The last few days I've been trying to get my head around something which to me was a piece of news, even though perhaps I should have known. I'm ashamed to admit I'm even concerned about it, but since my blog is my primary place to vent when it comes to music, I'll write about it anyway.
As shown in the first video of my last blog post, I've been listening to and watching a lot of Theodora lately, a Glyndebourne production I was drawn to first and foremost by the fact that David Daniels played the male leading role. I have several of his recordings and I've always been amazed at his tone and effortless style, and Theodora only enhanced my positive opinion of him.
Out of curiosity I then started doing some "research" to see what he was up to currently, since the Theodora production was from the mid 90's when he was still a very fresh countertenor on the music scene. What I did find out however was a little more than I wanted to know.
I have no problems with David Daniels, or anyone else for that matter, being gay. What surprised me however was how persistent he was in "flaunting" it and making sure it was mentioned in every article written about him. His reason for this was that it was important to him because being gay was a "very big" part of who he was. Another article mentions an unattractive, straight personal trainer he hired, followed by the "explanatory" quote "I'm not an idiot", alongside a photo of him posing shirtless under a waterfall or shower with his head thrown back. In the same article the interviewer, who was also gay, said he'd had requests to ask for a lock of David's chest hair, upon which David replied "It's not like I'd miss it or anything."
It made me sad to read pieces like this where the focus was so much more on sexuality than the music, and discovering that it was not just the journalist's fault, but often his own intention that the gay part was talked about. I don't care who he's with because it's none of my business, I just find myself getting annoyed when I hear people talking about their sexuality as something that defines their whole personality, their life, and I'd be even more annoyed to see it take over a man's career.
The fact that I knew nothing of this until I actively started looking for info may prove that Mr Daniels has done a good job of keeping his private and personal life separated, but the comment about him making sure his sexuality was mentioned in every article because he was so out and proud threw me off a little.
My thoughts started to wander to Max Emanuel Cencic, who is also openly gay, married - and whose sexuality has been evident for a long time without him having to talk about it. I googled him just as I did with David and out of all the entries I found there were NONE that focused on anything other than the music; his accomplishments, reviews, bios. Nothing that mentioned anything about his private life whatsoever.
The point I'm trying to make is that I'd be very sad to see a career be affected by a man's sexuality - there's no evidence as of yet that it will happen in Daniels' case, but if him being gay really is such a big percentage of his personality, how big is the musical percentage? And while I'm talking about big things I should perhaps also mention his ego (Just don't think I was going to refer to something else). He seems to be under the impression that he single-handedly was responsible for the general accept and renaissance of the countertenor voice. ("Frankly, I did that".)
I'm now a little torn between liking or disliking him. When one appreciates a talent, should one ignore the personality behind it and view them as two separate things or consider them together as an entity?
That having been said, let me clarify two things.
1) Once again, I have no trouble with people being gay as such. I'm not homophobic and don't intend to come across that way.
2) There is no question that David Daniels possesses a remarkable voice and I'm not trying to imply that he's not a gifted performer.
Now the only thing left is to wait and see if any tomatoes come flying in my direction...
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
A voice to fall in love in
That's right, to fall in love IN, not fall in love TO...
I confess I've always been strangely attracted to voices. It started out as a childish thing I could look back on and smile to myself, but it persisted and even today I have these "voice crushes".
You can laugh now.
But it is true and in this context I'm a proud polygamist. Sometimes I can listen almost exclusively to one singer and sometimes I listen to a lot of people, rediscovering their voices in the process. Having said that, let me present my current "voice crush": Richard Croft.
The funny thing is that I had actually heard and seen him several times in various videos (again, I think youtube is one of the world's best inventions) before I saw him in Theodora in a Glyndebourne production from the mid 90's and wondered why on earth I hadn't been so impressed with him before. One theory is perhaps that that particular Händel piece hypnotized me in general and I loved the arias he did as Septimius, not just his performance but the compositions as a whole..and the combination turned out to be just perfect.
However, when I started to revisit the videos where I had seen him previously (not knowing who he was at the time) I was no less impressed. Like his opening aria in the great (and first ever fully staged) version of the Messiah:
(aria doesn't start until a few minutes into the video, there's the overture and a recitativo first)
In addition to that I started looking up more youtube videos and his recordings on iTunes, and I'm still just as enthusiastic. Of course I'm in no position to be 100% objective or give my opinions on technique etc, but I will say that to my ears, his voice has that certain inexplicable something that can soothe and give strength at the same time and just strikes a chord within you. And that is a very valuable quality.
