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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.
Danny Boy, sung by John Brancy
Steve Blier introduced me to the 19 yr. old John Brancy ( a Juilliard underclassman) about a decade ago. Since then, we’ve helped, and watched “Brancy” (he’s become a one-name star) go from success to success. Most recently, he won a number of prizes in the biggest competition I know of—in Montreal, including the 1st place art song award. I’m amazed, with all the focus on opera, that such a thing even exists.
Dave Frishberg: My Attorney Bernie
Yesterday, I was going on about Dave Frishberg, and mentioned “My Attorney Bernie”. I don’t expect anyone actually looked it up, so I’ll make it easy for y’all. Here’s Dave performing that song on the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was the host.
Dave Frishberg: I Want To Be A Sideman
Dave Frishberg. Urbane, pianist extraordinaire, a real lyricist, and a musician who gets us other musical cats. Here is “I Want To Be A Sideman”. At NYFOS, we bring in sidemen all the time. Clarinetists, guitarists, percussionists, whatever the music calls for. And playing the piano for singers—well, sometimes you ARE the sideman.
Leonard Bernstein: What’s the Use?
Oh It’s Summer! And time for all of our many summer music festivals! I’m in Santa Fe where they are offering up Candide, Madama Butterfly, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Dr. Atomic, among other goodies. Their production of Candide is closer to Voltaire than the Americanized jokey versions I’ve seen in our country lately.
Monteverdi: Lamento della ninfa
What fun it’s been to host this week and ponder my favorite songs and performances! For my last day, I thought I’d look back to one of my earliest singer memories, one of the first pieces to leave a huge impression on me as a singer, and the first piece that got me hooked on early music. My big solo senior year of high school was Monteverdi’s Lamento della ninfa. There’s so much to love about this piece.