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Heitor Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
Yes, I’m well aware that no sound can be heard in the vacuum of space. Still, I am rather taken by the theory of Pythagoras known as the Harmony of the Spheres, in which he postulated that the sun, moon, and planets all emit their own unique hum based on their orbital revolution. If I could indeed hear the music of those spheres as they move through the heavens, for me it would be the celestial hum at the end of the first section of the Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Alexander Borodin/Robert Wright and George Forrest: Night of My Nights
My love of Broadway musicals, also thanks to a family outing, began at a 1965 revival of “Kismet” at Lincoln Center. This winner of several 1954 Tony® Awards, including Outstanding Musical, enchanted me with its exotic recreation of old Baghdad (1071 CE) enlivened by the glorious music of Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) adapted by Robert Wright and George Forrest at the suggestion of Vernon Duke.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Der Hölle Rache
Blame it all on my mom, my love of opera and vocal music. And on Rita Streich. For a birthday celebration in my youth Mom persuaded Dad to drive our family into NYC from Long Island to a performance of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute] by the Salzburg Marionette Theater. To my youthful eyes and ears, those two-foot high marionettes came to life, transporting me to a magic world of glorious music and remarkable singing as they acted to the 1953 DG recording led by Ferenc Fricsay with a cast that included a youthful Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Papageno.
Peter Warlock: Sleep
This song trips so many of my triggers, with a vocal line that sounds like it could have been written by John Dowland, and an accompaniment that has some of the delicate twists, turns, and bizarre musical punctuation of Poulenc.
Dominick Argento: Let us live, my Clodia, and Let Us Love
This is an absolutely gorgeous, albeit slightly tortured, love song from Argento’s choral cycle I Hate and I Love, based on poetry of Catullus.
Meredith Monk: Hocket
Meredith Monk is amazing, and the amount of concentration and virtuosity it must take for two singers to maintain the delicate balancing act of this piece seems super-human. High-wire act though it is, I find this song endlessly playful and fascinating.
Adam Guettel: Daybreak
The recent successful rescue of the soccer team from a cave in Thailand brought to mind the unsuccessful rescue attempt of Floyd Collins from a cave in the hills of Kentucky, and the gorgeous harmonies contained within Adam Guettel’s musical about him, his family, and the media circus that surrounded them. In this song, Floyd is trapped in Sand Cave, his foot painfully lodged in place by a stone. He is visited by his brother, Homer, who keeps vigil with him through the night.
Françis Poulenc: Montparnasse
My preferences change a lot, so only two things have earned from me the immutable stamp of “absolute favorite” over the years. My absolute favorite color: green. My absolute favorite art song: Poulenc’s “Montparnasse.”
The Beatles: Here Comes the Sun
To close out the week, here are the Beatles welcoming the summer sun in after the long, cold, lonely winter.
Cole Porter: Too Darn Hot
Thinking back on my years living in New York City, I remember how sweltering the summers could be. I’ll try to send NYFOS and NYC a Mediterranean breeze from my home in Barcelona, but in the meantime, here is Ms. Fitzgerald once again, telling us that it’s “Too Darn Hot.”
Gabriel Fauré: Au bord de l’eau
While this song does not specifically mention summer, I think it beautifully captures the languid blissfulness of a warm summer evening spent in the best possible company. Here is Gérand Souzay to paint this beautiful picture for us “Au bord de l’eau.”
Stephen Sondheim: The Girls of Summer
To continue with our celebration of summer, here is this Sondheim gem sung by Dawn Upshaw, warning us about the dangers of “The Girls of Summer.”
Gershwin: Summertime
I’m honored to be invited to contribute to NYFOS’s Song of the Day for a second time. As summer gets into full swing, this week I wanted to feature a few songs that celebrate the season. Here to start us off are the incomparable Louis and Ella with “Summertime.”
Kathleen Chalfant
Celebrated actress Kathleen Chalfant answers our questions as NYFOS's Artist...
Reynaldo Hahn: L’heure Exquise
I’m hoping to enjoy my summer this year. We are just getting into it, and I’m already having lots of fun. I think it’s the long evenings that can make summer so special. Langorous dinners with friends al fresco. Extended dusk, and lingering twilight eventually yielding to the night sky.