"Roy" roy@somedomainsomewhere wrote in message
...
Keith G wrote:
I've just heard some Kraut bass-baritone (Thomas Quasthoff)
absolutely *m-u-r-d-e-r* 'My Funny Valentine' (I think it was -
difficult to tell) after a lofty discussion on R3 just now about
'crossover singers' failing and that gushy plonker Sean Rafferty has
just called it 'sensational'....

??

Or is it me...??




Crossover singers - don'cha love 'em?

I was holidaying in Lubeck in Germany recently and went to a student
concert at the Musikhochschule. Great performances from kids between
12 and 21. However, it took me a while to figure out that one young
Asian girl was singing "Somewhere over the rainbow". Even longer to
realise she was singing in English.


My point (not well made) was that the guy had already sung some lovely
pieces in a very nice voice with just a hint of German accent which
works well for me and they (Sucky Uppy Rafferty, mostly) had been
shredding 'crossover singers' - opera/classically trained singers trying
to do 'pop' &c. and saying how it rarely/if ever works (think Kiri Te
Kanawa) when the guy does the *dirge, but beautifully enunciated*
version of My Funny Valentine!

But, thinking on, I suppose Rafferty could hardly have said 'Streuth,
that was ****e!' after the German had finished, could he? :-)



Apparently in the ABRSM grade exams for singing, you have to do an
unaccompanied traditional song. I bet that approaches the dire quite
often.


Nah, bugger that - *everybody's* got a 'traditional' song in 'em - even
me!! :-)

Here's mine:

##Did you ever see a wild goose sailing over the ocean...?##

OK, ****it then - it looks like this:

http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiWLDGOOSE.html

.....and sounds like this:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...e%20Shanty.mp3

(But not when I sing it!! :-)