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Kander & Ebb: Marry Me / A Quiet Thing
Day Four! Only two more! How will I choose??!? For Thursday’s treat, you delicious NYFOS supporters you, I give you “A Quiet Thing”. I sang this right after I graduated high school in response to my co-stars’ song “Marry Me” in a Portage Players’ Production of Kander & Ebb’s And The World Goes ‘Round.
John Lennon: Imagine
We have come to Day Three. Hump Day. To get us over the hump, I must offer you John Lennon’s “Imagine”. I sang this, barefoot, at one of my high school talent shows. Friends of my father, who live in the tiny town I’m from, still remember that performance. Or, at least one of them does. We need this song. Let’s all sing it together.
Charles Strouse: Maybe
For Day Two, I have chosen for you, beloved NYFOS supporters, “Maybe” from Annie. This song taught those of us raised on classic musicals as I was (thanks, Mom!) one of our first lessons in empathy. I never really sang this song, but lord I loved it!
Harold Arlen: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
I’m delighted to be curating the NYFOS Song of the Day project on Facebook! As a singer/musician raised in a very musical household, I am finding it incredibly difficult to pick only five songs! My mother was a classical pianist. She played John Cage, Alban Berg, and Franz Schubert for her graduate recital in 1979. My father is a big-hearted character who owned a record store for 25 years in Kalamazoo, MI called The Bop Stop. He called my twin sister and I the owners, and worships the Beatles, John & Yoko, and Neil Young. Rock ‘n Roll, Daddy!
Richard Strauss: Ständchen
It’s a day for favorites: My favorite composer, Richard Strauss, my favorite song, “Ständchen”, and my favorite singer, Kathleen Battle. As soon as I declare a favorite, my mind immediately thinks of a dozen other “favorites,” but I don’t intend to be dishonest! You music lovers know what I mean. There are always many favorites.
Barbra Streisand sings “A Piece of Sky”
As I was listening to songs to share, today I kept coming back to Barbra Streisand. Love her or hate her, there is something timelessly vulnerable and honest about her sound. Authenticity is what a listener craves, and Barbra always delivers.
Joseph Canteloube: Baïlèro
For years, I have adored the Chants d’Auvergne, folk songs from the Auvergne region of France in the local language, Occitan. The collector and arranger of these landscape-inspired songs was Auvergne native Joseph Canteloube, who took more than thirty years (1924-1955) to complete his compilation.
Farhad Mehrad: Booye Eydi
“The singer recounts all the lovely memories of spending new year in Iran: the smell of the flowers, the excitement of people buying new clothes, the smell of gift wrap papers, the sound of grandma’s prayers, etc. Then he repeats (chorus): With these memories I am able to get through the winter. With these thoughts I can comfort my tired mind and body.”
Leonard Bernstein: Silhouette
I am grateful and excited to contribute to this week’s Song of the Day, which gives us something beautiful to ponder about in the midst of chaos. Today, I have chosen a song by the great Leonard Bernstein: “Silhouette,” or “Galilee.”
Lerner and Loewe: If Ever I Would Leave You
As the week comes to an end, I couldn’t help but include fellow baritone of Canadian heritage and a true vocal powerhouse of stage and screen, Robert Goulet. Here he is singing the well known song from Camelot on the Ed Sullivan show, for a segment celebrating the fifth anniversary of My Fair Lady. For the broadcast, instead of featuring songs from that show, they chose instead to perform four highlights from Camelot including “If Ever I Would Leave You”.
Oh Shenandoah
I have always loved this melody, and in particular this version by superstar baritone Bryn Terfel. “Oh Shenandoah” (also called simply “Shenandoah” or “Across the Wide Missouri”) is a traditional American folk song dating to the early 19th century.
Marta Keen: Homeward Bound
There is something truly magical about this song. I first discovered it as a young boy soprano, growing up in Ottawa, Canada. Known to me only as a choral work, I was surprised to see a recent revival by a number of solo artists and YouTubers. The text became even more poignant and personal for me while working abroad and chasing a new adventure, yet missing home.
Simon & Garfunkel: The Sound of Silence
I grew up with such a eclectic mix of music. From early on, my father would play everything in my basement in Canada, from Saturday Afternoon at the Opera to Roy Orbison, Elton John, Phil Collins and Simon & Garfunkel.
“The Sound of Silence” reminds me of those listening days, weekends at home with my family and though a somewhat reflective even sad lyric, the simplicity of its melody and vocal harmonies has stuck with me.
Jason Robert Brown: It All Fades Away
I had the great fortune of attending one of the final performances of ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ staring Steven Pasquale and the incredible Kelli O’Hara, who I met while singing for a past NYFOS fundraiser. Based on Robert James Waller’s 1992 novel, with a book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, the musical premiered on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on February 20, 2014, and closed on May 18, 2014 after only 137 performances.
Victor Borge: Hands Off!
Today’s video I’d like to dedicate to all the pianist and coaches who worked with me. I want to express my gratitude for their hard work, knowledge, affection for singers, patience, and their sense of humor. I realize how much they have to love us singers to tolerate all our whims. Without these wonderful professionals, opera singers wouldn’t reach perfection. I’d like to use this opportunity to confess my love and boundless gratitude to all of them.