# What passes for a trill nowadays?



## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Just when I had complained about the intrusive aitches I faced a new problem in the standard of singing! It must have something to do with my current bel canto phase. I began to watch the I puritani with Nino Machaidze, whom I had never heard before, ready to write a review... I got as far as to the end of the first act, when something began to boil over in my mind, again! I think there should be a genuine trill a little after the beginning of "Son vergin vezzosa" written by Bellini. What did I hear? Some kind of wavering around the note.

Wikipedia definition of a trill: _The trill (or shake, as it was known from the 16th till the 19th century) is a musical ornament consisting of a *rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified* with the context of the trill._

I stopped right there and found Beverly Sills and Joan Sutherland (on The Art of the Primadonna) singing the same aria. Guess what! I burst into tears. Then I listened to Sutherland on his complete recording with Pavarotti, and the trill was still there, but it had altered towards something not so clear. With my hands trembling I put the Netrebko DVD in the player. At least, she has something resembling a trill. Still, Sills seems to have been the queen of trills - try her outrageous V'adoro pupille! I think she could have trilled for hours on end! The young Sutherland comes next. Alas, my huge record collection was destroyed in a fire fourteen years ago and I don't have Callas's Elvira now, my opera enthusiasm having been rekindled by opera on DVD only recently, not much before I joined the forum. But I'm getting back my enthusiasm and it seems to be becoming wilder than ever! I must thank you guys for this forum where I can vent my feelings and write some reviews, when I feel a bit calmer!

Back to the question: what passes for a trill nowadays?


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Ive noticed those stupid note wobbles too - definitely not a trill!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I don't have the musical knowledge to answer your question about trills but I am horrified to hear about the fire.

Can you tell us what happened? Did your house catch fire?

I hope nobody was hurt & am pleased your interest in opera has been revived.


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Yes, I can, even if it goes quite far from the subject at hand. In 1996, I woke up in my bedroom to see that everything else in the apartment was on fire. I was found huddled on my writing desk, unconscious, with the handpiece of the telephone (I don't know the proper word) trying to call for help. The reason of the fire could never be established. I was badly burned myself, about 30% of my skin. I was kept sedated in a respirator for two weeks and underwent several operations. The whole of my back was burned, so they had to keep me lying on my belly for the skin grafts to adhere. When I finally regained my consciousness, my right arm and leg in traction and covered by bandages all over, my first thought was: why didn't I just die in the process? The second was: now I don't have to think about sex anymore, because nobody would like the monster I was going to look like. For some reason, the third was: I'm not going to listen to opera anymore, perhaps because of the loss of my collection. I spent two months in the hospital and after vigorous physiotherapy I was back at work after eight months. A year later, I was sailing in Turkey and the sailing trips continued for eleven years, every year in Turkey, but also in Croatia, Corsica, Elba, Sardinia and as far as in the Windward Islands in the Caribbean. The people I was with didn't care much for classical music, so I adapted and learned a lot about rock and other lighter music. My captain liked The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, though... The main thing was that I was alive and kicking and back at work. I have even made progress in my career. I think that seeing the Netrebko Salzburg La Traviata DVD is the main reason for my newly-found passion for opera! And for the time being the sky is the limit!

But back to the question: where is the trill? It would make such a thrill!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Herkku said:


> Yes, I can, even if it goes quite far from the subject at hand. In 1996, I woke up in my bedroom to see that everything else in the apartment was on fire. I was found huddled on my writing desk, unconscious, with the handpiece of the telephone (I don't know the proper word) trying to call for help. The reason of the fire could never be established. I was badly burned myself, about 30% of my skin. I was kept sedated in a respirator for two weeks and underwent several operations. The whole of my back was burned, so they had to keep me lying on my belly for the skin grafts to adhere. When I finally regained my consciousness, my right arm and leg in traction and covered by bandages all over, my first thought was: why didn't I just die in the process? The second was: now I don't have to think about sex anymore, because nobody would like the monster I was going to look like. For some reason, the third was: I'm not going to listen to opera anymore, perhaps because of the loss of my collection. I spent two months in the hospital and after vigorous physiotherapy I was back at work after eight months. A year later, I was sailing in Turkey and the sailing trips continued for eleven years, every year in Turkey, but also in Croatia, Corsica, Elba, Sardinia and as far as in the Windward Islands in the Caribbean. The people I was with didn't care much for classical music, so I adapted and learned a lot about rock and other lighter music. My captain liked The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, though... The main thing was that I was alive and kicking and back at work. I have even made progress in my career. I think that seeing the Netrebko Salzburg La Traviata DVD is the main reason for my newly-found passion for opera! And for the time being the sky is the limit!But back to the question: where is the trill? It would make such a thrill!


Dearest Herkku, I am lost for words ...

Your suffering must have been unimaginable but your courage is an inspiration to everyone.



Herkku said:


> I have an early But back to the question: where is the trill? It would make such a thrill!


I now have two Sutherland Lucia's and in Act1 of the earlier one her trills are fabulous.


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

Yeah, I suppose it's the same thing with "Son vergin vezzosa", where the trill is fabulous on The Art of the Prima Donna", but a little less so on the later complete recording with Pavarotti. I don't have her earlier complete I Puritani made in the early sixties, like The A. of the P. D.


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