Video

When Rubenstein gave a Master class at Juilliard (Juilliard Theater was full). He told that he explored the 4th floor practice rooms and was astounded skill level. Rubenstein said everyone could play faster and more accurately (his fingers were wide and would occasionally hit the wrong key). After a long pause he said “There is only one difference. When I play I sing.” So you have to trust your inner voice and do your best to match the pitch of what you hear inside.

@@NYCNexus I dont see printed notes well, so yes, I do ding while I practice. It helps my memory, and reduces "note bashing"!! I hope to use the clef reading book for learning Braille music. I use fixed Do, that is how Louis Braille set up his code, he was French.

@@backtoschool1611 I was going to mention that, if the syllables are not comfortable, just singing on "doot" is beneficial.

@@NYCNexus I can get thenpitches ok, but I trip over solfege sometimes. I see it as part of learning!

O.K. I have several recordings. I'll take a look. Lately, I've been writing out new scores to fit the screen. (Sibelius software).

Tallis Scholars. Peter Phillips, conductor

@@NYCNexus Thank you -- I must say that surprises me a bit, as their recordings with which I'm familiar never involve such relaxed tempi or reverberant spaces...

@@monscarmeli Recorded at Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Salle, Norfolk, England.

Wow! Thanks Lorna. Lorna is a world-famous mezzo-soprano. (Frequent roles at the Metropolitan Opera, on Broadway, and with opera companies across the globe. Vocal soloist with the NY City Ballet, Alvin Ailey and Jose Limon Dance Companies. She toured with Karl Richter and the Munich Philharmonic. She also was a founder of Opera Ebony and a director of the Girl's Choir of Harlem, inspiring features on 60 minutes and in the New York Times. Through her many vocal and philanthropic projects her name has been associated with First Lady Hillary Clinton, Oprah, Paul Newman, and Queen Latifah!

When I watched this video, I decided to make another version. 5 Fantasias on “Une jeune fillette”. Eustache du Caurroy czcams.com/video/dE4nUokJ6RI/video.html

Wow! Thanks Lorna.

When Voces8 performed two concerts here in New York, I attended both, and spent time with each of them. I had not even heard "O nata lux" until I bought a CD of their recordings. The cross relation they sing in the last measure is, I believe, the best (cross relation) I've ever heard.

British bass-baritone Dingle Yandell studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio. He was one of the inaugural 'Rising Stars' of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and was a founder member of the award-winning British vocal ensemble Voces8, with whom he toured internationally for ten years. In the 2023/24 season he sings Zuniga Carmen and Sprecher Die Zauberflöte both for Glyndebourne Opera. He also sings Richard Strauss’ wistful one-act opera Daphne on the concert platform with The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with Collegium Vocale Gent on a tour that includes significant concert halls. Recent operatic engagements include André Thorel Thérèse (Scottish Opera), Theseus A Midsummer Night's Dream (Glyndebourne Opera), Don Pizarro Fidelio (Glyndebourne tour); Colline La bohème (Nevill Holt Opera); Snug A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Scottish Opera); Commendatore Don Giovanni (Nevill Holt Opera, Oxford Sinfonia); his role debut as Fafner Das Rheingold (Grimeborn); Angelotti Tosca, Sarastro and Speaker of the Temple Die Zauberflöte, Count Ceprano and cover Sparafucile Rigoletto, and Immigration Officer Flight (Scottish Opera); The Doctor Pelléas et Mélisande, cover Don Geronio Il turco in Italia, and cover La Roche Capriccio (Garsington Opera); Plutone in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (L'Arpeggiata); Seneca L'incoronazione di Poppea (Bach Collegium Japan); and The Cold Genius and Aeolus King Arthur (Gabrieli Consort). Equally in demand on the concert platform, his recent performances include Mozart Mass in C Minor with Royal Northern Sinfonia, Elgar The Apostles with The Hallé Orhestra, Bach Christmas Oratorio with Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra and Handel’s Messiah with Huddersfield Choral Society, Handel’s Messiah with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall; St Matthew Passion at the Valetta International Baroque Festival, Israel in Egypt with William Christie at the BBC Proms, The Creation cond. Adam Fischer, Harmoniemesse cond. Andras Schiff and the world premiere of Sally Beamish’s The Judas Passion (all with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment); Bach’s St John Passion (Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Moscow); Purcell’s Begin The Song (Arcangelo at Wigmore Hall). He sings regularly with the Early Opera Company, La Nuova Musica, Holland Baroque and Les Inventions, and is a soloist for the Bach, The Universe and Everything concert series at Kings Place, London. He also appears as a soloist on L’Arpeggiata’s recording Himmelsmusik. His concert repertoire includes Handel’s Dixit Dominus with the Monteverdi Choir at the BBC Proms and the Berliner Philharmonie, Bach’s St John Passion with the Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Mozart’s Requiem at the Wimbledon International Music Festival, B Minor Mass (Cadogan Hall); Christmas Oratorio and Messiah (Hitomi Hall, Tokyo and with the Orchestra of Opera North); Bach Wachet Auf and Erfreut Euch (Dijon Opera House); Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music (Royal Festival Hall, cond. John Wilson) and Fantasia on Christmas Carols (Isumi Hall, Osaka); Purcell O Sing Unto the Lord (Gabrieli Consort) and Phoebus Dido and Aeneas (L’Arpeggiata at Oudemuziek Festival, Utrecht); Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Theodora, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Rossini Stabat Mater and Verdi Requiem. Dingle is a recipient of a Sybil Tutton Opera Award administered by Help Musicians UK.

On the CD, A Purcell Collection, Voces8

Yes, I was startled when I first it. It does have "commcercial" appeal

Biber gave exact instructions on where the eight trumpeters should stand. “Das Tromba 1 et 2 auch 5 undt 6, alie vier müssen beysammen stehen; undt Tromba 3, 4, 7, 8 auch beysammen, denn sie gehen in Tripla ad duos choros” (Trumpets 1, 2, 5 and 6 must all stand together, and trumpets 3, 4, 7 and 8 together, because in the triple time sections they form two choirs), i.e., the 3/2 time is set for double choir. Thus he wanted to make certain that the antiphonal sections were placed in what amounted to stereophonic positions, so that the music could be heard with equal balance from all sides of the church auditorium. Biber’s great skill is shown in this work in which he was subject to the strict limitations of natural tone instruments. Moreover, he apparently had only four versatile clarion players at his disposal, the other four trumpeters being able to play only the first six natural tones. Biber overcame this further complication cleverly through the most unusual employment of a string bass and an organ and, consequently, could avail himself of a much richer set of harmonic possibilities.

@@NYCNexus Hi Nexus, thank you for your comment. The strange numbering Biber used for the trumpets has a good reason. He wanted to show that for the governor (allabreve sections) normal rules are valid (1 to 8). But for St. Polycarp (triple sections) different (heavenly) rules (trumpets 1,2,5,6 and 3,4,7,8) are valid. So he is leveling up the saint not only by the triple time (holy trinity) but also by the double choirs composition style (Venezian style). Unfortunately all printed editions I know about renumbered the trumpets for no reason. The reinforcement of the BC Biber mentioned in the second part of his notabene on the title sheet means, that there is a short phase in which the people loudly claim that Polycarp must be burned. Biber wanted to have the BC to be as strong as possible for this short phase. There is really a lot more to say about this interesting composition. But it cannot be said in a few lines comment.

I'll redo the video (with trackers) when I get the chance. I haven't listened to this since I posted it.