I confess I've always been strangely attracted to voices. It started out as a childish thing I could look back on and smile to myself, but it persisted and even today I have these "voice crushes".
You can laugh now.
But it is true and in this context I'm a proud polygamist. Sometimes I can listen almost exclusively to one singer and sometimes I listen to a lot of people, rediscovering their voices in the process. Having said that, let me present my current "voice crush": Richard Croft.
The funny thing is that I had actually heard and seen him several times in various videos (again, I think youtube is one of the world's best inventions) before I saw him in Theodora in a Glyndebourne production from the mid 90's and wondered why on earth I hadn't been so impressed with him before. One theory is perhaps that that particular Händel piece hypnotized me in general and I loved the arias he did as Septimius, not just his performance but the compositions as a whole..and the combination turned out to be just perfect.
However, when I started to revisit the videos where I had seen him previously (not knowing who he was at the time) I was no less impressed. Like his opening aria in the great (and first ever fully staged) version of the Messiah:
(aria doesn't start until a few minutes into the video, there's the overture and a recitativo first)
In addition to that I started looking up more youtube videos and his recordings on iTunes, and I'm still just as enthusiastic. Of course I'm in no position to be 100% objective or give my opinions on technique etc, but I will say that to my ears, his voice has that certain inexplicable something that can soothe and give strength at the same time and just strikes a chord within you. And that is a very valuable quality.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The times they are a-changing
During the last six months I've come to realise that I am in fact getting older.....
I browsed through some of the older posts in this blog and wondered why I'd recommended them because I don't have any interest in their music any longer.
"They" include mostly the whole classical-crossover genre. It started out with a handful of singers and now the term seems to apply to a) any singer with a vibrato voice, b) any pop song with sufficient orchestral sound, c) any aria rearranged as a pop song or d) any pop song rewritten and rearranged as an operatic number. And probably a lot of other categories.
My point is, it takes so little for a pop singer to be considered classical crossover (and vice versa). One Ave Maria and suddenly it's considered classical. Which is another thing that confuses me - as of late it seems they don't bother mentioning the crossover bit - maybe it's too long, or maybe the people in charge actually want the general public to consider this music classical as in the real deal. Which I object strongly to.
It's not that I want the "real" classical music to be exclusively for one group of people, I just don't want the general public to be fooled into thinking that Il Divo is a synonym to opera. Maybe some think they can't listen to opera because it's "only for the posh people", and I feel it's important to emphasize that classical music is for everyone and you don't have to be a stuck-up snob to enjoy it.
I'm a little saddened by talented classical singers out there who are fully capable of recording opera arias but choose instead to go with the crossover flow and do Ave Marias and chestnuts because they think it's more money in it. Which might be true, I don't know, but I don't see why these people don't choose instead to be true to the art.
I don't mean to sound like a snob or like I'm condemning people who listen to this kind of music, but this post serves just as much as an opportunity to show people who I am today and what I like musically instead of hiding behind who I was 5-6 years ago.
I browsed through some of the older posts in this blog and wondered why I'd recommended them because I don't have any interest in their music any longer.
"They" include mostly the whole classical-crossover genre. It started out with a handful of singers and now the term seems to apply to a) any singer with a vibrato voice, b) any pop song with sufficient orchestral sound, c) any aria rearranged as a pop song or d) any pop song rewritten and rearranged as an operatic number. And probably a lot of other categories.
My point is, it takes so little for a pop singer to be considered classical crossover (and vice versa). One Ave Maria and suddenly it's considered classical. Which is another thing that confuses me - as of late it seems they don't bother mentioning the crossover bit - maybe it's too long, or maybe the people in charge actually want the general public to consider this music classical as in the real deal. Which I object strongly to.
It's not that I want the "real" classical music to be exclusively for one group of people, I just don't want the general public to be fooled into thinking that Il Divo is a synonym to opera. Maybe some think they can't listen to opera because it's "only for the posh people", and I feel it's important to emphasize that classical music is for everyone and you don't have to be a stuck-up snob to enjoy it.
I'm a little saddened by talented classical singers out there who are fully capable of recording opera arias but choose instead to go with the crossover flow and do Ave Marias and chestnuts because they think it's more money in it. Which might be true, I don't know, but I don't see why these people don't choose instead to be true to the art.
