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.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
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.
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.
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