Vocalist.org archive


From:  Dre de Man <dredeman@y...>
Date:  Fri Jun 9, 2000  3:47 pm
Subject:  Re: Ameling's mosquito voice, was: crossing over


Dear Isabelle, John and others,
--- Isabelle Bracamonte <ibracamonte@y...> wrote:
> (...snip)I've never been able to appreciate
Ameling's voice. (...)
They just sound like they're speaking on pitch, not
> singing at all -- thin-blooded, like a mosquito.
> (...)
> I never liked lieder because I associated it with
> the
> "high and light" type of voice... then I heard
> Jessye
> Norman's lieder recordings, and the world opened up
> to
> me. Her Gretchen (Schubert) and Liebst du um
> Schonheit (Mahler) are divine.
> >
Whether you like lighter or heavier voices, can be a
matter of taste, for many people probably it is also
related to their own voice, via the 'learn to like
your own voice' principle. Personally I can appreciate
many kinds of voices, as long as the voice, and the
singer that owns it, is good.

But in the case of Ameling singing Lieder the problem
with such a light voice is also, that it often seems
to orbit miles above the piano, hence the mosquito
idea. In Ameling's recording of Schumann's Liederkreis
opus 39, the connection between the piano and the
voice seems completely lost for that reason, although
rhytmically they are perfectly together.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf recently admitted ashamed that
she had sung songs written for men in the past, until
she understood how wrong it was. I don't completely
agree with that, but in some songs sung by light
soprano voices like Ameling's and Bonney's, it can be
a problem. After all most Schubert/-mann songs (and
those are the ones that are most often performed, at
least here in Holland and Germany) have been written
for a tenor voice.

Isabelle further wrote : (...)snip:
> She stikes me as the perfect example of a "lieder"
> voice, like Dawn Upshaw and Sylvia McNair.
Firstly I think that often is underestimated how much
many Lieder ask from a voice: ideally you should be
able to to change dynamics and colours within a very
large range, so I think you need quite a good voice,
not a voice that is just not able (anymore) to sing
opera.
Secondly, I think that also Lieder are written for
different 'fachs' (Faecher), although this may not
always be clear at first sight, and that no voice can
do everyhthing (well). Transposing and octaving can do
wonders sometimes, but not all the time.

Finally: to appreciate Lieder fully, it is of utmost
importance to know their language well (when singing
them this is even more the case). If you don't
understand the words while you hear them, you will be
listening to a Lied like a blind man that goes to a
stage play: you will only understand half of what's
going on.

Just my 2 centjes.

Best greetings,
Dre.




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