Listened to several recordings of An die Nachtigall and worked on memorization. Also checked Holty's dates. He would not have known about Keats' "Ode" since he was dead before it was written.
I have an interesting recording of Kirsten Flagstad singing "An die Nachtigall". There are some quirky things that I don't really like, but I can't figure out if it is because of how the song fits (or doesn't fit) in her voice, or what. I think a lot of the vowels are not as lifted as I would like to hear. I have other recordings of her that I like more. I keep listening to this recording though, because even though I don't like some of what I hear, there are things I do like. Her tempo is a little slower than the other recordings I've listend to. I also like how she shapes some of the phrases and the longer notes. I love how she does "den Himmel". I also like how even though she takes the tempo slower she can get all the way through "und spend' im Nest der treuen Gattin Kusse" in one breath. Considering the opera rep she's famous for though, it's not surprising.
I also went to the school and practice for about an hour.
Showing posts with label An die Nachtigall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label An die Nachtigall. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Practice Journal 9/11/09
At about 2:15 I realized that I had to teach from 2:30-after 5 and then go straight to a wedding rehearsal, but I hadn't practiced yet. Definitely should have planned the day better. So I went back to school after the wedding rehearsal. I did stop and buy dinner on the way so that I at least would have some energy. I took longer to warm up than I have for awhile and that really helped. I also did more lip buzz. It helps me to loosen up and to focus on the breath.
I did some technical work on vocalises and then worked on "An die Nachtigall." The really good warm-up helped this one to start out better today. I did some work just on [i] which has been a great vowel for me lately. This song is really hard for me to keep lined up, and I think the biggest reason is all of the consonants. If I really think about how I am creating them, and keep them loose and high, it is so much better. I very clearly remember a former choir director telling us to place the consonants on the lower pitch to help us connect the notes. Maybe this works for some people, but not for me. For example, in "der liebentflammten", the r that ends the first word needs to be on the same high pitch as the l and the vowel of the 2nd world.
This song is starting to come together both technically and interpretively.
By the time I worked all that out, I was pretty much out of energy, but decided to play through "O kuhler Wald". And then I thought I'd do a quick internet search to see if anyone had written anything about Brentano's poem. Word of warning---there is no such thing as a quick internet search, at least not for me. One thing leads to another and pretty soon I realize that I've been sittting there to long and I'm in pain. Someday I hope to learn to stop before the pain. But anyway, I did find some good resources to look at more later.
I did some technical work on vocalises and then worked on "An die Nachtigall." The really good warm-up helped this one to start out better today. I did some work just on [i] which has been a great vowel for me lately. This song is really hard for me to keep lined up, and I think the biggest reason is all of the consonants. If I really think about how I am creating them, and keep them loose and high, it is so much better. I very clearly remember a former choir director telling us to place the consonants on the lower pitch to help us connect the notes. Maybe this works for some people, but not for me. For example, in "der liebentflammten", the r that ends the first word needs to be on the same high pitch as the l and the vowel of the 2nd world.
This song is starting to come together both technically and interpretively.
By the time I worked all that out, I was pretty much out of energy, but decided to play through "O kuhler Wald". And then I thought I'd do a quick internet search to see if anyone had written anything about Brentano's poem. Word of warning---there is no such thing as a quick internet search, at least not for me. One thing leads to another and pretty soon I realize that I've been sittting there to long and I'm in pain. Someday I hope to learn to stop before the pain. But anyway, I did find some good resources to look at more later.
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