Friday, August 28, 2020

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Music #511 - Instruments - The Voice (SATB pop)



(Operatic) Soprano

(L) O mio babbino caro ("Oh my dear papa") aria 
- from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi opera 
 
(R) Un bel di vedremo (“One fine day we shall see”) aria
- from Puccini's Madame Butterfly opera 

(L) Musetta's Waltz
- from Puccini's La Bohème opera
 
(R) Caterina Cavalieri (1755-1801, Austrian soprano)
got the role of Konstanze in
- Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio" singspiel
- excerpt from “Amadeus” (1984 movie)

Queen of the Night aria  (coloratura sopranos/花腔)
- from Mozart's Magic Flute opera
 

Il dolce suono (“The Sweet Sound”) aria
 - from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor opera 
The Diva Dance aria 
(L) excerpt from the “Fifth Element” (1997 movie)
 



Soprano duet

(L) “Sull'aria” (On the breeze/微風輕拂) duet
aka "The Letter Duettino" [S-S]
- from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro (費加洛婚禮) opera 
 
(R) "Prenderò quel brunettino" 
(I'll take the brunette) duet [S-S]
- from Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" (她們皆如此) opera

Barcarolle duet (威尼斯船歌二重唱)
- soprano & mezzo-soprano
- from Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann" opera
 
(R) excerpt from "Life is Beautiful" (1997 movie)

(L) "Flower Duet" (花二重唱) [starting 1:18]
(coloratura soprano & mezzo-soprano)
(女主角Lakmé與女奴二重唱)
- from Delibes' "Lakmé" opera
 
(R) British Airways commercial - alternative for fun



Mezzo & alto

(L) 《可可托海的牧羊人》女中音/mezzo
 
(R)《站着等你三千年》女低音/alto



(Operatic) Male singers

(L) "Una Furtiva Lagrima" (一顆偷偷落下的眼淚) aria
- Nemorino in tenor 
- from Donizetti's "Elisir d'Amore" (愛情靈藥) opera
 
(R) Santa Lucia Luntana
- in tenor
- a Neapolitan (of Naples) song

(L) "An die Musik" by Franz Schubert
- in baritone
- excerpt from "Le maître de musique" 
The Music Teacher (1988 Belgian movie)
 
(R) "Non piu andrai, farfallone amoroso" 
(你再不要去做情郎) aria 
- Figaro in bass
- from Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" 
(費加羅的婚禮) opera

(L) "The Frost Scene"
- King Arthur in spoken role
- from Purcell's “King Arthur” opera
 
(R) "Adagio" 
- Il Divo (3 tenors & 1 baritone)
@ the Roman Coliseum of Pula, Croatia
(Adagio has been commonly attributed to the 18th-century Venetian master Tomaso Albinoni, but actually composed by 20th-century musicologist and Albinoni biographer Remo Giazotto, purportedly based on the discovery of a manuscript fragment by Albinoni.)

(L) "Brindisi" (Drinking Song)
- from Verdi's La traviata opera 
- by The Three Tenors (三大男高音演唱會)
- at The World Cup 1994, Los Angeles
 
(R) a lyrics video

(L) China's Three Tenors / 中國三高演唱會
 
(R) a tenor duel


屠洪刚《精忠报国》
 
 
李龍《大風歌》"楚漢傳奇"片集插曲
- 作曲:徐沛東、作詞:漢高祖劉邦
"原詩句:大風起兮雲飛揚,威加海內兮歸故鄉,安得猛士兮守四方? 
《大風歌》裡面的一句歌詞,這是漢高祖劉邦(公元前256-前195)在擊破英布軍以後,回長安時,途經他的故鄉沛(今江蘇徐州市沛縣),設宴招待家鄉的故交父老,酒酣時自己擊筑(古代樂器)而歌,所作慷慨豪情的高歌。漢朝人稱這篇歌辭為《三侯之章》,後人題為《大風歌》(始於《藝文類聚》)。"



