Where I've been

It’s been a pretty busy past couple of weeks, which is why there hasn’t been more on here lately.
Some highlights: A concert with Trio Medieval performing works specially written for them. Sometimes the tuning was so tight that it made your head throb...in a good way. The week after was a visit from avant-garde early music group Joglaresa in concert celebrating the diverse musical traditions of Spain in the middle-ages. The day after that was my all-German second degree recital featuring Beethoven’s ‘An die ferne Geliebte’. In the end the barrage of strophic songs in German (yes, the song cycle as a whole is through-composed, but each song within it is strophic) proved to be a bit much for me and I resorted to using music for the cycle. The policy on memorization is very loose here and I still felt like I was able to give a convincing performance with the music. There is something about a singer giving a performance from memory, but some of us aren’t the world’s best memorizers. Plus, when I do oratorio or chamber work I use music and nobody has a problem with it. I think if a singer feels more confident with music and can use it without being locked to it, then they should by all means use it. I think this is probably the most intense practicing I’ve done in a few years. It was kind of nice to feel like a real singer again, taking the time to really work through every piece getting it well-placed in my voice. Hopefully I can ride this momentum for awhile. Following the recital was a concert this weekend of anthems by Purcell and John Blow. Gotta love that tortured chormaticism and those snaky vocal lines. I have a few weeks until any other concerts, and I hope to start my next research project. After descending into the abyss of contemporary musicology with my music theatre and Bjork projects, I’m very ready to do something more traditional this time. The plan is to investigate French song and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. I’m intrigued by the idea of an inter-disciplinary paper which can incorporate elements of politics, history and sociology. We’ll see how long this enthusiasm lasts...