am i the only one that finds the tempo a tad too slow? nevertheless every time i hear those surging waves of sound by the strings, i get chills. it’s just so transcendent, so moving and beautiful.
For those that might read this let me tell you first of my love for Robert Shaw. There is an However, coming but first... I sang with Shaw with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus in 1976 for 6 months before going off to music school. It still resonates with me to this day. We did the Beethoven's Ninth, the Brahms Nänie and the Missa Solemnis and all were done to perfection thanks to his wonderful preparation and performance techniques. He was at the later part of a long illustrious career and no one thinks higher of him than me. Read his Notes On Rehearsal if you want to learn to get inside his thought process. Here is the however,. Mr Shaw was a choral conductor and not an opera conductor. He didn't have the years of Verdi, Puccini, Wagner performances to draw from and opera is a whole different genre than choral music. Not saying that opera choral music can't be sung in concert form but the stage and the lights and the sweat is different than standing stock still in a hall. This performance, while-please hear me-is incredible, did you hear me say it is wonderful, I mean-really do you catch that I am the biggest fan, is not what you would hear of this music on the stage. There is a snippet from a Bayreuth production of Tannhauser that would give you the power of Wagner with opera chorus voices. Now there is Wagner in great form. th-cam.com/video/yObMCvH3cfs/w-d-xo.html OK, for all that would like to smack me silly about saying anything Robert Shaw, and I know you are there, this is not about Shaw. What I wanted to say is that in DeKalb County, GA, there was a DeKalb Honors Chorus in 1967. It was held on the stage of Tucker High School from which I matriculated. During the rehearsal time we picked up this chorus. We sang our hearts out with the triplets pounding underneath at the end and when the Alleluias rang out it was simply beyond the pale. I sit here today some 55 years later and got teary eyed just thinking about those moments when there was thunderous high school voices, who had no idea what it was they were singing or what it was about. I went on to sing opera for 20 years. I could be convicted of being an opera singer. Part of the web and woof of my life that I am forever grateful for is-too long to list many so let me just say about Wagner and Shaw-is getting to experience the absolute height of music and being conducted by one of the greatest choral conductors ever. He remains one of my idols, oh no, here is that however, again, opera choruses are just more full blooded on the stage than in the concert hall. I await your comments. Please be kind.
I also favor a slightly faster tempo. There have always been differences in the way directors set up productions. Even the current day productions at Bayreuth have changed, especially now that the Wagners are no longer operating the venue. Look at what the new people did to Tanhauser, when the time frame was advanced 100 years. If that helps to spike the interest among the younger audiences, maybe that's good, but it was a shocker when I saw the Opera online from Bayreuth. If you recall, some of the principals were seen in the opening scene going down a dirt road in an old truck.
This was not the Robert Shaw Chorale. This is the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus men. I think this was the third take. Mr. Shaw really wanted an even broader tempo, but intonation is vital to a successful performance of this, and the slower tempo did not help. I very distinctly remember Mr. Shaw strolling on stage and telling us, point blank, that we had intonation problems, and that he was going to pick up the pace a little. Then he told us an amazingly funny joke (he had a tremendous sense of humor), and while we were still laughing, he directed the tape to roll. We all knew that this would be the "take."
Everything is a matter of degree. this piece can't be badly performed if those taking part love the human voice applied to such dramatic pause. This is one of the strongest pieces ever composed, the most dramatic, the violin section pulses the voices show the power of man and what he's capable of at his very heights. Bravo.
I just heard this on KUSC in LA and immediately came here to look for it. This video is going to the top of my favorites list!. I'm going to post the link on my Facebook page, but I know my Philistine friends won't "get it." Their loss.
Merci beaucoup Marie pour votre chaleureux commentaire. Je connaissais votre commentaire il n'y a pas un mois, mais aujourd'hui sur cette colonne de vidéo. Google avait omis de m'informer de votre commentaire par mail . Avec l'amitié de Mitsuru.
