Dec

10

Affecting voices.

Filed Under Music | 3 Comments

Occasionally I hear a voice, particularly live, that affects me. By making the back of my head tingle. Lovely when it occurs. Examples of vocalists that have so affected me: Lauryn Hill, John Lennon, Ani DiFranco, Bill Withers, Alicia Keys, Jeff Tweedy, Kelly Jean Caldwell, Mike Doughty, and Kelly Willis. The singers who so affect me do not necessarily have particularly beautiful voices, or have training that makes them particularly talented. But they’re voices are affecting.

Deb and I went to see her friend Rebecca sing in the Seattle Choral Company’s presentation of Handel’s “Messiah” as arranged by Mozart. Not one of the soloists had whatever quality it is that affects me. Disappointing. Also disappointing? Mozart’s arrangement did not contain nearly enough percussion. I was looking for the drum and bass Hallelujah chorus, and got a fairly traditional mess of strings and woodwinds instead. Overall, a predictable affair. Delightful in its own right, I suppose. But without extremely strong singers, or an interesting presentation, I’m not sure watching classical music is worth my time.


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3 Comments so far

  1. Roger Taylor on December 11, 2006 9:58 am

    Sometimes my butt tingles.

  2. FelixP on December 19, 2006 5:24 pm

    would you also agree that without extremely strong singers, or an interesting presentation, watching pop/folk/alternative/whatever music is probably not worth your time?

  3. Chris on December 20, 2006 10:06 am

    Felix, I’m not sure I’d use the word “strong” to describe the singers that interest me. But I’d agree with the proposition that with pop/folk/alternative/whatever music that is voice-centric, without interesting singers or an interesting presentation, the live performance is a waste of time. Of course, I have greatly enjoyed certain musical performances that feature no singing whatsoever.