My go-to piece for stress relief.
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My go-to piece for stress relief.

So…this is happening tonight. I’m singing in the solo quartet – anyone have a spare lung I could borrow? Geez, Allegri…. #ashwednesday #singerslife
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So…this is happening tonight. I’m singing in the solo quartet – anyone have a spare lung I could borrow? Geez, Allegri…. #ashwednesday #singerslife

God has particular languages, and one of them is music and one of them is mathematics.
David Foster Wallace, The Boston Globe, 2003

I can’t believe I’ve never heard this guy before!  Today’s Classical Music Monday post is a tenor showstopper from the world of Verdi opera, one which I’ve heard before and I’m sure many of you have heard as well at some point (probably sung by Pavarotti).  But I just ran across Franco Bonisolli singing it this morning (YouTube video here if you want to watch him sing it live), and I was floored by the sheer power of his voice.  Just wow.  His voice makes the soprano’s outburst in the middle of the song sound just pitiful.

Who else do you think sings a great “Di quella pira”?

Source: Spotify

Maria Callas - “Come’è lunga l’attesa…Mario, su presto! (by brightside18)

I have a love/hate relationship with Maria Callas, but here, there is only love.  This is my favorite recording of the end of Puccini’s Tosca, and I still get chills when she sings the last line, “O Scarpia, avanti a Dio!”

Source: youtube.com

Bach: Matthäus-Passion, Aria “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein” (by FiDiTanzer528)

This week’s Classical Music Monday post is a little late, but I’m fighting some sort of sickness, so I stayed in bed most of the day.  Today, I bring you the Aria “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein” along with its accompanying recitative, sung by the wonderful Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

This post is a good one for today for 2 reasons - firstly, I’m learning it myself at the moment and it’s a great example for me; and secondly, it’s Holy Week right now. The text of this aria is perfect as we head toward Good Friday.

Source: youtube.com

Sixth annual Bachanalia is a glorious success Last Friday was BACHanalia at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville, and Portara performed in it.  We had a blast, and we were a hit!  John Pitcher, in his ArtNowNashville review, had this to say about us: My favorite performance of the evening probably came from the Portara Ensemble in its more serious guise. The group, under the expert direction of Shreyas Patel, gave a luminous account of the famous Cantata No. 61 “Nun komm der Heiden Heiland.” The group sang with a beautifully blended sound and with unfailing sensitivity to the text. They followed with an equally glorious reading of “Jesu, bleibet meine Freude” (better known in the English-speaking world as “Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring”), which featured a vocal sound that truly shimmered and shined. I even had a little solo, singing the recitative “Siehe, siehe!” in the cantata.  Big thanks to Shreyas for letting me use the classical vocal training I don’t often get to use these days (most of my singing at the moment is choral). I’ll probably post more about Portara in the coming weeks - we’re getting ready for our Spring concerts in April. Isn’t this picture of Portara lovely?  We’re such a colorful group, lol.  Big thanks to whoever took it (probably someone with ArtNowNashville).  I’m the 5th one from the right in the “U”, wearing the dark purple shirt. Our complete musical offering was: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61 Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, singing the original German chorale text from BWV 147 movements 6 and 10 Cold and Fugue Season, arr. Ellen Foncannon
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Sixth annual Bachanalia is a glorious success

Last Friday was BACHanalia at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville, and Portara performed in it.  We had a blast, and we were a hit!  John Pitcher, in his ArtNowNashville review, had this to say about us:

My favorite performance of the evening probably came from the Portara Ensemble in its more serious guise. The group, under the expert direction of Shreyas Patel, gave a luminous account of the famous Cantata No. 61 “Nun komm der Heiden Heiland.” The group sang with a beautifully blended sound and with unfailing sensitivity to the text. They followed with an equally glorious reading of “Jesu, bleibet meine Freude” (better known in the English-speaking world as “Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring”), which featured a vocal sound that truly shimmered and shined.

I even had a little solo, singing the recitative “Siehe, siehe!” in the cantata.  Big thanks to Shreyas for letting me use the classical vocal training I don’t often get to use these days (most of my singing at the moment is choral).

I’ll probably post more about Portara in the coming weeks - we’re getting ready for our Spring concerts in April.

Isn’t this picture of Portara lovely?  We’re such a colorful group, lol.  Big thanks to whoever took it (probably someone with ArtNowNashville).  I’m the 5th one from the right in the “U”, wearing the dark purple shirt.

Our complete musical offering was:

  • Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61
  • Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, singing the original German chorale text from BWV 147 movements 6 and 10
  • Cold and Fugue Season, arr. Ellen Foncannon

Source: artnownashville.com

Music City Baroque will scale the lofty heights of Bach’s mighty mass

Music City Baroque

Here’s an article from ArtNowNashville.com about the upcoming Bach B minor Mass performance by Music City Baroque.  I’m singing in the choir for this (20 singers total, 4 on a part), and - personal bias aside - this is something that you don’t want to miss.

It’s on Sunday - 3pm at St. George’s Episcopal Church, Nashville, TN.  Free, with a $10 suggested donation (don’t let that keep you from coming though).  Hope to see you there!

Recital?

The other day, I was reminded that I haven’t performed a solo recital in about 2 years now.  Likewise, I haven’t had a voice lesson in that same time.  I’m thinking I need to fix this, and soon.

But, I also realized something else.  I didn’t really know if I wanted to even do a recital at first.  And I couldn’t decide if that was because I truly don’t like doing them, or if it was because I didn’t like the recitals I had to do for my degree.  Either way, I figured that the best way to determine this once and for all was to program my own recital, with music that I wanted to do and that I could prepare in my own way.

So, I’m going to start looking up music, coming up with a theme (maybe), etc.  We’ll see what happens, I guess.

If anybody has any classical music repertoire suggestions for a light lyric baritone, feel free to send them my way.  :D

【初音ミク - Hatsune Miku Append】The Endless Love【Original】 (by jrharbort)

I’m obsessed with this song! Currently have it on repeat, getting ready to acquire food soon (somehow).  Even though Hatsune Miku isn’t real, I still get chills when she sings sometimes. But the composer has to do a good job for it to work for me, otherwise it’s just too fake for my brain to accept.  Well, it works here - she even takes a breath before phrases! That’s some attention to detail.

She only sings in the middle of the song; vocals somewhere after 3 minutes (the lyrics start a couple seconds before 4). But the music itself is fantastic - totally top-notch vocal trance.

Now I need to find the lyrics/translation.

Source: youtube.com