me so.

Do I like you? Do I hate you? Do I enjoy some of your work, but not all of it? Do you -really- think that you're an alto? 'cuz, guuuurl lemme tell you, dem low notes ain't in your range, despite the fact that you can grumble them out.


I must confess that in listening to Renee Fleming the other day, I'm starting to enjoy some of her newer recordings. Not all of them... frankly I'm still a bit iffy on her Handel album, but I'm starting to kind of like it. Damn it all.

Still love some of her old stuff, for sure.

My only real complaint, I suppose, is that it just feels like she adds too much weight to her sound some times. She'll be singing along incredibly, just floating and sounding phenomenal, and then WHAM!!!!! She'll slam into some consonant, or 'ae' vowel like a 600lb sumo-wrestler. It's kind of her 'signature' way of singing, I guess. Maybe I just need more time to get used to it.

She did do this gorgeous aria from an opera called... Susanna I think, and that was absolutely incredible. Top notch. I heard it on the radio a few months ago, and I still remember that it was amazing.


Also I lied. I love her jazz voice, especially those out-of-her-range low notes . What a sexy lower register... most of the (trained) sopranos I know can sing that low, but just aren't as comfortable with it as she is.




Know who's improved with age? Natalie Dessay. OMG. I could start such a bitch-fight with anyone who didn't like her. She's -awesome-! She used to have a bit of a thin voice, but has since built up a much richer, more resonant sound, and she has SUCH a gorgeous way of floating on those top notes!

Also what an amazing recovery. She had surgery on both cords and, in possibly the come-back of the century, was able to continue singing -better- than ever. Not your every day occurrence.

She just came out with a new CD, and if you listen to the tracks, her voice is richer and fuller now than it ever used to be. Proof that even a professional singer can often be using terrible technique. But my God, what an improvement! With better technique, her voice is even more glorious than it ever was.



Unless, of course, it's all the magic of studio editing. Dare I accuse such a song-goddess of that?


Nah. I'll keep the faith .

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Tessar

Alright, lets to talk Renee Fleming.

Wow, is she calling you or something?

Ah, Renee, how you taunt me so.

Do I like you? Do I hate you? Do I enjoy some of your work, but not all of it? Do you -really- think that you're an alto? 'cuz, guuuurl lemme tell you, dem low notes ain't in your range, despite the fact that you can grumble them out.


I must confess that in listening to Renee Fleming the other day, I'm starting to enjoy some of her newer recordings. Not all of them... frankly I'm still a bit iffy on her Handel album, but I'm starting to kind of like it. Damn it all.

Hmm....it's her Handel album I want to get. Is it really not too good?

Still love some of her old stuff, for sure.

My only real complaint, I suppose, is that it just feels like she adds too much weight to her sound some times. She'll be singing along incredibly, just floating and sounding phenomenal, and then WHAM!!!!! She'll slam into some consonant, or 'ae' vowel like a 600lb sumo-wrestler. It's kind of her 'signature' way of singing, I guess. Maybe I just need more time to get used to it.

I guess thats why you don't like Marilyn Horne as well?
Well, I can understand....there is a thick weightiness to late Joan Sutherland. Definitely not stuff to convince anyone that opera is good.

She did do this gorgeous aria from an opera called... Susanna I think, and that was absolutely incredible. Top notch. I heard it on the radio a few months ago, and I still remember that it was amazing.


Also I lied. I love her jazz voice, especially those out-of-her-range low notes . What a sexy lower register... most of the (trained) sopranos I know can sing that low, but just aren't as comfortable with it as she is.

She's versatile, thats all there is to it.

Know who's improved with age? Natalie Dessay. OMG. I could start such a bitch-fight with anyone who didn't like her. She's -awesome-! She used to have a bit of a thin voice, but has since built up a much richer, more resonant sound, and she has SUCH a gorgeous way of floating on those top notes!

I've also been wanting to hear her stuff too.

Also what an amazing recovery. She had surgery on both cords and, in possibly the come-back of the century, was able to continue singing -better- than ever. Not your every day occurrence.

She just came out with a new CD, and if you listen to the tracks, her voice is richer and fuller now than it ever used to be. Proof that even a professional singer can often be using terrible technique. But my God, what an improvement! With better technique, her voice is even more glorious than it ever was.

Now how is that possible?
Or maybe she had the doctors fix her chords to be super strong or flexible of something

Unless, of course, it's all the magic of studio editing. Dare I accuse such a song-goddess of that?

You already did

Lucia Popp. Have you heard her stuff? Older singer, and she was a GREAT Queen of the Night in Klemperer's recording of The Magic Flute.


Nah. I'll keep the faith .[/QUOTE]

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Hmm....it's her Handel album I want to get. Is it really not too good?

It's so subjective... I'd really suggest that you listen to the clips on iTunes and on Amazon.com or Barns and Nobel. I think if you enjoy her, you'll just love the way she sings them. Really she sounds vaguely like Cecilia Bartoli on it, and at a few points I could almost swear that it -was- Cecilia . But she slams into some of those notes, and isn't -half- as melismatic as Ceclia is. So it's a different sound.

