George and Ira Gershwin:  Boy Wanted

George and Ira Gershwin: Boy Wanted

Ella Fitzgerald sang the way the rest of us breathe.  Her vocal production, phrasing, diction and interpretive choices were so natural and effortless that it’s easy to take her work for granted.  A natural talent who had little if any formal musical training, she was...
Henry Purcell:  Evening Hymn

Henry Purcell: Evening Hymn

Henry Purcell’s Evening Hymn has always moved me to tears, even though I am more of a “this world” person in my own spirituality.   Perhaps because of that, or in spite of it, this song touches me deeply, as it takes us through the last thoughts of a person who is...
John Musto:  Old Photograph

John Musto: Old Photograph

I’m one lucky singer to be married to such a gifted song composer as John Musto, so I hope you’ll indulge me as I include one of his songs for this blog.  Choosing one Musto song out of so many feels a bit like Sophie’s choice.  I love them all. But…there is one song...
Kurt Weill:  Je ne t’aime pas

Kurt Weill: Je ne t’aime pas

Having escaped the Nazi takeover of the German government, Kurt Weill found himself in Paris in 1933, trying to get a foothold in a new artistic landscape.  His reputation there was solid, though based mostly on the 1930 French film and stage versions of The...
George and Ira Gershwin:  The Lorelei

George and Ira Gershwin: The Lorelei

Who doesn’t love the famous Liszt song about the Lorelei?  There she is, that infamous temptress, combing her flaxen hair, singing her siren song to lure hapless sailors to their deaths upon the rocks… Well, long before I sang that great work (with Steve Blier at a...