I don't mean to sound like a snob or like I'm condemning people who listen to this kind of music, but this post serves just as much as an opportunity to show people who I am today and what I like musically instead of hiding behind who I was 5-6 years ago.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
catching up - some great singers and albums
Sadly, when I'm busy I confess blogging is at the bottom of my priority list. Because of that, and the fact that the papers and analytic writing I have to do at Uni makes me cringe at the thought of writing anything regardless of setting or genre, I haven't blogged in a while. That's not to say I haven't been listening to music.
In fact I feel I need music now more than ever - it's what helps me relax when everything else is stressful. So here are some singers and albums I've been listening to recently - I'll be a geek and start off with the classical bit.
I have known of Ian Bostridge for quite some time but it wasn't until recently that I actually "discovered" his voice. I think perhaps what made me not want to listen to him a few years ago was his reportoire because I had heard he did mostly Lieder and I decided it was not for me. But as it turns out, even though Lieder is unarguably his specialty, he has performed a wide range of music - Mozart, Britten, Vaughan Williams, and Händel as seen in the first video. I have now begun to dig into his Lieder work too - his interpretation of Schubert's Ständchen, as heard at the very beginning of the second video, is simply gorgeous.
The interesting thing about Ian Bostridge is that he's no "ordinary classical singer" in the sense that he hasn't been educated at any prestigious music school or conservatory - he started on an academic career and has a PhD in history, and even published a book on witchcraft. He only started singing professionally in the late 90's. Because of his academic career a lot of reviewers have pointed out his ability to connect with and communicate the lyrics, and commented on his intellectual approach to singing.
Another singer who has maybe a little unusual background in terms of music is the Finnish tenor Topi Lehtipuu.
He does have a good and proper musical education, but the surprise to some (or many) is the many ways in which he's used his voice through the years. He has performed Finnish folk music, been the lead vocalist in a prog rock band for 7 years, and even dubbed cartoons - He sang the role of Derek in the animated film "The Swan Princess" in the 90's.
However I think he's undoubtedly at his best when singing classical. Like in the video from a performance of Cosi Fan Tutte at the Glyndebourne festival, shown above.
I rediscovered his voice while listening through Vivaldi's La Fida Ninfa and his character sang only minor parts except for a breathtaking aria of over 9 minutes:
I say "rediscovered" because then I realised I had bought a recording featuring him, Rolando Villazon (who was the reason of the purchase at the time) and Patrizia Ciofi, a long time ago without knowing who he was.
I didn't know who Laura Marling was either before I browsed the iTunes festival catalogue (I have left the classical world for now). I was intrigued by the song called "My manic and I" and the album proved to be no less interesting.
Since I started developing a serious interest in the singer/songwriter style I've become increasingly picky. (You'd think it would be more natural to be picky at the start of the process and then broaden the horizon, but not so in my case) So sometimes when I hear solo voice accompanied by guitar strumming or piano tinkering I get the "heard it before" feeling - but the combination of the lyrics, voice and production in this case makes it a lot more interesting.
Interesting would also describe Imogen Heap. I have to say that in a world where a female pop star should preferably be a size 0 doll-like woman with long blond hair and skimpy clothes (and in many cases, the lack of voice is just as apparent as lack of clothes), Imogen is really like a breath of fresh air. She's been around for a while now, but sticks to her own style both musically and in terms of appearance.
And not only does she write her own songs, she also produces and mixes them herself. In addition to solo work she's also devoted herself to successful collaboration projects, such as Frou Frou.
How's that for girl power?
I'm going to leave it at that for now - I could probably go on and on, but I'll "save" some for later. Later meaning a day or two, not three months...
In fact I feel I need music now more than ever - it's what helps me relax when everything else is stressful. So here are some singers and albums I've been listening to recently - I'll be a geek and start off with the classical bit.
I have known of Ian Bostridge for quite some time but it wasn't until recently that I actually "discovered" his voice. I think perhaps what made me not want to listen to him a few years ago was his reportoire because I had heard he did mostly Lieder and I decided it was not for me. But as it turns out, even though Lieder is unarguably his specialty, he has performed a wide range of music - Mozart, Britten, Vaughan Williams, and Händel as seen in the first video. I have now begun to dig into his Lieder work too - his interpretation of Schubert's Ständchen, as heard at the very beginning of the second video, is simply gorgeous.
The interesting thing about Ian Bostridge is that he's no "ordinary classical singer" in the sense that he hasn't been educated at any prestigious music school or conservatory - he started on an academic career and has a PhD in history, and even published a book on witchcraft. He only started singing professionally in the late 90's. Because of his academic career a lot of reviewers have pointed out his ability to connect with and communicate the lyrics, and commented on his intellectual approach to singing.
