Friday Cyberspace Recital -- More Than I Could Have Hoped For

Little did I know -- when I impulsively thought up the idea of this singing project for myself of learning 24 Italian Songs and Arias in 24 Weeks -- how deeply involved I would become in this project and what a source of learning, development, and joy it was about to bring to my life.

I had no idea -- I simply had no idea how musically enriched I would become by exploring these songs.  I had no idea how much it would develop my singing, what would happen to my pronunciation of the Italian language, or even something like how my flipped and rolled [r]s would improve. I had no idea how musical phrases would begin to tell me things that I had not known about music before.  It's almost as if my voice has been waiting for me to do this, so it could reveal it's secrets to me.  Each day, as I take up the song and find progress on it, I am amazed.  My voice is almost like a child who says, "Watch me, mother!  I couldn't do this yesterday, but look at me today!!  See, I grew a little stronger and taller over night, and I figured it out and now I can do it!  Look at me!"

Nowadays, when my eyes fall upon my Italian songbook, I feel the way a golfer might feel when he lays eyes on his set of clubs propped against the wall in the garage, or a runner feels when she spies her running shoes lying on the mat by the back door, or a chef feels when he approaches his block of sharp and shiny stainless steel knives on the counter.  When I pick the book up, or put it into my lesson bag, I have a sense of love and respect for what is contained within.

This week's lesson is about how much less time I need to pick up a song and learn it.  In fact, things were moving along so well on "Non posso disperar" by the time I brought it to my lesson on Tuesday that my voice teacher suggested I start on the next song as well, "Nina."  So, I am well into learning that song, slated for next Friday, and will probably start another one over the weekend.  I am getting ahead of myself.  That is really exciting!

I am finally healed from the ravages of that head cold I had a couple of weeks back.  It is great to have the voice back and return to its continued development.  I am very happy that I seem to have been able to resume progress right where I left off before catching the head cold.  In fact, it seems like progress was made even during the cold, so I think it was worth the bit of practicing I did while conditions were less than ideal.

My Cs, Ds, and E5s are feeling much more effortless, and I am beginning to find release and space for my F and G5s.  In "Non posso disperar" I had to reach up and just lightly touch G5, but in "Nina" I have to sustain G5.  Two different tasks, and I am grateful to have a smart voice teacher who knows that one task best came before the other.
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Click here to be transported to Frescamari's Performance Space and listen to this week's offering from the 24 Italian Songs and Arias:  "Non posso disperar."
Clck here to listen to work on "Nina"