"SONGBIRD"-THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVELY SONG

" SONGBIRD"  Thank you for your lovely song:  There is a double connection to be made with the performance of " Songbird."  It is a song, music and lyrics by Loonis McGloohan,that conveys appreciation of an avian recital in much the same way that Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer provided in " Skylark", the subject of an earlier post on this blog. ( Post titled : " Hoagy and Johnny-2 Country Boys and Skylark) The lyric ends with the words " Thank You For Your Lovely Song." I also wanted to thank Eileen Farrell, who was accompanied on the piano by the composer for her lovely song. Farrell was a major opera and concert singer who was equally adept with distinguished popular music. Not all classically trained singers have the sensitivity and natural style of singing but Dawn Upshaw, Kirie TE Kanawa, Fredrica Von Stade , Barbara Cook and Kathleen Battle come to mind as those capable of meeting the unforced and relaxed vocal demands of the classic popular song. Thomas Hampson has a wonderful voice but he is stillted and stentorian in performance, reflecting what Stephan Sondheim said in in one of the songs in " A Little Night Music" when referring to " A Tenor Belching The Bartered Bride."

Readers of this blog will have become aware of how entranced I am by the arrangement and orchestrations supporting the  songs being presented. A case in point is Renee Fleming singing " Over The Rainbow" with  full symphonic support by the Beijing Symphony. The harmony is bewitching, the interplay between woodwinds and strings never fails to overwhelm me. ( Note " This can be heard on an earlier post " A Matter of Style-Can an Operatic Style Do Justice to the Classic American Songbook?)
At the same time, I am aware that sometimes a singer, accompanied only by a piano or guitar, can also showcase the beauty of the song and the performance as two artists perform as one. AN example is Andre Previn's sophisticated and imaginative accompaniment of Julie Andrews singing two Kurt Weill Songs.( Post titled " Two By Weill so Stay a While"")

link to "SONGBIRD"  
http://youtu.be/7Ry5AfKiXbY