Another singer who has maybe a little unusual background in terms of music is the Finnish tenor Topi Lehtipuu.
He does have a good and proper musical education, but the surprise to some (or many) is the many ways in which he's used his voice through the years. He has performed Finnish folk music, been the lead vocalist in a prog rock band for 7 years, and even dubbed cartoons - He sang the role of Derek in the animated film "The Swan Princess" in the 90's.
However I think he's undoubtedly at his best when singing classical. Like in the video from a performance of Cosi Fan Tutte at the Glyndebourne festival, shown above.
I rediscovered his voice while listening through Vivaldi's La Fida Ninfa and his character sang only minor parts except for a breathtaking aria of over 9 minutes:
I say "rediscovered" because then I realised I had bought a recording featuring him, Rolando Villazon (who was the reason of the purchase at the time) and Patrizia Ciofi, a long time ago without knowing who he was.
I didn't know who Laura Marling was either before I browsed the iTunes festival catalogue (I have left the classical world for now). I was intrigued by the song called "My manic and I" and the album proved to be no less interesting.
Since I started developing a serious interest in the singer/songwriter style I've become increasingly picky. (You'd think it would be more natural to be picky at the start of the process and then broaden the horizon, but not so in my case) So sometimes when I hear solo voice accompanied by guitar strumming or piano tinkering I get the "heard it before" feeling - but the combination of the lyrics, voice and production in this case makes it a lot more interesting.
Interesting would also describe Imogen Heap. I have to say that in a world where a female pop star should preferably be a size 0 doll-like woman with long blond hair and skimpy clothes (and in many cases, the lack of voice is just as apparent as lack of clothes), Imogen is really like a breath of fresh air. She's been around for a while now, but sticks to her own style both musically and in terms of appearance.
And not only does she write her own songs, she also produces and mixes them herself. In addition to solo work she's also devoted herself to successful collaboration projects, such as Frou Frou.
How's that for girl power?
I'm going to leave it at that for now - I could probably go on and on, but I'll "save" some for later. Later meaning a day or two, not three months...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Radu Marian and the mystery of the voice
I have a challenge for you:
Watch this video and try not to fall off your chair when this man starts to sing.
As people may have noticed by now (I don't see how they couldn't....) I've recently had and still have a great interest in the countertenor voice. Now my horizons have been broadened to include the rare phenomenon of the "male soprano" - Men whose voices for various reasons can go even higher than a countertenor voice. However they don't use falsetto like countertenors do, and their register doesn't go as low as that of countertenors. Many of them (though it's only a handful of singers who go by the term male soprano in the first place) don't even have a male sounding speaking voice.
As is the case with Radu Marian. His speaking voice has been described as "a wisp of smoke", which the author of the same article attributes to the fact that Radu, at 17, had severe laryngitis because he strained his voice trying to sing in the tenor range, which of course was too deep for him. Consequently he didn't talk, or go to school, for a whole year. He did eventually regain his vocal abilities, but his voice never changed like that of his peers. He still couldn't sing just as high as he could when he was a child (he claims that back then he could sing a whole octave higher), but his voice still soars higher than one would think is possible for a grown man.
Which he naturally finds himself defending every day - there are plenty of people who refuse to believe what their ears and eyes tell them; there is no way that voice can come from a man. No wonder he taught himself to talk back. At school he had a female singing teacher who boldly asked him straight out if he was a woman or a man, to which he replied "If you were a little bit younger, I would show you".
One can't help but feel a little sorry for a man whose talent evokes cliche questions rather than just please the ear, and who probably has to deal with those questions for the rest of his life, but Marian himself doesn't seem to let it get to him. Apart from the obvious alterations that comes with the life as a touring performer, Marian leads a fairly normal life. He and his Russian wife have been married for 7 years, he's deeply religious and apart from a somewhat slight frame and short stature, he looks nothing like his mysterious miracle voice would indicate.
Nevertheless, it might take time before one grows accustomed to such a voice, so I leave you with a second video of Radu's amazing talent.
Watch this video and try not to fall off your chair when this man starts to sing.
As people may have noticed by now (I don't see how they couldn't....) I've recently had and still have a great interest in the countertenor voice. Now my horizons have been broadened to include the rare phenomenon of the "male soprano" - Men whose voices for various reasons can go even higher than a countertenor voice. However they don't use falsetto like countertenors do, and their register doesn't go as low as that of countertenors. Many of them (though it's only a handful of singers who go by the term male soprano in the first place) don't even have a male sounding speaking voice.
