And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
Everyday I walk to school some 30 min distance. I take advantage of this by walking briskly so I can exercise everyday. But one fine day I preferred to walk leisurely to enjoy the beautiful spring afternoon. It was then that I noticed the flowers along the road -- some wild, some were not. So, today I brought along my small camera and took pictures along the way. These were some of the flowers I found. Can you name them all? a shy camellia and one rainy afternoon...
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Hand Shadow Theater Click on the picture for a sample of a hand shadow performance.
Ingredients: Potatoes chopped onion carrot diced and cooked olive oil salt and pepper vinegar mayonaise Boil potato with a little salt and peel in running water. Put it in a big mixing bowl and mash. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Optional: Add canned sweet corn or thinly sliced cucumber (add salt and squeeze out the juice). In Japan, you can get the "Magic Salt" in supermarkets. I found it years ago and is still using it. It's a bit expensive, though. decorate with mini tomato before serving.
to improvise with them. I purposely divert the listener away from the music. It is intended as a background music for retreat and recollection so I want them to focus on their prayer and meditation instead of the music. The music will help the listener settle down, set and atmosphere of prayer through the familiarity of the melody and harmony but will slowly divert to improvisation to bring the listener away from the music and make his prayer or meditation experience more personal. The music won't get in the way. I have this idea because I practice yoga for almost three years now. I would like to share that experience of bringing someone into prayer or meditation and being in unity with oneself oblivious of the surrounding whether it is noise or music. Ironically, this music is intended for you to listen to it at first and "not listen" to it later. The Devil's PranksThe problem was I just couldn't get started. Procrastination attack! My composition teacher used to tell us "just sit on the piano and write anything". That's what I did and it worked somehow. I made a few "sketches". Then one early morning I woke up full of inspiration. I turned on the keyboard, put on the headphone, then... suddenly, somewhere in the neighborhood a loud blast of music coming through my padded ear. I could feel the booming of the bass. It was like the speaker was pointed to my direction as the devil's prank for me. There was a wedding. In Cambodia, they play loud music the whole day from as early as 4:30 am to as late as 12 midnight on weddings and funerals. A happy music is irritating when played all day. How much more a funeral music? But all the locals seemed to have gotten used to it. Cambodia may not be a place for musicians to live. In the middle of the project I forgot my list in the church among the songbooks. The devil's prank again because there were many clean sheets of paper around but why my list was chosen and torn to be used as a memo? See the picture. On another day, the keyboard didn't work. The wire came loose so there was no electricity coming into the instrument. I had to wait for a day to get the other keyboard because the custodian was away. I blamed the devil again for this prank. I was running out of time. The launching was set on January 27, 2012 and I was going back to the Philippines in the first week of February. I only had a couple of weeks. So, I declined invitations to go on trips. I secluded myself in my room. And it worked. I only went out to eat meals. When there was a wedding or a funeral in the neighborhood, I went to a coffee shop in the market that served good coffee to edit the reverb, balance, etc. I used to jog before sunset with a Cambodian friend or just hangout with them but I stopped doing it as well. I didn't want to forget the idea while it's still accessible in my brain. Every minute was precious because we wanted to include at least 12 songs. The toughest part is during the editing because I fell asleep in the middle of the music. So, I edited the song by parts. Most of the time, it worked. To get rid of stress, I did Yoga in silence alone below the belfry at about 5pm. I could hear them playing soccer. After that, I took a shower (I adopted the Cambodian habit) and ate dinner. This was an everyday routine for two weeks. When a song seemed done, I would take a walk. Sometimes, a friend would gave me a hand or shoulder massage while we talk about stuffs --- usually about Japan... I worked with a portable keyboard. I bought a very good headphone. The keyboard was connected to my MacBook Pro through USB and I worked with the Garage Band. I haven't done a serious project before so I had to start familiarizing myself with the software, too. A very challenging job for my age. The keyboard was set on a table. The keys were small and there were only about 4 octaves. My position was not ideal for a long period of work. The back hurt. Sometimes, the pedal wasn't working. The project seemed to be impossible to finish but I took the challenge and did it. Why? The inspiration and support.