(Operatic) Duet

(L) "Here's to Bacchus, Long live Bacchus!" duet
- tenor-bass
- from Mozart's Abduction from Seraglio opera
 
(R) "There we will entwine our hands" duet
- baritone-soprano
- from Mozart's Don Giovanni opera

- tenor solo (made M-F-M triplet, 嬲 flirtation)
- from Lehár's Land of Smiles operetta
 
(R) "Brindisi" (The Drinking Song) duet
- Libiamo ne' lieti calici
- from Verdi's La Traviata opera

"Sempre libera" (Always free) duet
- soprano-tenor
- from Verdi's La traviata opera
 


 
40 selected arias (soprano/tenor) for 2.5 hours


Pop bass

"Sixteen Tons"
 
 

(L) "Oh Shenandoah" 
- a traditional folk song, sung in the Americas
 
(R) "Autumn Leaves"

(L) "Howlin' Wolf Sings"
- excerpt from "Cadillac Records" (2008 movie)
 
(R) "Ol' Man River"
- show tune from "Show Boat" (1927 musical)

(L) "Save My Soul" by Blues Saracheno
- main theme in "Men Who Built America" TV series
 
(R) "Ghost Riders in the Sky"

(L) "Daddy Cool" by Boney M.
 
(R) "Sound of Silence"

(L) "Drunken Sailor"
 
(R) "The Wellermen"



Pop solo

  (L) “Barter your heart for my phone #”
 
(R) “Maria” from 
“200 Pounds Beauty” (2006 Korean movie)

(R) "Papa" by Paul Anka

Besame mucho by Andrea Bocelli

(L)《站着等你三千年》原唱 王琪 - 樂譜
 
(R)《可可托海的牧羊人》原唱 王琪

(L)《長相思》山一程    
詞:(清)納蘭性德 (其父納蘭明珠,乃康熙朝重臣之一)
 
(R) 《將進酒》
詞:(唐)李白




Pop duet

(L) "Remembering - 蘇州河" ("Danny Boy")
by Andrea Bocelli & Na Ying (那英), remotely
- excerpt from "The Eight Hundred / 八佰" (2020 movie)
 
(R) 羅文 甄妮《鐵血丹心》《 世間始終你好》《 問誰領風騷》

(L) 李淑勤 尹光《火網梵宮十四載 之 庵堂訴情》
 
(R) "You're the One That I Want"
by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
- excerpt from "Grease" (1978 movie) 

 
(originally by Ray CharlesNice
- excerpt from "The Dream Team" (1989 movie)



Pop chorus

(L) 劉德華x三千歌迷《一起走過的日子》
 
(R) 伍佰x全場觀眾《浪人情歌》

Paul McCartney et al singing "Hey Jude"



Other voices


Castrato

The following three scores were originally composed for soprano castratoes, but in modern times are rearranged for other voice types (usually soprano, or mezzo-soprano).   

(L) Handel - Lascia Ch'io Planga (Leave Me to Weep) 
- an Italian-language sopranoaria
- re-enacted in Farinelli (1994 movie) 
 
(R) Händel - Xerxes (or Serse) opera - Largo aria
- "Ombra mai fù" (“Never has there been a shade”)
   

(L) J.S.Bach - Cantata BWV 30 - Mvt 5. Aria for Alto
 
(R) Mozart - Exsultate Jubilate 
(motet for soprano & orchestra) 
- Part 3 is usually sung separately
- where the one single word "Alleluia" is sung repeatedly, 
from beginning to end, in various ways, beautifully.  
This religious solo motet (經文歌) was composed 
when 16-year-old Mozart was visiting Milan. 


