Dear Randy, Else and co vocalisters,
Randy Bischer wrote: 'Yeah, Shostakovich 13 (Baba Yar) is certainly about sex and love.'
Well Randy (?), maybe miss Bonney is a bit pre-occupied with sex. But personally I have nothing against that and I like that much more, than somebody who is preoccupied with war. Besides, isn't Baba Yar about Shostakovich' secret love for Stalin?
But serious, I just got a mail from a Dutch vocalister (dank je wel, Else!) who wrote, she was at the Amsterdam BB class as well, and that a couple of weeks later, BB said the exact same words in exact the same way in a masterclass in the UK, this time for music students, so I did not make a mistake when quoting her.
Besides, it may sound a bit popular of course, but I must say that it is to 90% true. And it is even more often true than most of us will think: Das Veilchen, Heidenröslein, Die Forelle: all those songs are not about nature, but about love, despite the fact that only few people are aware of that, and sadly enough, even few singers.
This summer I talked with the teacher of one the singers of the Janowitz masterclass, and this woman was sure, you can only sing in a convincing way, if you are a person to whom sex is important. I don't know whether this is true, but to understand all the feelings expressed in songs and aria's, it certainly helps if you have some experience with many aspects of love.
It is a pity, as a matter of fact, that when a singer is old enough to understand all the emotions expressed in Lieder, his or her voice mostly does not have the youthful freshness anymore you associate with the young main characters of most songs.
Best greetings,
Dré
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