Our Great Mikado Virtuous Man

This is not only a show I have not performed in, but one that I want to sing its adaptation in the Japanese language.  Yes, there is, in fact, a Japanese rendition of the operetta, The Mikado.

In this song, Pish-Tush, a noble lord of the town of Titipu, explains to Nanki-Poo that not long ago, the lord of Japan, the Mikado, decreed that flirting, unless married, was a crime punishable by death.  The tailor, Ko-Ko, was accused and subsequently jailed.  The other lords, knowing how fatal this could be, considering human nature, subverted the law by appointing Ko-Ko as the Lord High Executioner. Since he was next to be executed, no others could be until he had done it himself, and since Ko-Ko's not the type to do himself in, the town of Titipu was spared until the Mikado would eventually himself come to Titipu.

Thankfully, the Mikado has more than a few bass roles, which makes any prospect of joining a production all the better, since I know 'As Someday it may happen', sung by Ko-Ko and am learning 'A More Humane Mikado', sung by the Mikado himself and 'I am So Proud' sung by Ko-Ko, Pish-tush, and Poo-Bah.

When a Felon's Not Engaged in His Employment

Sung by the Sargent during the Second Act of The Pirates of Penzance, he laments that the lot of a police man often is not a happy one.  Which is understandable, considering many police in story are often portrayed as either incompetent or corrupt. 

The Sargent notes that while felons, such as the Pirates of Penzance, are in fact, villains, they are not completely consumed by their need to commit crimes and is evidenced by the innocent acts of enjoyment they pursue. 

While I can understand how baritone and tenor are capable of singing this song, I feel it just doesn't have the same effect as a bass.  Especially so at the end of the chorus, where the Sargent and his men repeat 'Happy One' an additional octave lower.  Besides, there are enough tenors in the cast supplied by Fredrick and that's good enough for me. 

O Isis Und Osiris

Another one of the Magic Flute pieces I was to sing back in the day.  But alas, the aforementioned cold prevented me from seeking the blessings of the gods, Isis and Osirus, upon Tamino and Pamina as they venture forth in their journey to join the Order of Wisdom.

While, I have seen productions of this which show the Order as Egyptian, it's not necessarily so in the liner notes.   All it says that Tamino is a prince of a 'distant land'.  Take that for what you will.  However, the principles that Sarastro is known to sing for are in reference to the fact that Mozart's Freemasonry, which is in short; a brotherhood of sorts of worker class peoples, but even then, there's much to it than that and not entirely relevant to this post.

The deep and almost humble tone of this song has personal meaning to me, being a practicing Christian, and feel that song is almost a form of worship to the heavens itself.

In Diesen Heiligen Hallen

Completed in 1791, Die Zauberflöte was one of Mozart's final works before illness would inevitably take his life in December of that year.  Since then, it's been performed countless times to a multitude of audiences around the world.


In this particular song, Sarastro, the High Priest of the Temple of Wisdom, admonishes Panima that he will not seek revenge upon her mother, the Queen of the Night, after he discovers that she wished to murder him in the previous aria (a side note: the Queen of the Night's aria "Der Hölle Rache" is a very challenging song for any soprano and my heart goes out to all who have fallen before it.).  He sings the virtues of his Order, how through wisdom, love, and forgiveness, man may become as gods (as mentioned in the finale of the first act.)


I was fortunate enough to play the part of Sarastro during my Junior year at the University of Utah, however, I had caught a rather nasty cold and as a result, I was in no condition to sing.  It broke my heart, to say the least.  Because of my illness, the other bass in the show, had to sing for me and I was there mouthing the words as my friends sung.  It seemed a tad silly, but at least I got to act a little bit. 

The Turret Opera

The first song I decided on showcasing here was a bit of a 'fun' project, I think.

At the end of the the video game, Portal 2 (released in April by Valve Software), there is a section in the ending where you are treated to hear an actual Italian aria (click the link at your own peril, as it will spoil the ending) sung by a member of the vocal cast, Ellen McClain, who also happens to be an opera singer as well.  As part of an in-joke between the software developers and the composer of the music, they wrote that song and created that part just for her.  It also resulted in one of the best vocal pieces of music, albeit short, you would ever hear in a video game.  I could go over the translation, but that would spoil the ending for those that have never played.

Now, for my rendition, I scoured Youtube for other renditions and I came upon this version, made by a freelance studio called A Capella Records.  They took the original song, separated the lyrics from the original tune and placed them into a standard four-part choir, along with a soloist.  While certainly interesting, I couldn't help but feel that there wasn't enough bass going around.  Thankfully, A Capella Records was kind enough to place the arrangement online for free.

So, I printed it out, used my keyboard to rehearse each part, used the open-source program Audacity, along with a microphone I had received as a gift from my father a few years ago, to rehearse and record myself singing the entire thing as a bass quintet.

It's a tad shaky in places, I will admit, because this was done over the course of only three days of quick practicing, during bouts of networking meetings, running, and general job searching.

However, this Friday, I'll put up another song I'm much more familiar with, which should eventually be a nice place to put all my music.