This book shall be invaluable to me and any male or female singer who is planning on doing an entire Dichterliebe or any Schumann song cycle to complete one of their life-long goals. I also loved reading through The Schubert Song Cycles with thoughts on performance by the same author. The author gives the reader a sense of what the book is about right in the preface. He says that he mainly attempts to talk about questions of ensemble between the singer and pianist; mood, tempi, rhythm, color, and feeling. I’m a lover of Schumann’s entire output and I especially love Gerald Moore’s artistry. I am anxious to see just how valuable this book will be to me over the course of my life. I plan on buying this book. I have sung Liederkreis Op. 39 and I enjoyed skimming through the pages of the songs I particularly delighted in singing. This book is easy to read because there are only a few pages dedicated to each song, and the format is pretty much the same for every song. The translation of the poem under the song title is especially elegant. In the analysis of the song Mondnacht: Moore immediately launches into the symbolism of the music. It was very informative and could indeed enhance the performance for a singer. This book is good because it gives the performer something to think about while they are not singing and the piano is playing. This is important because what the singer is thinking is represented on the face and the audience sees the face. Moore talks in language that a pianist might understand better than a singer. Moore emphasizes key signature agreeing with poetry and demonstrates Schumann’s attention to words and their importance. Moore is a supporter of rubato and any pianist who loves to play lieder would be wise to read this book. Singers would benefit from pianists who admire or adhere to Moore’s style of playing. He says rubato is “subject to good taste and form,” with which I particularly agreed. In terms of teaching, I am especially anxious to use this book when I give selections of Frauenliebe und Leben to female singers to study and live with. This book is mainly for performers and it should be used liberally in that regard.
The Truth About the USDA
Even if you don’t agree with my lifestyle choice, you will most likely agree with most of this…
http://signon.org/sign/the-truth-about-the-usda.fb23?source=s.icn.fb&r_by=746176
Day (428) - The Streak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tcgneoycAw
Have you ever opened your eyes in the morning and felt like you were on a streak? A winning streak. A streak where you know that you are back on track and moving in the right direction? What would you do with this feeling? What can you do with this feeling? How will you take it and use it to change the world?
Very inspirational. Thank you!
Essay on Breathing
Bach B Minor Mass Solos!!
Great news! I will be singing the Bass solos in J.S. Bach’s monumental B minor Mass with the Bloomington Chamber Singers and the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra on Saturday, April 13, 8pm & Sunday, April 14, @ 3pm at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church. Here the are some videos/audio to give you a taste:
The Wanderer and the Linden Tree from Schubert’s Winterreise
The Wanderer character is associated with images and themes of German Romantic poets. They sought to go beyond what is known. The new German culture at the eighteenth-century sought to eliminate boundaries. Poets sought to explore the infinite and escape mundane existence.
The journey of the Wanderer, as in Die Schöne Müllerin, is ideally suited to the form of the song cycle because the Wanderer seeks true love. The Romantic ideal of true love is found only in death, or peaceful repose. Schubert’s musical setting of Müller’s poetry takes us on a journey of musical themes, keys, and relationships. A song cycle is just as perfectly suited to telling the story of a character as an opera is suited. Many ideas and emotions, even ambiguous, are explored. The listener, as well, goes on an emotional journey and sympathizes, even empathizes with the Wanderer. Nature, even, is a character in this song cycle. (DSM) The brook, represented by the piano, talks to the Wanderer. The performance is ideally suited for the stage.
Der Lindenbaum, no. 5 from Winterreise by Schubert is in itself a masterpiece. It too represents nature as a character in a story, which goes through a range of emotions within the major and minor tonalities. The tree is home for the weary traveler. It represents good memories. The tree is his resting place. The pianistic triplets are the rustling of the leaves. The voice is stentorian and folk-like. The traveler pledges gratitude to the tree as to an old friend. The tonality is major when he thinks of good memories, and vice versa. There is also an actual rhythmic tree-motive, and it appears through out: the dotted eighth followed by two thirty-seconds and a dotted eighth is the sequence. The poem is strophic and the music follows the structure of the poem. The melody ascends on words associated with joy, which represents heightened emotion. When the traveler passes the tree at night, he closes his eyes in darkness. Here, Schubert is in minor and the triplets are perhaps a grotesque dance. The poetic meter is in itself musical: important words are melismatic and have longer note duration. If the mood of the poem changes, so does the music. The horn call-motive represents the wandering minstrel or musician; as made popular in German culture with Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister. On the words “hier findst du deine Ruh,” (here you find your peace) the melodic line descends into the Romantic ideal of death.
Bass solo audition for Mass in B minor
Upcoming Bach audition
Thoughts on Performing
Halfway through the first semester of my Doctoral coursework, I rediscovered my passion for performing that had been dormant during my break from academics. Over the years I have established many important relationships with colleagues. An element of trust is understood between us; that if I am entrusted with the task of performing as a soloist or in a group, I take that responsibility seriously. I am reliable and am sure that my references will attest that I strive for a higher standard of performance quality even when the job is finished and we must temporarily part ways. My style of learning and teaching is to take what I have learned from one teacher or coach and directly apply it to the very next performing opportunity that presents itself.
As an artist, it is my pleasure, honor and privilege to provide the much needed service of classical singing to others. It is an art form that is immediately recognized by all who are passionate about life; people who are courageous enough to live it to its fullest. Opera has much to offer to those of us who have yet to discover its beauty; the drama, the tragedy, the wit, the humor, are fully and boldly expressed. My aim is to achieve a standard of quality in this medium that is comparable to a highly trained tennis player, swimmer, or an Olympic athlete. Skill and agility are the hallmarks of artistic singing. A singer should never take for granted the talent that is given him or her. Rigorous practice and honing of technique over many years are required for the true beauty of singing to shine. Working with numerous colleagues can help one understand the many challenges involved and the joy of building such a spectacular achievement, such as an operatic production. I know that I have worked with many fine artists and hope to continue to do so.
My goals in pursuing further musical education are to set an incredibly high standard of quality for myself by exploring all available avenues and resources in this art form. I intend to immerse myself with experienced performers and pedagogues alike to get only the best possible tools for my craft. By traveling and moving around an artist feels the pulse of what is required as a singer today in order to gain a successful and fruitful career in performance. I cannot imagine doing anything else. I know in my heart that music is my purpose and I will actively work towards success in performing and teaching for as long as I am able. One of my many intentions is to at once make the observer feel at ease; to make them smile or cry. Ideally, I would like the person watching my performance to be touched in such a way that they are reminded of their own happy experiences or heartaches, and they leave with a feeling of fulfillment. I want to craft the emotions within myself so that they are in tune with others. I seek to make years and years of hard work seem like effortless ease.
Serse (Xerxes) 2013
The servant disguised as a bird in a tree
design by Robert Perdziola
getting the idea to disguise himself as a tree to deliver the love letter, even though he’s in exile
The bridge of Ships connecting Europe to Asia
Serse planning victory on taking more land for himself
Romilda and Serse next to the famous tree that Serse sings to at the top of the opera
