Hello All,
We’re at the point in the semester where I can’t think of any bits and pieces of English Diction and the execution thereof that we haven’t touched on. And as I try and find a few more singers for you to listen to and a few more composers to expose you to and a few more songs for you to get to know, I keep running into the same wall – namely, that English is not a very legato language and therefore only seems to “sing” when the words and the stresses of the words (both in terms of syllabic stress and stress within sentences and clauses) are given equal importance. It’s an odd phenomenon: Americans tend to love someone with an accent – we find it exotic. But we tend to not like hearing English sung with an accent. We want to know what the words are. In the European countries where I’ve sung it tends to be the opposite. French, Germans and Italians tend to not love their languages spoken with accents but if someone has a beautiful voice they’re not typically concerned with how much the language is getting massacred. (This is all rather anecdotal of course.)
My point is, as always, you’re singing to express a poem (or a story in an operas). In a perfect world the audience is captivated by both your voice and the message. But the former should always be at the service of the latter.
This week I have 3 songs for you by three iconic American composers sung by three iconic American singers. First up is Rorem’s “Early in the Morning” sung by Susan Graham whom you should all get to know. Susan is still very much on the scene and always sings with profound taste and clarity. Next is Sandy Sylvan singing Samuel Barber’s The Monk and His Cat from “Hermit Songs” which, if you don’t them – you should! Sandy is still singing though he now teaches at Julliard. Lastly is Thomas Hampson singing Bernstein’s “To what you said” from “Songfest” on a poem of Walt Whitman. For you baritones who need chamber music on your senior recital, this song has a cello part as well though it’s not heard on this recording. There is a video of a baritone singing the orchestrated version with Bernstein conducting if you’re interested. Hampson has been one of the most famous baritones in the world now for 30 years and was a favorite of Bernstein’s. By the way, this song has a 2 minute introduction which you’ll love if you’ll take the time to find a quiet moment to listen to it.
What makes these singers sound American? For that matter, what makes the songs sound American?
Susan Graham
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDOAxJ2ARnU
Sandy Sylvan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLdRwJ1vEtk
Thomas Hampson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ezIP4LAOoE
We’re at the point in the semester where I can’t think of any bits and pieces of English Diction and the execution thereof that we haven’t touched on. And as I try and find a few more singers for you to listen to and a few more composers to expose you to and a few more songs for you to get to know, I keep running into the same wall – namely, that English is not a very legato language and therefore only seems to “sing” when the words and the stresses of the words (both in terms of syllabic stress and stress within sentences and clauses) are given equal importance. It’s an odd phenomenon: Americans tend to love someone with an accent – we find it exotic. But we tend to not like hearing English sung with an accent. We want to know what the words are. In the European countries where I’ve sung it tends to be the opposite. French, Germans and Italians tend to not love their languages spoken with accents but if someone has a beautiful voice they’re not typically concerned with how much the language is getting massacred. (This is all rather anecdotal of course.)
My point is, as always, you’re singing to express a poem (or a story in an operas). In a perfect world the audience is captivated by both your voice and the message. But the former should always be at the service of the latter.
This week I have 3 songs for you by three iconic American composers sung by three iconic American singers. First up is Rorem’s “Early in the Morning” sung by Susan Graham whom you should all get to know. Susan is still very much on the scene and always sings with profound taste and clarity. Next is Sandy Sylvan singing Samuel Barber’s The Monk and His Cat from “Hermit Songs” which, if you don’t them – you should! Sandy is still singing though he now teaches at Julliard. Lastly is Thomas Hampson singing Bernstein’s “To what you said” from “Songfest” on a poem of Walt Whitman. For you baritones who need chamber music on your senior recital, this song has a cello part as well though it’s not heard on this recording. There is a video of a baritone singing the orchestrated version with Bernstein conducting if you’re interested. Hampson has been one of the most famous baritones in the world now for 30 years and was a favorite of Bernstein’s. By the way, this song has a 2 minute introduction which you’ll love if you’ll take the time to find a quiet moment to listen to it.
What makes these singers sound American? For that matter, what makes the songs sound American?
Susan Graham
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDOAxJ2ARnU
Sandy Sylvan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLdRwJ1vEtk
Thomas Hampson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ezIP4LAOoE
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