This staging is from the Met. I recognize Michelle de Young. Eva Marie Westbroek was Elizabeth and Johann Botha was the best Tannhauser I’ve ever heard. And Peter Mattei presented his always ravishingly beautiful voice.
Dave Glo Is this the Gunther Schneider-Siemsen legendargy production? (1977 if I'm not mistaken). I saw the 1982 staging with Richard Cassilly, Eva Marton, Bernd Weikl, Tatiana Troyanos and John Macurdy c.James Levine
i was there for two performances. they were incredibly moving and transcendental, amazingly beautiful and well performed. the final pilgrims’ chorus just envelops you in a wall of sound, and the surging waves by the strings always give me chills.
@@eduardobraivein8496 yes, but unfortunately the production did not age well, it was quite dark and shabby by the time of the performances with this cast in the pictures.
Typically Americans don't pronounce German well. They learn it in school but you really can't get an idea of a language until you live there and even then we Americans sound horrible when we try to speak or sing it. You really do need a live in friend to get things closer to right. For example the word ich. It doesn't sound like ish EVER when the Germans say it, but I digress. Actually, I'm procrastinating about going back to work and I wrote that treatise above and just had enough energy to dash this off.
am i the only one that finds the tempo a tad too slow? nevertheless every time i hear those surging waves of sound by the strings, i get chills. it’s just so transcendent, so moving and beautiful.
Nah, to me this is like Elsa’s Procession- best if played as slow as humanly possible (and preserving the musicality of course).
The orchestra yes
For those that might read this let me tell you first of my love for Robert Shaw. There is an However, coming but first... I sang with Shaw with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus in 1976 for 6 months before going off to music school. It still resonates with me to this day. We did the Beethoven's Ninth, the Brahms Nänie and the Missa Solemnis and all were done to perfection thanks to his wonderful preparation and performance techniques. He was at the later part of a long illustrious career and no one thinks higher of him than me. Read his Notes On Rehearsal if you want to learn to get inside his thought process.
Here is the however,. Mr Shaw was a choral conductor and not an opera conductor. He didn't have the years of Verdi, Puccini, Wagner performances to draw from and opera is a whole different genre than choral music. Not saying that opera choral music can't be sung in concert form but the stage and the lights and the sweat is different than standing stock still in a hall. This performance, while-please hear me-is incredible, did you hear me say it is wonderful, I mean-really do you catch that I am the biggest fan, is not what you would hear of this music on the stage. There is a snippet from a Bayreuth production of Tannhauser that would give you the power of Wagner with opera chorus voices. Now there is Wagner in great form. th-cam.com/video/yObMCvH3cfs/w-d-xo.html
OK, for all that would like to smack me silly about saying anything Robert Shaw, and I know you are there, this is not about Shaw. What I wanted to say is that in DeKalb County, GA, there was a DeKalb Honors Chorus in 1967. It was held on the stage of Tucker High School from which I matriculated. During the rehearsal time we picked up this chorus. We sang our hearts out with the triplets pounding underneath at the end and when the Alleluias rang out it was simply beyond the pale. I sit here today some 55 years later and got teary eyed just thinking about those moments when there was thunderous high school voices, who had no idea what it was they were singing or what it was about.
I went on to sing opera for 20 years. I could be convicted of being an opera singer. Part of the web and woof of my life that I am forever grateful for is-too long to list many so let me just say about Wagner and Shaw-is getting to experience the absolute height of music and being conducted by one of the greatest choral conductors ever. He remains one of my idols, oh no, here is that however, again, opera choruses are just more full blooded on the stage than in the concert hall.
I await your comments. Please be kind.
J'ai adoré le tempo et le continuum dans le phrasé. Peut être qu'il y manque un tout petit peu de puissance mais ce n'est pas un handicap.
I also favor a slightly faster tempo. There have always been differences in the way directors set up productions. Even the current day productions at Bayreuth have changed, especially now that the Wagners are no longer operating the venue. Look at what the new people did to Tanhauser, when the time frame was advanced 100 years. If that helps to spike the interest among the younger audiences, maybe that's good, but it was a shocker when I saw the Opera online from Bayreuth. If you recall, some of the principals were seen in the opening scene going down a dirt road in an old truck.
