ellensgrind

scary Brahms

When I first heard Flicka and Judith Blegen sing this duet, I got goosebumps at how scary it was. This poor little girl with this scary witch mother who is delighting in scaring her child...ooh, I love it. Melanie starts the duet, asking the questions (Liebe Mutter) and I reply (meine liebes Kind).

beautiful Brahms

Brahms is my hands-down favorite composer. His music is like maple syrup, thick, beautiful and rich. LOVE IT.

the French fav

Debussy's Chaveaux de Bois.

Favs from '97

Here are some favorites from my '97 Masters Recital at DePaul University. The vocal quality is not stellar in all parts, but these are my favorite songs of the program. A 'traditional' program for a young singer is an Italian Baroque set, French and German Romantic era sets and a 4th set of the more modern era. I chose a set of three modern Hebrew songs. Little did I know how far the love of this music would take me! In the German, my friend Melanie was singing the alto part so I could have the melody. In Walpurgisnacht, she starts and I reply. It's so spooky-a young girl realizing her own mother is a witch! I get chills just hearing it. Hmm, I can only add one at a time. We'll start with the Italian.

Avinu Malkeynu

Perhaps the most famous piece ever, in the Jewish Vocal Lit arena. This is Max Janowski's version of this most haunting, beautiful melody.

Kaddish

Here's another favorite: Simon Sargon's Kaddish.

We Remember

This is my first attempt at blogging with audio files. Here is one of my favorites from my "We Remember Them" recital: Ashrey ha-Gafrur by Max Helfman.