When Les Miserables was shown in the Philippines in January, there were many comments on FaceBook. There were those who watched it many times. There were those who complained about movie goers talking during the show... To satisfy my curiosity. I watched the interviews on YouTube. I also watched again the whole 10th year anniversary (which remained as my favorite). I came across the movie --- not the musical-- on Youtube, too. And to refresh my memory on the plot I watched it as well. Despite the hype, I didn't watch the movie. Even in Okinawa when James Bond's Falling Sky was simultaneously showing, I had to win my friends over to watch 007 instead by winning the janken game. Why I wasn't that excited to see the film? One reason is, I saw it already on Broadway in New York a decade ago. Another reason is: a friend, a musician, posted on FaceBook that "When Russel Crowe's turn to sing she could enjoy her popcorn." So, I decided to wait for the DVD release and watch it in my home theater. If I like it, I'd add it to my DVD collection. And then, I watched it a few days ago... maybe, under pressure from my FaceBook friends hahaha This is my facebook post after watching Les Mis: "Russel Crowe should stay away from Musicals. Hugh Jackman should've taken the Bishop's role (LESS singing) Anne H did well but she over dramatized the "I dreamed a dream" but she did great when she appeared as a Ghost. All the other casts were excellent especially the two CHILDREN (bravissimo)." Except for my comment about Anne Hathaway, I stand to my critique. Let me explain in details why. Russel Crowe can sing but the Javert songs were too heavy for him. Some friends argued that they should be complimented for their effort. If they were my students, or if it's a local church or town production, I would. But this is a movie with a very huge budget! Hugh Jackman can sing but his voice is not enough to satisfy the demand of Jean Valjean's songs. Because the pitches were high his wide vibrato were very obvious --- he's struggling to keep in tune and to prolong the notes. His recitative sounded annoying to me as the movie progressed. He also cuts his notes too short. And for the songs, his vibrato were too wide. What's the fuss about too wide vibrato? It destroys the beauty of the melody. Here's what an article say about vibrato. A wide vibrato is usually a lack of proper "resistance of the breath pressure" or a lack of "focus in the tone". It can also be a result of a lack of proper adduction of the vocal cords. One or all of these problems create a sound that our culture defines as "age in the voice". Source: Understanding Vibrato Vibrato is not bad in singing but it has to be controlled. Listen, for example, how singers like Celine Dion prolongs a note. The "wobble" should not be too wide. If the other actors were all singing and acting par excellence (that includes Ann Hathaway) and with special mention of the two children. Why the Javert and Jean Valjean roles were given to Russel Crowe and John Hackman? Let's talk about some problematic scenes.
ConclusionAll the cast singing were excellent except Russel Crowe and Hugh Jackman. Without them the whole musical would have been perfect. Couldn’t they find better singer-actors than them? My guess is, yes, they could. But I guess the producers wanted to give the major roles a major actor or else the movie won’t sell. The marketing focused on how hard the production was and how expensive. How Anne Hathaway had to be on a strict diet just to be thin and suffering as Fantine could be. Or how much money Russel Crowe paid the vocal trainors just to make him sing... this is how people are enticed to watch the movie especially those who are new or not into musicals.
P.S.Speaking of Chicago and Evita. Why Richard Gere and Madonna did well in these musicals that were made to film? The singing of almost all of Les Miserables songs requires a powerful opera trained singers. The role of Richard Gere in Chicago and Madonna in Evita, didnt. I later learned that in The Sound of Music, it was not Peggy Wood who actually sang "Climb Every Mountain". It was dubbed and the really singer was Marjorie McKay It wasn't a big deal because that scene was so solemn and perfect. Had they insisted on letting Wood belt those high notes it would have destroyed the mood of that scene. Having the humility to say that she couldn't do it was one of the reasons why I respect her a lot. Please leave your comment below. P.S. 2Detailed explanation of Ruthie Henshall's |
The orchestra starts with an oboe solo. Oboe usually plays a sad melody. "There was a time..." a narration of her past was sung with one note but you can hear her sing it with both feeling of joy and regret. "... then it all went wrong." Then the song starts with the harp's arpeggio... Then she sings the first stanza... "I dreamed..." her voice full of hope. Then the mood changed at "but the tigers come at night" with her singing in lower notes. Listen when she sang "tear your world apart." She changed her voice at "tear". It made that phrase different and the preparation of the "tragic" part of her song. The composer brought the melody down for the same reason. "As they turn your dream" she sounds like a helpless child "to shame---- " the melody goes up and the tension is up. "He filled my days with endless wonde" listen how she cut or didn't prolong at "wonder" she's trying to create an irony of the "wonder" and the tragedy that followed it. "but he was gone when autumn came." Notice the change of her voice quality that sounds like throaty. This is where her life changed from a happy one to a tragic one. "But there are dreams that cannot be" the composer brought the melody up to emphasize the impossibility of the dream | Notice again her "throaty" quality in the "there are storms" as her way of emphasizing the gravity of the situation of "storms that cannot wether". And we approach the climax with the violins and the soloist in an sort of dialogue. And the resolution, the tempo slowed down, the volume softer and the most difficult part of any singer to do: to sing a prolonged high note softly. And she did it all perfectly. BRAVISSIMO!!!! |
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The author used to lives and work in Japan, now the Dean of a College of Music in Mindanao. For more information click here
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