This was not the Robert Shaw Chorale. This is the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus men. I think this was the third take. Mr. Shaw really wanted an even broader tempo, but intonation is vital to a successful performance of this, and the slower tempo did not help. I very distinctly remember Mr. Shaw strolling on stage and telling us, point blank, that we had intonation problems, and that he was going to pick up the pace a little. Then he told us an amazingly funny joke (he had a tremendous sense of humor), and while we were still laughing, he directed the tape to roll. We all knew that this would be the "take."
Hi Todd, if you have a better version would you please provide the name of the album and performer etc? Thanks.
BenD fallacy? Either way made one, and everyone knows it
Everything is a matter of degree. this piece can't be badly performed if those taking part love the human voice applied to such dramatic pause. This is one of the strongest pieces ever composed, the most dramatic, the violin section pulses the voices show the power of man and what he's capable of at his very heights. Bravo.
You are right it is just a tad slow and I imagine it wasn't easy to keep singing for that wee extra second or so throughout. Great rendition.
A favorite opera...makes me sob
Wonderful!
I just heard this on KUSC in LA and immediately came here to look for it. This video is going to the top of my favorites list!. I'm going to post the link on my Facebook page, but I know my Philistine friends won't "get it." Their loss.
Realmente una obra maestra de Wagner !!!!! Cuando muera pediré está que la entonen!!!
Jajaja. Yo tenía pensado lo mismo
- Wonderful!
__________
Beau chant de Tannhauser j'en frissonne ! merci de l'avoir mis en ligne !!
Merci beaucoup Marie pour votre chaleureux commentaire. Je connaissais votre commentaire il n'y a pas un mois, mais aujourd'hui sur cette colonne de vidéo. Google avait omis de m'informer de votre commentaire par mail . Avec l'amitié de Mitsuru.
An impressive video ! Thanks a lot for your posting.
+moltilibri2009 Thank you so much for kind comment.
This chorus gives me a small jolt of positivre energy. One of the best things that came out of Germany. God bless you all.
This staging is from the Met. I recognize Michelle de Young. Eva Marie Westbroek was Elizabeth and Johann Botha was the best Tannhauser I’ve ever heard. And Peter Mattei presented his always ravishingly beautiful voice.
Dave Glo Is this the Gunther Schneider-Siemsen legendargy production? (1977 if I'm not mistaken).
I saw the 1982 staging with Richard Cassilly, Eva Marton, Bernd Weikl, Tatiana Troyanos and John Macurdy c.James Levine
i was there for two performances. they were incredibly moving and transcendental, amazingly beautiful and well performed. the final pilgrims’ chorus just envelops you in a wall of sound, and the surging waves by the strings always give me chills.
@@eduardobraivein8496 yes, but unfortunately the production did not age well, it was quite dark and shabby by the time of the performances with this cast in the pictures.
これは天才だ。
I have a job to do. When I listen to this powerful chorus
I don't mind the pronunciation. The singing is beautiful. He must have had a masterplan who breathes when so that the sound never breaks off.
ORACION ....🙏🙏🙏 .....ORACION ......🙏🙏🙏
Beautiful performance. Thanks for sharing. Which CD album is it in?
탄호이저 - 순례자의 합창
Bad pronunciation of the "Hallelujah", but the "Ewigkeit" was great.
Typically Americans don't pronounce German well. They learn it in school but you really can't get an idea of a language until you live there and even then we Americans sound horrible when we try to speak or sing it. You really do need a live in friend to get things closer to right. For example the word ich. It doesn't sound like ish EVER when the Germans say it, but I digress. Actually, I'm procrastinating about going back to work and I wrote that treatise above and just had enough energy to dash this off.
why does it not sound like German? I've sung this. At first it doesn't sound like German at all. Am I drunk off soda?
To me it basically sounds like noone told the singers how to pronounce ü, so everything becomes "er" rather than "oo"