Classical Music II

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Me, I just can't get enough of tasty contralto goodness.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Would you call Stephanie Blythe a dramatic mezzo?

How about Sara Mingardo a lyric contralto?

I would, but I'm going to be giving some of my friends an introduction to modern opera singers, and I want more than my own uninformed opinion as a basis for what I tell them.

[hectorberlioz]

My three favorites:

1) Cecilia Bartoli

2) Teresa Berganza (Pergolesi: La serva padrona- Stizzoso, mio stizzoso)

3) Joan Sutherland ("Massenet: Esclarmonde- Esprits de l'air! Esprits de l'onde! ... Roland! Roland! Roland!" Very thunderous and dangerous for the faint-hearted who only like twerp voices)


...and Marilyn Horne, and Lucia Popp, and...

[hectorberlioz]

Here's Sutherland singing "tornami a vagheggiar" from Handel's 'Alcina.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbUkmatbwcs

[Mari]

I listened to this before I went to the UK...
Guess what was stuck in my head the entire time? >_<

[Freeflying]

I cannot get enough of Bach´s cello suites - great music for working to - so calm and soothing!!

[Gwaimir Windgem]

This is just awesome. Watch those lips!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTpIRFiKTqo

[Gwaimir Windgem]

As 2009 begins, Ms. Genaux, assuming the role of the proud and fierce Amazon Queen, Antiope, completes a Virgin Classics recording of Vivaldi’s Ercole sul Termodonte, the sixteenth of the composer’s forty-eight stage works, at studios in Florence with a starry cast which includes: Diana Damrau, Patrizia Ciofi, Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels, Philippe Jaroussky, Rolando Villazón and Topi Lehtipuu, with Fabio Biondi/Europa Galante.

Boggle! The sheer star power is overwhelming!

Io manco!

[hectorberlioz]

I recently bought a box-set of the complete symphonies of Ralph Vaughn Williams. I haven't familiarized with most of them yet, but A Sea Symphony (aka Sym.No.1), is quite powerful and moving.

[Mari]

Hector, I listened to that CD: "What if Mozart wrote 'have yourself a merry christmas'". It was quite alright and fun to hear the interpretation. Recognizable also, but I do prefer Mozart and Christmas songs being separated. It's not something I will listen to time and time again, but it's fun for a few times
Thanks for the recommending!

[hectorberlioz]

I have been listening to a lot of Sibelius recently. Everything I own of his has been getting a listen and a re-listen. Especially the Seventh Symphony, which is to me his masterpiece now.

Mari,
So it was fun, but not endearing. Ah well. I haven't heard the CD myself, so I don't know.

[Mari]

Well, there were a few songs I thought were rendered real well, but also a few that just weren't quite right.
I had my dad convert it to MP3, so I can throw the ones I don't like away and keep the rest to listen to once in a while.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Ian Bostridge, anyone? I quite like him.

[hectorberlioz]

Yes, he's good. I have a disc of Schubert lieder with him. I can't honestly say I listen to it much, though. But Bostridge has a very good voice, and excellent diction.

[Tessar]

Ian Bostridge is a very nice tenor, but I can't watch him sing. He makes it look so freaking DIFFICULT. It's weird because, to listen to him, you wouldn't ever dream that he's putting out that much effort.

Good voice, although I don't know I'd say I'm a huge fan of him.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Tessar

Good voice, although I don't know I'd say I'm a huge fan of him.

You're just jealous .

But my favorite male singers are along the line of Jon Vickers and Ben Heppner. Real singers who can carry the evening.

Hm. Both Canadians. I guess Canada just produces the best operatic tenors.

[Tessar]

Jealous of his career: Yes. His voice: Eh. Jealous that it's done maturing, maybe

I'm very happy to be a baritone, and I hope my voice is a little more free than Ian's tends to be when I finish with my training. You don't look like you're working THAT HARD when everything's correctly humming along . Have you seen his jaw when he does forte or fast passages? Ouch.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Tessar

Jealous of his career: Yes. His voice: Eh. Jealous that it's done maturing, maybe

I'm very happy to be a baritone, and I hope my voice is a little more free than Ian's tends to be when I finish with my training. You don't look like you're working THAT HARD when everything's correctly humming along . Have you seen his jaw when he does forte or fast passages? Ouch.

Nah, I don't watch videos or dvds of opera or anything. Though I have watched a few clips of Cecilia Bartoli singing, on YouTube. Suffice it to say---though I am still in love with her---it wasn't always a pretty sight.

As for Bostridge, if things are that painful for him singing Schubert and such...all I can say is: don't do Wagner! . It takes real pain to be able to sing Wagner.

[Tessar]

If you have an appropriate voice to sing Wagner, it's not supposed to be painful unless you really are doing something wrong . But no, Ian Bostridge is far from being a Wagnerian singer.

If you have a light voice like Ian, you -can- sing Wagner, but it wont have a lot of punch to it... so if you try to force your voice to have a lot of punch then you can hurt yourself.

Just for instance there's a guy in my voice studio who has a voice that's really about medium sized, but it's very heavy and 'thick' sounding. He sounds fantastic singing Wagner. My voice is about the same size as his (maybe a little softer), but definitely not thick and heavy. I wouldn't sound very good singing Wagner, but there are other arias I can sing that he would sound clumsy trying to sing. It's not that he can't sing fast passages--his voice just sounds so thick that it doesn't sound very clean, even when he's spot on.

P.S. Don't mind me, I'm just cranky because I'm trying not to eat too many christmas cookies and the effort is driving me insane.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Tessar

If you have an appropriate voice to sing Wagner, it's not supposed to be painful unless you really are doing something wrong .

Well that's true too, but I'm talking about four hours on almost non-stop action and singing. The Whole CAHUNA.

But no, Ian Bostridge is far from being a Wagnerian singer.
If you have a light voice like Ian, you -can- sing Wagner, but it wont have a lot of punch to it... so if you try to force your voice to have a lot of punch then you can hurt yourself.

That makes sense. If you punched yourself, you might give yourself a black eye.

Just for instance there's a guy in my voice studio who has a voice that's really about medium sized, but it's very heavy and 'thick' sounding. He sounds fantastic singing Wagner. My voice is about the same size as his (maybe a little softer), but definitely not thick and heavy. I wouldn't sound very good singing Wagner, but there are other arias I can sing that he would sound clumsy trying to sing. It's not that he can't sing fast passages--his voice just sounds so thick that it doesn't sound very clean, even when he's spot on.

Indeed. In these days of the Recording Era, artists sometimes go after repertory that they aren't suited to. Back in the day though, composers were always writing with certain singers in mind. Pavarotti, rest his soul, would suck in German opera. Though Placido Domingo seems to have accomplished it quite effectively in Tristan und Isolde.

P.S. Don't mind me, I'm just cranky because I'm trying not to eat too many christmas cookies and the effort is driving me insane.

Give in to the Dark Side, Tessar! Feel the hunger rise inside you, filling you with cookie-lust .