Wednesday, May 19 2010

Wednesday. May 19, 2010

Great day today. We had class, where we discussed and analyzed a bit of the Bach motets very quickly. It was a bit of a whirlwind, since I'm not terribly advanced musically. We did that because tonight, we went to a rehearsal of the Holst Singers. More on that later.

After class, we rushed off to a matinee for Les Mis. The theatre was a bit harder to find than we would have liked it to be, but that may have been due to our own stupidity more than any kind of complicated route to arrive there.

The show was great. I was really quite impressed with most of the cast, except for Marius. He literally sounded like a goat at times. Whenever he got angsty, he clenched down his jaw, produced some false vibratto, and nasalized the sound. It was ugly. Eponine was especially fantastic. She had an incredibly open resonance and was just so relaxed. It was an incredibly healthy belt. And she was just so emotionally connected. All of her vocals were super good, except for “On My Own,” ironically enough. She got a little too angsty and it was more like yelling than belting. However, the only reason I could excuse her faulty vocals on that song was that she was literally crying at the end of the song. She turned into a totally different character for me. Eponine had always been a whiny, “feel bad for me” character, but with this actress, she became a real person with feelings on the offensive, rather than the victim. It was really a great piece of acting. And she was really cute. That had no influence on my liking her....

The last time I saw the show, I think I was 15 or 16 and while I appreciated it then, both for the theatrical and musical elements and the storyline, I definitely didn't appreciate it at the level I did today. In the program, there was a quote from Victor Hugo about the people in the world—who are so many—who are alone, destitute, hopeless, and how they can still change their lives. The characters' stories were each so gripping as we watched them change and grow: Valjean, Fantine, Javert, Eponine. I loved watching Valjean's journey and how he infused hope into all those around him simply by loving them. Such a powerful lesson.

After some dinner, we headed over to a church for the Holst Singers' rehearsal of the Bach motets. I actually really liked the Holst Singers' sound. In fact, I liked them more than I did the BBC Singers, which is a fully professional choir. Holst had a much lighter, brighter sound, yet still grounded. They had a lot of height and loft to their sound, in addition to the ringy, pingy sound. It was quite the lively sound. Loved it. And the Bach motets were thrilling! Especially Komm, Jesu, Komm. I highly recommend you check it out on youtube, if not on a professional recording. The choir was about 30-40 people in total, and their balance was pretty good. However, like so many of these British choirs, I once again found the alto section lacking. Often, it was like a three-part choir. Altos of the world, man-up and blasted sing. You are not second-class citizens; you have beautiful instruments and you should use them proudly. No overkill, but play your part.

And then back here for a chill evening.