| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 03:26 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - Ronsdivas 03:05 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| Gotta say, her acting was wonderful, and her magnificent voice was indeed in great shape, but I was surprised that she took such a noticeable breath between "your" and "dream" as she closed "Climb Ev'ry Mountain". Considering the fuss made over Carrie Underwood taking an unexpected breath during rehearsal footage, I'm also surprised no one seemed to notice. She was wonderful, though. No question. | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | LegitOnce 01:02 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - TheOtherOne 03:26 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| I noticed that breath, which amounted to massive backphrasing of the final climactic note. | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 02:05 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - LegitOnce 01:02 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Well, it appeared like she added like a two eighth note rest before singing the last note, I believe. I don't think it was done for phrasing of the lyric ("till you find your (rest) (rest) dream"). I think she wanted to rest briefly and get a good breath to sing a full final sustained note. Not a big deal, since she sounded so good! | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | LegitOnce 11:29 am EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - PlayWiz 02:05 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Well, I hate to sound curmudgeonly, but I think it is rather a big deal. As soon as the reprise of the melody starts (at "poco pesante"), Rodgers writes a steady accompaniment of half notes in a slow marching rhythm. He then emphasizes this intent motion by writing two measures of even half notes for the voice ("Till you find your..."), in contrast to the dotted and slightly syncopated vocal line the Abbess has sung until then. The effect, I think, is of a calm but resolute march, one foot in front of the other. The suggestion is that the mountain will be climbed and the stream forded not by any frantic effort but by patient and steadfast labor. That "steadfast" effect is emphasized by having the vocal part land solidly and squarely on the strong beats of the melody, as in the two measures I mentioned above. The culmination of this motion is the last dominant A-flat, anticipated in the last strong beat before the accompaniment lands solidly on the tonic D-flat major resolution. The problem with delaying that last note, i.e., singing it after the indicated beat, is that it interrupts the steady movement Rodgers has set up. The stalwart onward march is interrupted momentarily, and abruptly the emphasis is shifted away from the steady but calm rhythm Rodgers has so carefully set up. You get a good A-flat, but at the cost of the overall emotional impact of the piece. Maybe this is just a matter of taste, but I think this song is more like a classical piece than a pop song, and the classical vocal style calls for attack squarely on the beat, especially when that beat is such a powerful downbeat. If the singer needs to take a breath between "your" and "dream," the time for that breath is (in classical vocal music) always stolen from the earlier note, i.e., before the bar line, so that the attack on the strong beat can be exactly in time. Which is to say, if McDonald needed that breath, I think she should have sung "your" (quarter note), breath {quarter rest), "dream" (downbeat on measure 59). The ending of this song reminded me of one of the pitfalls of singing to pre-recorded tracks, which is that the singer is locked into a tempo that, in the moment of performance, may feel fractionally too slow or too fast. Had McDonald been singing this with a live orchestra and conductor, it would have been fairly simple for her to subtly speed up the tempo of the "poco pesante" reprise just slightly and therefore not need that long preparation for the climactic A-flat. This song is always difficult for lyric sopranos, and the last page is tiring for any sort of voice, so that last A-flat is not easy to get exactly in focus with enough breath to last for the 13 beats (plus fermata) Rodgers indicates. But the way McDonald did it felt a little desperate to me -- which is a pity, because she was so very fine everywhere else in this part. | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 02:06 pm EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - LegitOnce 11:29 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| Very well expressed, LegitOnce. I believe the show's cast recording was released prior to the live broadcast. Did she take that breath in the studio? | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 12:19 pm EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - LegitOnce 11:29 am EST 12/07/13 |
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| I agree with you, and as a classically trained singer myself, it stood out as a mistake. But she was singing live and seems like she needed a breath. Otherwise she may not have either attacked the last night full on or had enough breath to sustain it as long as she wanted to. Then again, there are sopranos who leave out several phrases at the end of "Sempre libera" in "La Traviata" to have enough wind left in them to give the last few notes all they've got! Consider this Audra's mini-version of that. :) | |
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| "attacked the last note" that is. nm | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 12:26 pm EST 12/07/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - PlayWiz 12:19 pm EST 12/07/13 |
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| nm | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | Zelgo 03:31 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - TheOtherOne 03:26 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| I noticed that and actually thought it added so much to the interpretation. She separated the word "dream" from the rest of the phrase to give it special emphasis. | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | TheOtherOne 03:42 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - Zelgo 03:31 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| If I liked the show more I might have watched it again to see if I heard it that way, but I did not save it and can't. To me, it sounded like she needed a breath, rebounded and gave it her all. Something which in a way only added to the live theater effect they were aiming for. This was more of an observation than a complaint. I hope that was apparent in my earlier post. | |
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| re: Isn't she always? | |
| Posted by: | FriendofDorothy 06:27 pm EST 12/06/13 |
| In reply to: | re: Isn't she always? - TheOtherOne 03:42 pm EST 12/06/13 |
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| I thought it was an acting choice. | |
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