As is the case with Radu Marian. His speaking voice has been described as "a wisp of smoke", which the author of the same article attributes to the fact that Radu, at 17, had severe laryngitis because he strained his voice trying to sing in the tenor range, which of course was too deep for him. Consequently he didn't talk, or go to school, for a whole year. He did eventually regain his vocal abilities, but his voice never changed like that of his peers. He still couldn't sing just as high as he could when he was a child (he claims that back then he could sing a whole octave higher), but his voice still soars higher than one would think is possible for a grown man.
Which he naturally finds himself defending every day - there are plenty of people who refuse to believe what their ears and eyes tell them; there is no way that voice can come from a man. No wonder he taught himself to talk back. At school he had a female singing teacher who boldly asked him straight out if he was a woman or a man, to which he replied "If you were a little bit younger, I would show you".
One can't help but feel a little sorry for a man whose talent evokes cliche questions rather than just please the ear, and who probably has to deal with those questions for the rest of his life, but Marian himself doesn't seem to let it get to him. Apart from the obvious alterations that comes with the life as a touring performer, Marian leads a fairly normal life. He and his Russian wife have been married for 7 years, he's deeply religious and apart from a somewhat slight frame and short stature, he looks nothing like his mysterious miracle voice would indicate.
Nevertheless, it might take time before one grows accustomed to such a voice, so I leave you with a second video of Radu's amazing talent.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
3 great live albums
I don't feel I can call this a review since I attended two of the three concerts in question and am not able to be objective... so I'll just call them recommendations.
VARIOUS ARTISTS - CHESS IN CONCERT
I've been awaiting this release ever since I attended the performance(s) in Royal Albert Hall in May last year (as described in another blog post). Since expectations have been built up for over a year I was afraid of being disappointed, but in terms of musical quality this recording has fulfilled all of my expectations, high as they may be. My only negative remarks have to be made about the confusion around the release itself, which has been put off several times; the full CD/DVD edition is not released yet (my copy is a digital download included in the CD/DVD price because I pre-ordered through Josh Groban's fan club)
The other thing that annoyed me slightly, but probably only because I attended the performance on both nights, is that the recording is from the second night. I felt the atmosphere and also the vocal performance of some cast members were even better the first night. But all in all it's a breathtaking double CD. Now I'm impatient for the CD/DVD pack to arrive so I can watch and relive the performance in all its glory.
LIND/NILSEN/FUENTES/HOLM - HALLELUJAH LIVE VOL 2
It sounds like a worship album, but it's not. The quartet including one World Idol (Kurt Nilsen), one of Norway's most respected pop artists (Espen Lind), one Norwegian Idol second runner up (Alejandro Fuentes) and one newcomer singer-songwriter (Askil Holm) teamed up in 2006 and enjoyed great success with their concerts of cover songs mixed with songs from each artist's own career. They then released the CD and DVD "Hallelujah live" which became just as popular. The following year they decided to call it a day and went back to their solo careers, but they just couldn't keep apart - and this is the result. A lot of reviewers have given them a hard time and suggested they should have spared themselves the comeback, but judging by the atmosphere at the concert I attended (from which the album was recorded), people in general are more than happy to have them back. It was a magical night and this album too fulfills all of my expectations. One reviewer stated it was a nice souvenir to people who were at the concert (suggesting there was nothing more to it), but I think people who weren't there will also be able to enjoy the cd.
MICHAEL BUBLE MEETS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
This CD (that also comes with a documentary DVD) has been criticized by Michael's own fans for the lack of tracks (10) and while I understand their frustration, the quality makes up for any lack of quantity. The little collection of songs includes tracks from his 3 previous studio albums, rearranged and with that great energy only Michael can give them. He really seems to let loose and it sounds closer to the Webster Hall concert (which was streamed on MSN) than to the previous live release Caught in the Act. For a second I was worried that the energy and jokes would take the focus away from the vocals entirely (while his stage presence and energy is great to witness, his voice should not get 2nd place); like on This Thing Called Love and I've Got The World On A String, but he really lets his voice shine, as it should, on Home and Lost, so all in all it makes a great balance.
