Day 69: Moons

HaydnCD69It’s been a crazy holiday season. Already. Still. I don’t know which.

My wife and I haven’t recovered from Thanksgiving yet, and here we are frantically working on Christmas cards, considering tree shopping tonight, and catching up on work (strategic plans, grading final exams, preparing two new classes to teach, this blog, screenplays, etc.).

So we try to steal a few minutes together here and there.

Like this morning, for instance.

Instead of me jumping out of bed before the suns rises, and heading to some restaurant or office to work on this blog before my real work day starts, I suggested we both jump out of bed under cover of moonlight and head to Denny’s where we can drink their excellent coffee all morning long, split a Moons Over My Hammy plate, and work on Christmas cards. Together.

Surprisingly, she went for it, which – if you knew my wife – is quite something. She’d rather keep her head on a soft pillow, with covers pulled to her chin, than do just about anything.

CardsBe that as it may, here we are. This is the view I see of her. But, still, she’s here. With me.

And I’m listening to Welsh Songs for George Thomson II.

Which is quite similar to Welsh Songs for George Thomson I.

Only less so.

I’m still having a hard time getting into the voices of soprano Lorna Anderson and tenor Jamie MacDougall. If you’ve read any of my blog posts prior to this, you know why: their vocal range is not in my sweet spot. Anderson doesn’t sound like Pilar Lorengar and MacDougall doesn’t sound like Nicolai Gedda. The former’s range – to my ears, anyway – sounds lower than soprano and tenor. The latter is right in the sweet spot for me.

Like this, for example.

The note Gedda and Lorengar hit at around the 4:09 mark gives me chills. I’ve watched this clip dozens of times. And I always watch for Gedda to grab Lorengar and sort of squeeze her as he reaches for the note.

Screen Shot 2013-12-08 at 8.54.03 AMIt ends up looking like this ————>

But that’s not to say Anderson and MacDougall are not gifted singers. They are. I can hear it, and I respect their immense talents. I just prefer voices that sound a little different.

It’s entirely possible that a vehicle such as these Scottish and Welsh songs are not allowing Anderson and MacDougall to shine. I’d like to hear them in a different setting, perhaps in a full-blown opera where they can stretch out their voices, reach for higher notes, be more expressive.

Today’s CD features the same singers and musicians as on the previous folk-song selections:

Lorna Anderson and tenor Jamie MacDougall, both of whom actually are Scottish. They have fine voices.

Haydn Trio Eisenstadt, which consists of:

Harald Kosik piano
Verena Stourzh violin
Hannes Gradwohl cello

Also, as with the previous CDs of Scottish Songs for George Thomson, this one was recorded where it was likely first performed, or even composed: Haydn Hall, Esterhazy Palace, Eisenstadt.

The recording is perfect. The musicianship is magical. The entire performance is superb. Typical Brilliant Classics excellence. (Seriously, you really ought to buy box sets from Brilliant Classics. They are first-rate in every way. Here. I’ll make it easy for you. Just click on this link and it’ll take you to the listing on Amazon. Buy the Haydn Edition that I’ve been listening to for 69 days now. You’ll thank me for it later.)

Again, it’s “would you like to buy a vowel?” time. Look at these Gaelic song titles:

Twll yn boch
Ar hyd nos
Yr helg gan
Mwynen Gwynedd
Dowch i’r frwydr

etc.

I love it.

In a previous life, I must have come from one of those Gaelic countries because this music resonates with me. Bagpipes, for example, give me the chills.

Track 10 (“Y bardd yn ei awen. The inspired Bard”) is a melody I’ve heard before in these folk-song CDs. Maybe it’s the same song, even. But that melody is familiar to me. I’ve heard it in the last week.

Here’s what I’m listening to this morning – again, courtesy of a person who uploaded it to YouTube:

I realize the sound quality on YouTube is not comparable to an actual CD. But it’ll give you an idea what I’m hearing, if you’re so inclined.

All of the songs on today’s CD are interesting, very well recorded, and professionally performed. They’re worth hearing once. But probably not twice. Not for me, anyway.

Still, I’m glad I took the time to hear them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *