#39 ramblings

I have finished orchestrating the second song of my lieder cycle - my FIRST cycle SUCK THAT! lol. However the final... result... is a bit worrying. The first two thirds turn out all right, which means it pretty much what I "heard" while I was composing the piano score. On the other hand, the final third...

Let me walk you through this. I composed this second song basically for an assoluta: the first third is tender and lyrical; the second third is basically a spinto scream - not really, but it's made up of a very long crescendo passage against a tutti orchestra; the third passage is full of coloratura. My idea is the middle section is the warm-up for the third section. I have certain difficulties writing the third part: the standard instrumentation, even in modern Classical music, for coloratura passages, is sparse, and nothing is more sparse than pizzicato, right? As it turns out, the passage ended up sounding too "cut-and-paste", like I edited it with a rap beat mixer or some shit like that. I like the sound, but I'm not certain if it's viable artistically, you know. I don't want in some distant future some Karajan wannabe saying "What the fuck did he think?" while he's reading my score, the sweat of my brow, the child of my loins, the jizz of my...

You get it.

Maybe I'll rearrange it. Maybe I won't.

But I really like the first third of the song. It's very Rachmaninov. I'm totally going through a Rachmaninov phase right now! The only thing I'm missing are the saggy eyebags and the really long scary-as-fuck fingers.

On the other hand, on purely instrumental terms, I like the third section best. It's really me, circa 2007-2008 a.k.a. The Not-Fast-Enough Figures Era.

Ah well. I suppose I can re-do it. The problem is time - I'm on surgery posting right now, and around here that is just another code to say "I'm fucked and hanging on a cross like Xena before all that lesbian crap". 

#38 rückertlied no. 3 ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen (MAHLER)

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,
Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben,
Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen,
Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben.

Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen,
Ob sie mich für gestorben hält,
Ich kann auch gar nichts sagen dagegen,
Denn wirklich bin ich gestorben der Welt.

Ich bin gestorben dem Weltgetümmel,
Und ruh' in einem stillen Gebiet.
Ich leb' allein in meinem Himmel,
In meinem Lieben, in meinem Lied.


I am lost to the World,
with whom I used to tarry long.
She has not heard from me since yesteryears:
perhaps She thinks I am dead.


I do not care
what of me She thinks,
I cannot deny what She says,
as I am really dead to this World.


I am dead to the turmoils of this World,
and I rest in a quiet place.
I live alone in my Heaven
in my Love, and in my Song.


(text: Friedrich Rückert, from Liebesfrühling; translation: me)


***

The tempo on the score is Molto lento e ritenuto. However there must be a hidden sense of pulse, of movement. The languor must not be too excessive. The first phrase should be sung on one long breath: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen. The next phrase is marked rallentando: this should be observed. The phrases must be drawn out, but not crescendoed. A stress should be put on the word verdorben, as in a mild rage or quiet resignation. Although the next phrase was marked a tempo, I suggest to shift it to the next phrase i.e. nichts von mir vernommen. I justify this by saying that one should suggest a drawn-out intonation on the phrase sie hat so lange as if saying "Ah, well"; the slower tempo will also correspond well with the word lange. I stress the words nichts von mir in that next phrase. The next phrase is a bit tricky. I suggest following the dynamics closely (pianissimo and piano) as to be able to save the breath for the long arching line at ich sei gestorben! What I do is I change my laryngeal position at the word glauben, so as to maintain the same placement for ich sei gestorben! which will lend great ease to me as the next few phrases are all placed high.

Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen, Ob sie mich für gestorben hält should be sung with a bit of insouciance: "I do not care anyhow what she thinks!" Especially the second phrase, as it is the sister of Salome's "Allein was tuts!": hence I lend it my full voice and my full strength, while conserving enough for the crescendo-decrescendo marking of the first part of the phrase. Ich kann auch gar I sing with a bit of crescendo at the first few quavers, before diminishing the phrase. I treat the next phrase by dividing it into small sub-phrases: denn wirklich/bin ich geSTORben/gestorben DER WELT. The direction on the score suggests a mezza voce should be used; on a bad day I just limit myself to singing it piano rather than employing a true mezza voce.

The next few phrases, while placed low, was actually the point of this lied. I always sing the phrases Ich bin gestorben, dein Weltgetümmel using what I call the cello slur: it is a special character of my voice which, with its medium low placement, is able to imbibe a phrase with a certain thickness using my nasal resonance, giving a phrase an almost sliding character. The next phrase is another challenge to the breath, as to make it meaningful the entire phrase should be sing on one breath. I make the phrase devoid of any fanciful additions and let it speak for itself, particularly on the ruh' which should be haunting and peaceful at the same time. If in any case the breath cannot suffer the phrase then I find a breath between stillen and Gebiet to be the most satisfactory resort; however one must draw out the Gebiet over the accompanying figures as to last for a dotted minim. Ich leb'allein demands my tonal colours, so I pour it all in a final respite before the concluding phrases, which must be sung on a wisp of a breath with full head resonance, as if suggesting a child's breathy voice: the singer is in Heaven, and he is young again, unconcerned with the rest of the world.

#37 cardiff singers

Last night was the finals for one of the most famous singing competition in the Western hemisphere, from which careers like Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Bryn Terfel, Karita Mattila and Elina Garanca has emerged. There are two prizes, the Opera prize and the Song (piano recital) prize: fans remembered with relish the scandal when local favorite Terfel was snubbed in favour of  Hvorostovsky and was given only the "Lieder" prize, dubbed the "loser" prize. There was also the addition of Dame Kiri te Kanawa to the judging panel, which included among others that unsinkable ship, Marilyn Horne. 2011 was a sad year for some: it was the first year since the passing away of its patron, Dame Joan Sutherland, who had been a pillar of strength to both the competition and its competitors.

As it turns out, five finalists were selected out of the four rounds: Olesysa Petrova of Russia (mezzo-soprano), Andrei Bondarenko of Ukraine (baritone), Hye Jung Lee of South Korea (coloratura soprano), Meeta Raval from England (soprano) and Valentina Nafornita of Moldova (soprano). The repertoire was varied to say the least: Miss Jung Lee sang Madam Mao! I was really drawn to three of these contenders, namely Miss Petrova, Miss Raval and Mr. Bondarenko.

The bad thing about competitions like this, in which the age of the competitors range from 24 to 31, is that you never see the full potential of the voice as yet. Almost everyone is a lyric and/or a coloratura! There was one or two basses, thank God, but it really shows that these are young, budding voices: on the cusp, if you will. So to judge these young artists on such high level as this is really defeating the purpose, if you ask me, but well.

A few comments on the singers which attracted my attention: Miss Petrova has a ravishing lyric mezzo-soprano without a tint of Slavic edge which almost always haunt Russian singers. Her diction was less than satisfactory but her musicianship was impeccable; and what an attractive voice: an adult, fully-grown instrument with an amazing richness. She almost has a spiritual way of singing - perhaps a sign of her confidence, as she stated in her post-round interview afterwards: "On stage I am queen."

Miss Raval has a wonderful lyric soprano with an amazing technique and fearless musicianship: how else one performs a messa di voce on a top Bb! On the other hand her coloratura is a bit smudged (particularly on the downward runs), and jumping to acuti she did not maintain that wonderful legato she imbibed in everything else. But she plays up to her strength, which is ultimately a very expressive, "sunny" voice with a very bright timbre. A wonderful person, too: stressing on the music-making rather than on the competition, she is sure to go a long way.



Mr. Bondarenko has all the qualities of the bari-hunk genre: cutting a romantic figure with his expressive face, tall presence and wonderful stage movements, he also ravishes with a well-schooled baritone, capable of a full range of dynamic and expressive devices while never abandoning the legato line. One fears that the size may be a bit small against the Welsh National Orchestra, but when he unleashes it to full voice in the Song round, this fear is alleviated. His Song recital is exemplary to say the least, singing Schumann and Sviridov with equal fervour. No wonder: when one peruses his resume one sees he has attended masterclasses with Christa Ludwig and Thomas Quasthoff, the equivalent of saying "I had a lunch date with Dr. Barnard to talk about surgery." I was attracted at first when I saw Respighi's Nebbie on his song list: alas, he did not sing it for the Song finals.

As it turns out, the winner for the 2011 session is Miss Nafornita of Moldova, who also scores the Audience prize. The Song prize goes to the wonderful Mr. Bondarenko. All in all a wonderful program, and what a way to finish off the weekend. I look forward to the 2013 edition!

#36 health, where art thou?

It's called the Weekend Flu, also called the Bug that Threw Down the Local Ho. I hate it. I hate it with all the passion of all the Tosca and Amneris ever performed. I lost 5/6th of my voice, I have difficulty filling up my lungs, I have a throbbing headache - which gets worse on lying down, I mean what kind of headache gets pimped up on lying down?! - so much that I missed out my posting and my classes for the whole day and I have a fucking Ophthalmology exam on Friday and I've just went through like only four chapters.

Like how Kathleen Battle would sing it: Lord, how come me here?

#35 hard times

Nobody said medicine was easy. But there were certainly times when I thought, "What the fuck am I doing here?" Maybe it would have been better if I had sought a career with a faster timeline, as of now I would have been a salaried man, capable of taking care - at last! - of my family.

I am currently in the midst of composing both the texts and music for a song cycle, which will be my Op 34. I plan on orchestrating them, in fact I have already orchestrated the first one. Below is the first one, in piano version: it is entitled Berbisik sayu suara angin, which means The wind sighs sadly. 

Berbisik sayu suara angin,

berkumandanglah seru ribut,

taufan kejora.

Lihat! purnama mekar

bagai tersenyum dan melambai;

dan seribu bintang,

menghiaskan malam.

***

The wind sighs sadly!

a storm rushes and tremble,

in far Venus.

Look! the fertile moon

as she smiles and waves to us;

and thousands of stars,

tinkling jewels of the night.