A cappella 

The Moon is Walking  
- in the trailer of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal album 
It is a cappella by a group of South Africans 
called Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
 


 

 

  
Decani (/dɪˈkeɪnaɪ/; Latin: of the dean) is the side of a church choir occupied by the Dean. (In English churches, this is typically the choir stalls on the south side of the chancel.) 
The opposite side is known as Cantoris (/kænˈtɔːrɪs/; Latin: of the cantor), the side of a church choir occupied by the Cantor. (In English churches this is typically the choir stalls on the north side of the chancel, although there are some notable exceptions.)     - Wiki


 


Throat singing 

Mongolian khomeii (呼麦)
(L) 《大汗颂》Ode to the Great Khan
 
(R) "12 Years"
- wooden-fish percussion gives angelic faces

Inuit (an Eskimo tribe) 
  


Mouth singing

(L) Jazz 'scat singing' by Ella Fitzgerald 
(vocal mimicking of trumpets)
 
(R) Je veux - a French scat
(vocal mimicking of recorder or suona/嗩呐)


(L) Scottish mouth singing - diddling  
 Puirt a Beul - mouth music
  
(R) "All 'All's" songs


Swiss yodeling 

The Lonely Goatherd
- excerpt from The Sound of Music (1965 movie)

A doodle by 'amazing girl'
 
(L) @ AGT        (R) @ Ukraine Got Talent


Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Music #510 - Instruments - The Voice (chorus musicals)

The Voice


Choir


“Light of Rome” / Dragon Blade Roman song  
- excerpt from Dragon Blade (2015 movie)

- a Gregorian chant (aka plainsong)

- “Sederunt principes” / Princes Sat
- a 4-voice polyphony


- English madrigal

It was written for two choirs: SSATB and SATB; 
the first choir sings the original Miserere chant; 
the other choir, spatially separated, sings an ornamented commentary. 
(L) The Sixteen choir         (R) ....and their score
 

Mozart - Requiem Mass 
- (Mvt 8) “Confutatis”
(L) excerpt from Amadeus (1984 movie)
 

Mozart - Requiem Mass
- (Mvt 9) “Lacrimosa”
 

Johann Strauss II - “Tritsch Tratsch Polka
Carl Orff - Carmina Burana cantata - "O Fortuna



500 Miles

(L) “Wellerman” (Sea Shanty)
 
(R) "Drunken Sailors”


(L) “Spice Girl”        (R) “Let's Pull on the Two Oars”
 
 
(L) “Troika”        (R) “Poljushko Polje”

(L) “We'll Meet Again”          (R) “Candyman” 
 
 
(L) “Nobody”                (R) "Answer the Phone"

The Chorus / Les Choristes 
(French movie 2004)
 
  

Improvisional chorus
 
Accompanying your own singing

Background vocals
 



Opera/Orchestra

(L) Verdi - Il Trovatore opera 
- “Anvil Chorus” / Chorus of Gypsies
 
(R) Verdi - Nabucco opera 
- “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” 

Beethoven's Symphony No.9 (aka "Choral")
- in mvt 4, a choral (“Ode to Joy”) is added
 (hitherto unprecedented to a symphony)
(L) Beethoven's Symphony No.9
- excerpts from Copying Beethoven (2006 movie)
Totally deaf then, he conducts as his pretty student signals underground/understage.
 
(R) "Ode to Joy"
- excerpt from the Immortal Beloved (1994 movie)
Beethoven, then deaf, did not hear the audience applause, 
but was absorbed in recalling his hostile father, 
who used to beat the hell out of him (and box his ears).