VARIOUS ARTISTS - CHESS IN CONCERT
I've been awaiting this release ever since I attended the performance(s) in Royal Albert Hall in May last year (as described in another blog post). Since expectations have been built up for over a year I was afraid of being disappointed, but in terms of musical quality this recording has fulfilled all of my expectations, high as they may be. My only negative remarks have to be made about the confusion around the release itself, which has been put off several times; the full CD/DVD edition is not released yet (my copy is a digital download included in the CD/DVD price because I pre-ordered through Josh Groban's fan club)
The other thing that annoyed me slightly, but probably only because I attended the performance on both nights, is that the recording is from the second night. I felt the atmosphere and also the vocal performance of some cast members were even better the first night. But all in all it's a breathtaking double CD. Now I'm impatient for the CD/DVD pack to arrive so I can watch and relive the performance in all its glory.
LIND/NILSEN/FUENTES/HOLM - HALLELUJAH LIVE VOL 2
It sounds like a worship album, but it's not. The quartet including one World Idol (Kurt Nilsen), one of Norway's most respected pop artists (Espen Lind), one Norwegian Idol second runner up (Alejandro Fuentes) and one newcomer singer-songwriter (Askil Holm) teamed up in 2006 and enjoyed great success with their concerts of cover songs mixed with songs from each artist's own career. They then released the CD and DVD "Hallelujah live" which became just as popular. The following year they decided to call it a day and went back to their solo careers, but they just couldn't keep apart - and this is the result. A lot of reviewers have given them a hard time and suggested they should have spared themselves the comeback, but judging by the atmosphere at the concert I attended (from which the album was recorded), people in general are more than happy to have them back. It was a magical night and this album too fulfills all of my expectations. One reviewer stated it was a nice souvenir to people who were at the concert (suggesting there was nothing more to it), but I think people who weren't there will also be able to enjoy the cd.
MICHAEL BUBLE MEETS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
This CD (that also comes with a documentary DVD) has been criticized by Michael's own fans for the lack of tracks (10) and while I understand their frustration, the quality makes up for any lack of quantity. The little collection of songs includes tracks from his 3 previous studio albums, rearranged and with that great energy only Michael can give them. He really seems to let loose and it sounds closer to the Webster Hall concert (which was streamed on MSN) than to the previous live release Caught in the Act. For a second I was worried that the energy and jokes would take the focus away from the vocals entirely (while his stage presence and energy is great to witness, his voice should not get 2nd place); like on This Thing Called Love and I've Got The World On A String, but he really lets his voice shine, as it should, on Home and Lost, so all in all it makes a great balance.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
My iPod..
..is schizophrenic. It seems to mirror the musical taste of (at least) 10 different personalities.
Don't believe me?
I picked 10 random tracks from my iPod (with a little help from iTunes DJ) and the result is..well.. don't laugh.
Don't believe me?
I picked 10 random tracks from my iPod (with a little help from iTunes DJ) and the result is..well.. don't laugh.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The countertenor and his two voices
It's no secret to the people around me that I have a "thing" for countertenors. I'm simply fascinated by the sound of a countertenor voice; a voice that doesn't really sound like a man, then again not like a woman and not like child either, just some undefined sound of beauty.
Maybe people in the industry or in the small community of countertenors roll their eyes at this common description of their singing, as a lot of them are keen to make people view them as "just normal singers" equal to tenors, baritones and basses, not some other-worldly creature or something, in a way, unnatural or strange.
If they should be offended by my description above - I apologize, it was not my intention to be inaccurate, mocking or anything like that. But I do see why they can grow tired of defending themselves. Look up a performance of any countertenor on youtube and you're guaranteed to find comments along the lines of "Is that a woman?" or "He has got to be gay". People even include castration and hormonal disorders in their theories. It seems many jump to the conclusion that when a man is able to sing like that, something has to be wrong - it can't be a "real" man.
But these opinions are not only expressed on youtube. Philippe Jaroussky mentioned in an interview once that during a church concert in France, a teenage girl in the audience had cracked up laughing the instant he started to sing. Andreas Scholl, also in an interview, joked about the "taboo" around the countertenor voice by introducing himself like in an AA meeting - "Hello, my name is Andreas and I'm a countertenor". As a mere fan of countertenors I've even experienced people's misconceptions first hand - as I was trying to explain the difference between a castrato and a countertenor to some friends over lunch, I was told to change the subject because "we're eating".
Which would have been understandable had I gone into the gruesome details of what the castrati had to go through in order to keep their golden voices intact, but even when I didn't it was apparently too much. Therefore I will simply say, just to make the difference clear, that whereas a castrato had one voice which was very high and very flexible, a countertenor has one singing voice - head voice - and one speaking voice, which sounds like the normal speaking voice of any man. (I'm emphasizing this because it seems people sometimes think countertenors also speak in a high voice.)