You might enjoy it... I know I certainly enjoyed parts of the clips I've heard.

I guess thats why you don't like Marilyn Horne as well?
Well, I can understand....there is a thick weightiness to late Joan Sutherland. Definitely not stuff to convince anyone that opera is good.

In a nutshell: yes . I honestly don't understand why -anyone- would introduce people to Opera via singers like Mrs. Fleming, or Horne. I feel that you do much better by introducing first a lyric voice, or maybe a low male voice. Most people seem to love a good, rich baritone, or a light soprano (on an aria that doesn't go -too- high).

I really think (at least in the later recordings) singers like Fleming, Horne, Samuel Ramie, and such are best reserved for after you've had a taste of 'Opera Lite' as I like to call it . Of course I'm sure it will differ from person to person, but I remember I was -floored- the first time I heard my choir master's wife... Huge, rich voice, but a -completely- different sound from those 'wobbly' opera stars I had heard before. However, since exploring further, I've come to enjoy a few of those wobbly opera singers a bit more .

She's versatile, thats all there is to it.

I don't think anyone could disagree with that. And, although I'm not terribly enamored of her yet, I would still have to kill anyone who said otherwise. Just 'cuz .

I've also been wanting to hear her stuff too.

If I had any idea where you lived, I'd send you a CD . She is someone you've absolutely got to listen to. Check YouTube and you'll find some great clips of her... although they're not quite as good as she is today. She's improved her technique since they were done.

[Tessar]

Now how is that possible?
Or maybe she had the doctors fix her chords to be super strong or flexible of something

It was pretty miraculous. She developed nodes on both of her vocal cords... but keeping in mind that this woman (or at least so I've heard) warms up every time she vocalizes to the C7 (three octaves above Middle C). So just combine that incredible height of range with bad technique, and singing frequently... well it was bound to happen.

She had surgery on one vocal cord, and then later followed it up with surgery on her other cord. Amazingly enough, it healed with either no scarring, or so little that it didn't effect her sound adversely. Typically when surgery must be performed, there is a loss of range, power, and often the person's voice never fully recovers.

However, after she recovered, Natalie improved her technique, and now she quite literally sounds better than ever. Removing most of the straining from her voice has made her sound fuller, and richer. Mind you, I think she sings things a step or so lower now, but then she's getting about middle-aged, so if she is... I can forgive her .

Lucia Popp. Have you heard her stuff? Older singer, and she was a GREAT Queen of the Night in Klemperer's recording of The Magic Flute.

Yeah, she was a fantastic Queen of the Night! I don't like her version quite as much as Natalie Dessay's, but that is a truly wicked aria, and Lucia Popp sang it incredibly.



I mentioned Samuel Ramey earlier in my post--have you heard any of his stuff before, Hector? He's great, and was my favorite Bass/Baritone/Whatever before I 'met' Bryn Trefel .


[It wouldn't let me do the post as one post o.O I had to split it up.]

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Tessar

It's so subjective... I'd really suggest that you listen to the clips on iTunes and on Amazon.com or Barns and Nobel. I think if you enjoy her, you'll just love the way she sings them. Really she sounds vaguely like Cecilia Bartoli on it, and at a few points I could almost swear that it -was- Cecilia . But she slams into some of those notes, and isn't -half- as melismatic as Ceclia is. So it's a different sound.

You might enjoy it... I know I certainly enjoyed parts of the clips I've heard.

Well...I'm listening to clips of it right now...

And yes, you are wrong to have reservations about her.

She isn't as "precise" as Bartoli, but then again, who is?

In a nutshell: yes . I honestly don't understand why -anyone- would introduce people to Opera via singers like Mrs. Fleming, or Horne. I feel that you do much better by introducing first a lyric voice, or maybe a low male voice. Most people seem to love a good, rich baritone, or a light soprano (on an aria that doesn't go -too- high).

Well, I know that the wobbly stuff really scared me off when I first heard opera. And Canio's "cry/laugh" aria in Pagliacci. That was for me, quite shocking...

I really think (at least in the later recordings) singers like Fleming, Horne, Samuel Ramie, and such are best reserved for after you've had a taste of 'Opera Lite' as I like to call it . Of course I'm sure it will differ from person to person, but I remember I was -floored- the first time I heard my choir master's wife... Huge, rich voice, but a -completely- different sound from those 'wobbly' opera stars I had heard before. However, since exploring further, I've come to enjoy a few of those wobbly opera singers a bit more .

I agree, it's the smooher voiced opera that attracts people. Nessun Dorma is what made me like opera finally.

Wobbly singers are awesome though, and there's no way to avoid it, especially for Wagner and Verdi.

I don't think anyone could disagree with that. And, although I'm not terribly enamored of her yet, I would still have to kill anyone who said otherwise. Just 'cuz .

So it's more official than anything, for you?

If I had any idea where you lived, I'd send you a CD . She is someone you've absolutely got to listen to. Check YouTube and you'll find some great clips of her... although they're not quite as good as she is today. She's improved her technique since they were done.

I go to youtube frequently...I'll go check it out.