"Ode to Joy"
(R) A huge choir of 10,000 singers
- annually in Japan
- during the year-end holiday season
 
(L) The European Union (anthem)



Musicals

(L) A Chorus Line (1985 movie) 
- “One”
 
(R) The Phantom of the Opera (2004 movie) 
- “Masquerade” 

(L) My Fair Lady (1964 movie) 
- “Ascot Gavotte”
- horse race scene at Ascot race court (a show-off of derby hats!) 
- interesting Gavotte song style
 
(R) The modern and real Royal Family at the Ascot 

(L) West Side Story (1961 movie) 
- “America”
 
(R) Les Misérables (2002 movie) 
- “Look Down”
- still short of liberté et equalité after 1789

(L) Jesus Christ Superstar (2000 movie) 
- “Hosanna”
 
(R) Hair (1979 movie) 
- “Aquarius”

(L) Evita (1996 movie) 
- from a flight-fight duet to “A New Argentina” chorus at [2:30]
(Peron got the hearts of the “shirtless”, by having imposed pay raises against the will of the farm owners.)
 
(R) Chicago (2002 movie) 
- “Cell Block Tango”

(L) Cabaret (1972 movie) 
- “Money Makes the World Go Round”
 
(R) Student Prince (1954 movie)
- "Drink, Drink, Drink"
- with the tenor voice of Mario Lanza (幕後主唱)
《學生王子》影敘述一王子到德國海德堡Heiderberg求學,愛上酒店女侍的一段故事。海德堡大學的學生課餘暢快飲酒(德國啤酒),因此有此飲酒歌。


Friday, August 7, 2020

Music #509 - Instruments - Keyboards

Keyboard instrument


Electronic dance pad/mat


 

 
Been a “butterfly” on your own electronic dance pad at home?



Upright piano 


(L) The Flight of the Bumblebee 
from The Tale of Tsar Saltan opera (by Rimsky-Korsakov)
- clip from 'Shine' 《鋼琴師》(1996 movie)
 
(R) Una Furtiva Lagrima 
from L'Elisir d'Amore opera (by Donizetti)
- clip from 'That Midnight Kiss' (1949 film) 
- pianist as accompanist 

(L) Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata - III
- excerpt from “Keys to the Heart” (2017 movie)
  
(R) Excerpt from "A Night at the Opera" (1935 film)

- a ragtime by Scott Joplin 
 
(R) resurrected in 'The Sting' (1973 film)
/ 《老千計狀元才》
starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford


Top 10 most difficult piano pieces
 



Standardized pitch
The letter-name “A” is given to the pitch of 440 cycles per cycle, which is produced by a key just to the right of the middle of the piano keyboard. This is a standard universal measure of pitch.


Grand piano

(including concert grand)

(L) Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1
Excerpt from “Keys to the Heart” (2017 movie)
 
(R) Vivaldi - Four Seasons - Spring

Chopin - Nocturne No.20 
(L) Excerpt from "The Pianist" (2002 movie)
cf.

(L) Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata - I 
- excerpt from “Immortal Beloved” (1994 movie)
L
(R) Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No.2

(L) Beethoven - Violin Sonata No.5 (“Spring”) - Mvt.1
- who accompanies whom? 
 
(R) Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5  
(aka the "Emperor")

Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on Themes of Paganini 
(Caprice No.24)
- Variation No.18 (of 24) 
  
(R) Excerpt from the “ Somewhere in Time” (1980 movie)

 (L) Wilhelm Ganz - Qui Vive! Grand Galop 
 
(R) Chopin - Minute Waltz

The Marx Brothers' piano scene
in The Big Store (1941 movie)


Excerpts from “Secret” / 不能說的秘密 (2007 movie)
(L) Chopin - Valse Op.64 No.2 & Etude Op.10 No.5, 
& J.R. Morton - The Crave
 
(R) "On shells rain" - four hands - score


30 most famous classical piano pieces
 



Organ


J.S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue (BWV 565) 
 

 


Davy Jones (a fictional character computer-animated) 
in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series



Accordion


(L) Vivaldi - Four Seasons - Winter

 
(R) bandoneón, Argentina's national instrument  




Digital piano


(L) Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska - A Maiden’s Prayer
 
(R) Autumn Leaves

 

 



Keytar 





Toy piano


 







Early Keyboards


(L) Clavichord   
Mozart's B flat Sonata, K.570
 
(R) Harpsichord



(web photo)