Response: Take Care to Care

Goerne's performance is absolutely gorgeous! He sings through every word and phrase with the same level of consistency and intentionality. What's most impressive is the use of his body as he sings.  You can truly 'see' what he is doing vocally. Every phrase is very connected and legato and each is started gently and grows or moves toward an apex.  Similarly, the phrases end with the same amount of care as they begin--gently tapering or with decrescendo, and are treated with the same level of breath support and musicality.

Pear's performance is similar in that every phrase starts somewhere and then goes somewhere. His legato is outstanding. He tends not to utilize as much rubato but care is taken in his execution of every point of the phrase--beginning, middle and end. Also, his body seems to ride the the 'wave' of the breath like Goerne's performance of the Schubert which is very telling; it indicates that every thing musical that he's doing occurs intentionally.

Response: To Heaven and Bach again!

In the performance Blythe does darken lower and brighten higher as you mentioned however, I'm not sure I would have noticed if you had not mentioned it. It's definitely more noticeable in the beginning of the aria. I think she sings more evenly toward the end which doesn't stand out as much as it did in the beginning of the performance. I don't think she needs to brighten/darken at all...her voice is beautiful as is and singing evenly throughout would be much preferred.

On the topic of authentic communication through song, I think that the only way this is truly achieved is by being completely authentic people. The further we get from acknowledging and accepting who we are, the harder it is to connect to the musc we in an authentic way, thereby inhibiting true connection and communication with our audience.  It's my opinion that this starts way before we approach the stage and has everything to do with our everyday interactions with other people.  I've found that some of the most convincing musical communicators are also some of the most 'real' people I've met. This may go without saying but, none of this can be achieved if your knowledge of the score, the music, composer, your voice, etc. is not worked out before the performance.  You can't be the real 'you' if you're 'thinking' through all that other stuff while on the performance stage.

Response: If I gave you the bird...

As Arroyo and Veasey sing louder, their 'singing space' seems to remain the same however, their mouth aperture increases some to account for more projection.  They do blend well but the color in the differences in color, stylistic nuance, voice type, etc. allow them to achieve individuality in their performances.

Pavoratti's performance is almost unreal to watch. It's very difficult to pinpoint where his 'sound' is coming from which is weird but, I think that's what should happen. The sound is produced so effortlessly that it has be producing very low in the body.  Similarly, watching him sing make his look as if he is physically 'anchored' or mechanically fastened to the stage. Very grounded.  His mouth amberture is very controlled--his jaw is never over extended nor his mouth every horizontal. His mouth is simply an opening from which sound is emitted--it never get's in the way.

Pape tone is definitely being produced low in the body.  Watching singers at this level is kinda creep because the sound produced is done so effortlessly that it's hard to pinpoint where the sound comes from.  He definitely seems to be singing from the 'chest'. The sound is really, really anchored into the body.

Response: Keep it Pliant, Keep it Flowing

Barbara Bonney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NMS3bj3QGo&feature=related


Matthew Polenzani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7xrPHPFH9Y

Barbara's performance of Mozart's Et incarnatus is  very well controlled.  What I notice is her constant modification of the [a] vowel in the melismatic passages. As she moves into her upper register her [a] becomes more [o]-like in.  Everything in between is some variant of [a]. Otherwise, during the entire performance her body and mouth are completely relaxed--almost astonishingly so.

Matthew Polenzani? Yeah, this guy is a freak of nature. Crazy. I don't know how he does this.  His body barely moves from the neck down.  At least not in anyway that seriously compromises his sound.  His neck seems to extend a bit in during his higher notes but otherwise he's very relaxed. Unlike Barabara, although he modifies vowels some the result seems less apparent in his sound. 

Response: Where does the pressure go?

Sir Thomas Allen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxx2aO7nJB0&feature=related

Paul Wilt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW8ATTgMO8c

Bidu Sayao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHf26uNfok

Bernice Ehrlich
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAbfiQoLaJE

Wow. Pretty neat comparison. What's interesting is, I may not have noticed the differences in Wilt's singing having not heard Allen's rendition of the same piece.  As you stated, Wilt has a great instrument and sings this song well but there is a marked difference in the singing of his vowels as his accesses the upper portion of his range.  His vowels are definitely more 'spread/horizontal' when compared to Allen.  Also, Wilt's tone loses its richness as a result of this.


Well, there are many things to compare in the singing Sayao and Erhlich.  Erlich's version is definitely lacking a 'grounded' tone.  The sound seems to almost 'pop-up' in the higher parts of the piece.  It seems she could also stand a consistent use of vibrato throughout the piece.  She utilizes a more natural tone during the beginning of her piece and changes that when it gets high, invariably changing the continuity of her sound as well.

Response: [a] Humbug!

Bartoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YruVzW6zjdk


Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hyqPjkFEvA&feature=fvw


Timberlake/Morris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT-0jk1HMYs 

Baroli's rendition of Mozart's is really interesting. Her 'facial contortions' seem to be her way of compensating for something vocally.  What's puzzling however, is that when she sing toward the top of her register she make a proper [a] vowel--possibly because she has no other choice. Conversely, she distorts the vowel horribly, in the lower part of her register and it's definitely not a great sound.  Kathleen's rendition, on the other hand, is much more consistent with respect to her [a] vowel.  She does, however, modify the vowel when she approaches her upper register, often singing 'uhhh' and 'ahh'.

The Timberlake/Morris duet is actually very well done based on current pop/commercial performance standards.  They could both benefit from more properly formed vowels:  Timberlake's tendency is to sing 'yeee-uhhh' at the end of his Hallelujah while Morris sings a more conventional 'uhh'.  They are also singing pretty breathily (is that a word) but isn't that the effect they're going for?  I wouldn't necessarily penalize them for that.  To me, this is one of the better examples of current pop music performance.

Rossini and the Lyric Tenor

Matthew Polenzani - Rossini: Rigoletto - Parmi veder le lagrime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7xrPHPFH9Y

Stanford Olsen - Rossini: Tancrendi - O Dio! Ah Segnar invano io tento
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4B2vCxmtFo

So, I guess it's 'Rossini Lyric-Tenor Day'. This week's listening selection was purely coincidental.  It is evident that both tenors are very skillful singers who seem to effortlessly navigate their vocal ranges--particularly the high register.  Tenors of this type mystify me. It's hard for me to image singing so high in the register with such a delicate, light and clear tone. Furthermore, their upper registers are so consistently dove-tailed into their lower register that it is often hard to tell where the 'switch' occurs.  Both sing with an almost seamless legato but still their tone is 'punchy' and 'reedy' when musically appropriate. Are these two tenors examples of Bel-Canto singing? What exactly does that mean in the context of current performance practice, orchestras, performance halls, etc? Is this a technique still taught and applicable to all voices types--dramatic or otherwise?