Adding to that the misconception that countertenors have to be gay, no wonder the countertenors feel the need to defend themselves - sometimes by giving their audience a glimpse of their "other voice" in performances or recordings, or by moving into other musical genres.
For his CD of folk songs, Andreas Scholl included several tracks in which he used both of his voices to tell the story in the song; a conversation between two people. In his case it was not only the rare sound of his deeper voice that came as a surprise, but also the ease with which he switched between the two voices, creating the illusion of actually hearing two different singers.
Philippe Jaroussky surprised his audience in London recently (as shown above) by switching between his two voices during a performance of Sombrero (which he recorded in his countertenor voice only for his latest album Opium), and he also showed a glimpse of the same during a concert with L'Arpeggiata a while back - a concert which was described as a kind of baroque jam session; arranging the songs in new ways and even including jazz improvisations - where he sang a line in his speaking voice and then clasped his hand in front of his mouth as if he had "forgotten" which voice to use.
As for moving into other genres, there haven't been that many attempts that I know of, thankfully one should say.. however I have heard of two: Gérard Lesne trying to crossover into pop music and Andreas Scholl who have actually recorded a pop album. (The latter comes as less of a surprise though when we know he did actually dabble with electronica music before he started taking singing seriously)
I don't necessarily think that's the right approach to make countertenor voices more accepted, but I admire their courage for trying.
I suppose what I'm trying to do is to emphasize the fact that countertenors are NOT castrated, NOT women, not necessarily gay, and perfectly healthy, normal men.
*
I have already mentioned Philippe Jaroussky, Andreas Scholl and Gérard Lesne, but if you have an interest in countertenors you should also look up Robin Blaze, David Daniels, Xavier Sabata and Max Emanuel Cencic.
Maybe people in the industry or in the small community of countertenors roll their eyes at this common description of their singing, as a lot of them are keen to make people view them as "just normal singers" equal to tenors, baritones and basses, not some other-worldly creature or something, in a way, unnatural or strange.
If they should be offended by my description above - I apologize, it was not my intention to be inaccurate, mocking or anything like that. But I do see why they can grow tired of defending themselves. Look up a performance of any countertenor on youtube and you're guaranteed to find comments along the lines of "Is that a woman?" or "He has got to be gay". People even include castration and hormonal disorders in their theories. It seems many jump to the conclusion that when a man is able to sing like that, something has to be wrong - it can't be a "real" man.
But these opinions are not only expressed on youtube. Philippe Jaroussky mentioned in an interview once that during a church concert in France, a teenage girl in the audience had cracked up laughing the instant he started to sing. Andreas Scholl, also in an interview, joked about the "taboo" around the countertenor voice by introducing himself like in an AA meeting - "Hello, my name is Andreas and I'm a countertenor". As a mere fan of countertenors I've even experienced people's misconceptions first hand - as I was trying to explain the difference between a castrato and a countertenor to some friends over lunch, I was told to change the subject because "we're eating".
Which would have been understandable had I gone into the gruesome details of what the castrati had to go through in order to keep their golden voices intact, but even when I didn't it was apparently too much. Therefore I will simply say, just to make the difference clear, that whereas a castrato had one voice which was very high and very flexible, a countertenor has one singing voice - head voice - and one speaking voice, which sounds like the normal speaking voice of any man. (I'm emphasizing this because it seems people sometimes think countertenors also speak in a high voice.)
Adding to that the misconception that countertenors have to be gay, no wonder the countertenors feel the need to defend themselves - sometimes by giving their audience a glimpse of their "other voice" in performances or recordings, or by moving into other musical genres.
For his CD of folk songs, Andreas Scholl included several tracks in which he used both of his voices to tell the story in the song; a conversation between two people. In his case it was not only the rare sound of his deeper voice that came as a surprise, but also the ease with which he switched between the two voices, creating the illusion of actually hearing two different singers.
Philippe Jaroussky surprised his audience in London recently (as shown above) by switching between his two voices during a performance of Sombrero (which he recorded in his countertenor voice only for his latest album Opium), and he also showed a glimpse of the same during a concert with L'Arpeggiata a while back - a concert which was described as a kind of baroque jam session; arranging the songs in new ways and even including jazz improvisations - where he sang a line in his speaking voice and then clasped his hand in front of his mouth as if he had "forgotten" which voice to use.
