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Mostar Sevdah Reunion: Čudna jada od Mostara grada
This particular band, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, did exactly what it says on the cover: they reunited in the city of Mostar to arrange and record sevdalinka. The band’s founder recorded his first few tracks in 1993, when Mostar was under siege during the Bosnian war. On the band’s website, he described that first recording as “just a getaway episode to forget for one single moment all atrocities and suffering.” After the war, he reunited with his musician friends to record their first self-titled album.
Pauline Viardot and Johannes Brahms: Les Bohémiennes
There were many great nineteenth-century singers who sent audiences into a frenzy. Grown men wept when Rubini sang; women fainted at the sound of Giulia Grisi’s voice. But their art lives on only through anecdotes about their performances and descriptions of their timbre. None of them could inspire a program as far-ranging as tonight’s. For Pauline Viardot’s claim to fame was not merely the ephemeral success of a great artist. She made her mark on history by the music she inspired, the composers she nurtured, the works she premiered, and the music she wrote.
Tchaikovsky: Again, as before, I am alone
To celebrate NYFOS's 30th Anniversary Season, Song of the Day is featuring...
El dulce de America (Anonymous, Spain ca. 1780)
I found this song on a CD of Spanish baroque music, and instantly fell for this bewitching copla castiza. I didn’t even try to find printed music for it—I just got out some staff paper and jotted down the melody and the chords.
Franz Schubert: Du bist die Ruh
To celebrate NYFOS's 30th Anniversary Season, Song of the Day is featuring...
Ludwig van Beethoven: The Elfin Fairies
Beethoven was a master of piano trio writing, and he was able to mine the magic of these alluring melodies. “The Elfin Fairies” has the charm of Mendelssohn and Sir Arthur Sullivan, while “The Return to Ulster” has some of the gravity of Fidelio. Beethoven crafted brilliant Hausmusik that continues to give pleasure as his songs approach their bicentennial.
Robert Allen and Al Stillman: Meantime
Carol Burnett is not only a comedic goddess but this lady can sing too!! As we close for this week, I introduce you to Meantime sung live in 1962 by Carol at Carnegie Hall for her shared concert with Julie Andrews!
Adam Guettel: Awaiting You
This is one of my favorite songs composed my Adam Guettel. It’s pretty hard to choose a favorite. This piece is from Myths and Hymns which is a song cycle based on Greek mythology and lyrics found in an antique hymnal.
Jeff Blumenkrantz: I Won’t Mind
"I Won't Mind" is an incredibly moving song by actor and Tony-nominated...
Lerner and Loewe: On the Street Where You Live
I am a huge fan of Nancy Wilson. The timbre and versatility of her voice is incredible. I love the energy and spirit she brings to this incredibly unique version of this song. “On the Street Where You Live” from the musical My Fair Lady (with music by Frederick Loewe) was originally sung as a ballad by a man, but Nancy Wilson ups the tempo, adds some jazz, and makes it her own!
Tom Petty: Runnin’ Down a Dream
I listened to a bunch of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in high school and college, but the soundtrack to my freshman year of college was Petty’s debut solo album, Full Moon Fever. I’d listen to the cd from top to bottom, only skipping over the ridiculous last track, Zombie Zoo. The track I’m highlighting today, Running Down A Dream, starts with a killer guitar riff that propels the song all the way across the finish line some four and a half minutes later. RIP, Tom Petty.
Jake Heggie: The Moon’s Lullaby
I had the great pleasure of singing Three Decembers with Frederica von Strade at Chicago Opera Theater some years ago. The role of Madeline Mitchell was written for her and she premiered it in Houston a few years before we remounted the original production in Chicago. Her honesty and generosity in the role have stayed with me for near a decade. The lullaby Madeline sings in the opera also has stayed with me. Now that I’ve got two children under the age of three, I’m singing a fair amount of lullabies and this one is near the top of the rotation.
Hanns Eisler: 7 Elegien from “Hollywooder Liederbuch”
I’ve had the pleasure of singing selections from Hanns Eisler’s Hollywood Liederbuch a couple of times in the past decade, most recently last year while pursuing my doctorate at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. In this latest go-round, I developed a greater appreciation for the historical context of Eisler’s writing. His flight from Europe during the Nazi ascent to power landed him in Hollywood where he wrote this songbook.
Brandi Carlisle: Raise Hell
For the longest time, Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson (hosts of NPR’s All Songs Considered) were my podcasting companions on road trips and flights. They introduced me to Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, The Head and the Heart, The Civil Wars, and Dirty Projectors. Perhaps my favorite innovation of Boilen’s is his hosting of Tiny Desk Concerts—he sets up a tripod in his office, and invites an artist to play in the office while the NPR music staff watches.
John Charles Thomas sings The Lord’s Prayer
I started studying with the distinguished voice teacher Marlena Malas in 2002. She had a great influence on my life and I love her dearly, and in the years we worked together I learned everything I now know about beautiful singing. One of the perks of studying with Marlena, and spending innumerable summers with her at her summer voice program in Chautauqua, is getting to know her husband, the inimitable Sprio Malas.