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.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
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...
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