As for moving into other genres, there haven't been that many attempts that I know of, thankfully one should say.. however I have heard of two: Gérard Lesne trying to crossover into pop music and Andreas Scholl who have actually recorded a pop album. (The latter comes as less of a surprise though when we know he did actually dabble with electronica music before he started taking singing seriously)
I don't necessarily think that's the right approach to make countertenor voices more accepted, but I admire their courage for trying.
I suppose what I'm trying to do is to emphasize the fact that countertenors are NOT castrated, NOT women, not necessarily gay, and perfectly healthy, normal men.
*
I have already mentioned Philippe Jaroussky, Andreas Scholl and Gérard Lesne, but if you have an interest in countertenors you should also look up Robin Blaze, David Daniels, Xavier Sabata and Max Emanuel Cencic.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The perfect year?
clockwise from top: Rolando Villazón, Philippe Jaroussky, Josh Groban, Clay Aiken, Odd Nordstoga, Michael Bublé.To me, that's what it looks like - at least musically. So many of my favourite artists have new albums coming out this year. According to amazon.fr, Philippe Jaroussky gets the honour of starting the party with his album of French songs, out in just a few days. In March, Rolando Villazon will release and album of Händel arias.
As far as the rest of the spring goes I don't have that much information (yet), but the anticipation of autumn makes up for it. Josh Groban has hinted his album will be out in late summer or early autumn, while Michael Bublé is also working on an album to be released around the same time. Odd Nordstoga is not resting on his laurels after his album success "Pilegrim" last year, and will have a new album out this autumn as well.
As for Clay Aiken's situation, nothing is certain yet. He did mention recording another album of cover songs, after his album of original songs - "On my way here" - failed to impress the critics. But recently it's been all over media sites and blogs that Clay has been dropped from his label RCA, so in terms of his music career his future doesn't look that bright. I hope however that he gets signed by another label and gets the chance to record whatever he wants, not just what people tell him to - and maybe even write more of his own songs.
If you know of any other good albums coming out this year, please let me know by commenting on this post!
Friday, January 16, 2009
What the...?
That was my first thought when I listened to my latest purchase from iTunes music store yesterday; three tracks from the album "Teatro d'amore" - works by Monteverdi. I had seen a very impressive youtube video from it featuring Philippe Jaroussky, whose voice I just can't get enough of, so I was certain I'd get my money's worth. In the first piece I bought, "Si dolce", I was at first too blown away by his voice to pay much attention to the arranging, but after that I became aware that something - I couldn't pinpoint it - reminded me more of a modern ballad than a piece from the 16th century. I also listened to Pur Ti Miro with nothing but enjoyment before I eventually sat down with "Ohime, ch'io cado". I couldn't believe what I heard.
(In this video, Si Dolce is the first number followed by Ohime ch'io cado)
Modern percussions, jazz improvisations? And no, it's not just a live "spur of the moment" thing, the studio recording is the same. I can only guess what they tried to achieve by it. Modernize an old piece of music to make classical music more attractive to young people? Did they suddenly realize that since even "pure" classical artists join the classical crossover market now and are marketed almost as pop artists, they should just jump on the wave? Was it just for fun (if so, in my opinion, they should have kept it to that one live performance and not made it the concept of a whole album)?
I really don't know. At any rate they should have included it in the album text in some way (viewable to digital download costumers as well), to warn listeners that what they see is not what they get. I was so confused and upset listening to that last track that I felt tricked; like I was almost entitled to get my 99 cents back (Just almost).
I really don't know what else to say about this, I'm still very confused. If you have any comments or theories I'd be interested in hearing them!
(In this video, Si Dolce is the first number followed by Ohime ch'io cado)
Modern percussions, jazz improvisations? And no, it's not just a live "spur of the moment" thing, the studio recording is the same. I can only guess what they tried to achieve by it. Modernize an old piece of music to make classical music more attractive to young people? Did they suddenly realize that since even "pure" classical artists join the classical crossover market now and are marketed almost as pop artists, they should just jump on the wave? Was it just for fun (if so, in my opinion, they should have kept it to that one live performance and not made it the concept of a whole album)?
I really don't know. At any rate they should have included it in the album text in some way (viewable to digital download costumers as well), to warn listeners that what they see is not what they get. I was so confused and upset listening to that last track that I felt tricked; like I was almost entitled to get my 99 cents back (Just almost).
I really don't know what else to say about this, I'm still very confused. If you have any comments or theories I'd be interested in hearing them!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)