Recital...

[fajrdrako]

My friend Lisa has been taking singing lessons. Her teacher was urging her to sing in a recital. She didn't think she was ready. "You should do it," I said.

"I don't have a song," she said.

"You can get a song," I told her. "You should do it. Think how good you'll feel afterwards."

She thought about it. Then she finally agreed: "I'll sing in the recital if you'll come to it."

"I'll be there!" I promised, and I even dragged along our mutual friend Lynne - or maybe it was the other way round, since she drove me.

It was held at a quiet little church in Westboro called Northwestern United Church, which we had trouble finding, and we had to stop to ask at the mosque on Northwestern where it was. It turned out to be the second building on, hidden by a hedge.

Lisa sang "Un Canadien Errant", which is a nice song. Preceding her was a boy of about nine or ten who did a magnificent job with "Land of the Silver Birch" - his age was to his advantage. I really enjoyed "Ombra mai fu" from Xerxes by Handel, and I even thought the singer looked impressively like Xerxes - not in costume, but he was a large man with an imposing divided beard.

For the music itself, I really liked a selection from Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saens, There's no Business Like Show Business by Irving Berlin, and one that was totally unknown to me - And Her Mother Came Too by Ivor Novello. Regrettably, I was making up dirty slash lyrics to fit the song. I couldn't resist. How is it that I have never heard of Ivor Novello?

Comments

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Ivor is marvellous fun! I love his operettas (sadly an under-rated art form here, unlike in the German-speaking world). He was very fashionable pre-WW2, and was also a very good-looking actor in silent film, including some early Hitchcock. And yes, he was gay.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

He sounds like such fun. I've probably heard of him, but the name was only vaguely familiar and I didn't know the song; he's obviously worth following up. Reminded me of Noel Coward or Cole Porter. I love those witty pre-WW2 lyricists with their wild rhymes and cute ideas.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Quite a lot of his work has been released on CD. My favourite is the show King's Rhapsody: Ruritanian-type romantic drama set in 1880s Balkans.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Sadly, my library doesn't seem to have King's Rhapsody. It sounds like just my sort of thing! I'll have to look for it.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

There's a decent-ish novelisation by Hester Chapman, too.
Though I kept thinking the King's delightful mistress should have got her paws on his wife, too... ;-D

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Interesting thought! Okay, I'll add the Chapman novel to my 'things to look for' list, which is growing and growing.