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Billy Strayhorn: The Flowers Die of Love
In every NYFOS program I like to have a specialty number, something completely on-topic but completely unexpected. I despaired of having such a song for the April 24th Lorca concert until Michael Barrett said, “Oh, you should contact my cousin Jonathan Mayhew. He’s a big Lorca guy—he’s already written one book about him and is now working on another about songs written to Lorca’s poems.” A flurry of emails followed, along with a slew of suggestions for our concert.
Federico García Lorca: Tres morillas de Jaén
As I prepare for the April 24 concert, I have become increasingly immersed in the life and poetry of Federico García Lorca. The more I know about this great Spanish writer the more astonishing I find him. His neatly bound volumes of poetry and his famous stage works don’t give a true picture of his chaotic creativity, his unique mix of sophistication and naivety, his long-frustrated sensuality, and his complex heart.
Verdi: Sul fil d’un soffio etesio
This famous aria from Verdi’s Falstaff encapsulates everything about spring: Breezes, flowers, Fairies, love and dancing in the moonlight. I am also a huge fan of Lisette Oropesa’s voice—this aria is worth listening to for her breath control alone. Thank you for reading my blog posts and happy spring!
Francis Poulenc: L’une d’avril
L’une d’avril (April Moon) is the very last song French composer, Francis Poulenc, ever wrote from his song cycle, La courte paille (The Short Straw). The song voices the concern of parents for the violence of the modern world. He composed the work in 1960 during the time of nuclear disarmament and demonstrations banning nukes. I personally love the colors used in the song and its haunting ending.
Richard Strauss: Frülingsstimmen
What would a Spring themed Song of the Day be without Frülingsstimmen (Voices of Spring)? In my mind, Strauss’ zippy waltz conjures a rainy NYC day during morning rush hour when the sidewalks are congested with oversized umbrellas and your goal is to maneuver past everyone by ditching the umbrella and owning a rain coat with a hood. Or maybe that’s just me.
Queen: I Want To Break Free
Maybe because I am a Sagittarius and have an incessant yearning to escape life, avoid 9-5 jobs, and live my best creative life by doing my own thing that I picked Queen’s 1984 hit, “I want to break free”. I have a very distinct memory of me in high school, blaring this song while driving with the windows down in my hometown of Cockeysville, Maryland.
Efraín Solís
Baritone Efraín Solís answers our questions about self-care, favorite singers, and more in advance of three appearances with NYFOS this season: García Lorca: Magician and Muse on April 24 at Merkin Hall and Manning the Canon on June 23 in Orient, NY and on June 25 at the LGBT Center in NYC.
William Finn: I Feel So Much Spring Within Me
Helloooooo spring! Hello sunshine, budding trees, my impending sneeze, and a fresh “spring” in my step. When I was asked by NYFOS to contribute to Song of the Week, I immediately knew my theme and what song to start with.
Stromae: Papaoutai
I am shamelessly ending this week of music with one of my favorite techno-pop songs. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for a solid beat and varied syncopation. I think that’s why I am drawn to contemporary music—I love the challenge of decoding a composers rhythmic intent and marrying difficult rhythm with the language on the page.
Kate Soper: Only the Words Themselves Mean What They Say
In the spirit of the Kate Soper NYFOS Next concert this evening, I would love to share the very first piece I ever heard of Kate’s, “Only the Words Themselves Mean What They Say.” This song from Kate’s larger work Ipsa Dixit (translated: she, herself, said it…), which was premiered with a quartet from the Wet Ink Ensemble in 2016 and was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Composition in 2017.
Hazel Dickens: Pretty Bird
Today, I wanted to share a song by one of my favorite folk artists, Hazel Dickens. I stumbled across this song while curating music for a play set in the Appalachian mountains. Hazel Dickens is known primarily for her one of a kind vocal color, and her provocative pro-union feminist songs.
Osvaldo Golijov: Lúa Descolorida
Today, I wanted to share one of my favorite pieces of all time for soprano—“Lúa Descolorida,” by Osvaldo Golijov. The piece was premiered in 2002 by Dawn Upshaw and the Minnesota Orchestra. The recording below is from Dawn’s album “Voices of Light,” and features her long-time pianist/collaborator Gilbert Kalish.
Russ Ferrante: Revelation
We start the week with a song from my childhood. My uncle is the pianist in a longstanding jazz fusion band called the Yellowjackets. The band formed in 1977 around the popular jazz guitarist, Robben Ford. In 1991, they collaborated with the the acapella group Take 6 to record the song “Revelation.”
NYFOS@Caramoor in Review
A quick post-concert report as I bid farewell to this beautiful week. Overview: both shows went extremely well for the cast, who delivered the goods. The Sunday run took place in a black box theater that needed to be borrowed for the occasion due to renovations at Caramoor. Its dryness proved to be a challenge to be overcome. Yet the show went smoothly and faultlessly. The in-depth work we’d done on the songs gave the concert the kind of strength and subtlety I had hoped for.
Raymundo Pérez y Soto: La Cigarra
We close this week with one of my favorite Mariachi songs ever. I heard this song at a friend’s party once a long time ago and completely fell for the words and the show stopping quality of the vocals. It’s almost always sung by a woman and it requires so much control and agility from the female voice.