# Your opinion of my studio recordings...



## Hepkat (Jan 25, 2014)

Hi everyone,

Just finished another round of tracks in the recording studio and would like to hear your opinions. I'm trying to put together a demo CD for auditions, which hopefully will begin this summer.

Just a little info, I'm a mezzo-soprano countertenor who constantly manages to find some excuse not to go out auditioning. Either it's too much drama at work, doubts about technique, too much family drama, etc, etc. This time however I've made up my mind and have managed to overcome my fears. Come hell or high water, I will be auditioning this year!

Anyway, I would appreciate any advice, critique or suggestions.

Thanks a lot!
Curtis

http://www.youtube.com/user/CurtisCT


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## Hepkat (Jan 25, 2014)

Wow, no reply. That bad, huh


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

Hello, Hepkat, and welcome to TC.

I don't like to see a new member's post go unanswered! I've listened to your 'Cäcilie'. (R. Strauss) and your 'V'molčan'i noči tajnoj' (Rachmaninov). I'm much more familiar with Strauss lieder than with Rachmaninov.

I haven't heard Strauss sung by a countertenor before, so I'm not sure of a suitable yardstick.

Can I ask - what do you make of your own performances in these recordings?


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## Hepkat (Jan 25, 2014)

Hi there TurnaboutVox, thanks for the membership initiation! That actually didn't hurt at all 

I learned a very valuable lesson after listening to the recordings, i.e., you have a pace yourself during recording sessions and not overdo it. The plan was to record four songs to make up a demo CD, "Schmerzen", the Rachmaninoff piece, "Cäcilie" and finally "Zueignung". Since it was the first song recorded, Schmerzen came out pretty good, I thought. The breath was steady and the intonation was intact. I was quite nervous about the Rachmaninoff piece and just couldn't trust my "muscle memory". As a result, I ended up having to re-record it several times, without taking a break. I think that was a mistake, because by the time I got to the most taxing piece, Cäcilie, the voice was noticeably exhausted.

What can I say about Cäclie? Well, pardon my French, but it's a bitch to sing! You have to harness every last bit of breath support you have in you to make it to the last note, and by this time I think I was exhausted from overdoing the Rachmaninoff piece. By the time I got to the final song, Zueignung, my breath support was weak. I can normally pull off Zueignung with my eyes closed, but somehow I felt myself underperforming. The intonation was all over the place and I couldn't get to do all the effects I would normally do, like singing piano on "Liebe macht die Herzen krank".

The moral of the story, pace yourself and take sufficient breaks to rest the voice. Maybe I'm being too critical, which is in fact one of the reasons why I haven't had the courage to audition yet, but I'd like to redo the two Strauss lieder.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Hepkat said:


> Hi there TurnaboutVox, thanks for the membership initiation! That actually didn't hurt at all
> 
> I learned a very valuable lesson after listening to the recordings, i.e., you have a pace yourself during recording sessions and not overdo it. The plan was to record four songs to make up a demo CD, "Schmerzen", the Rachmaninoff piece, "Cäcilie" and finally "Zueignung". Since it was the first song recorded, Schmerzen came out pretty good, I thought. The breath was steady and the intonation was intact. I was quite nervous about the Rachmaninoff piece and just couldn't trust my "muscle memory". As a result, I ended up having to re-record it several times, without taking a break. I think that was a mistake, because by the time I got to the most taxing piece, Cäcilie, the voice was noticeably exhausted.
> 
> ...


Yes Hepkat. . . 'welcome.'


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## Hepkat (Jan 25, 2014)

Thanks M. Blair!


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

You need better accompaniament for sure. _Che faro senza Euridice_ was so rushed and mechanically played. The tempo made you unable to get expressive, IMO - way too bouncing. In Mozart, I think melismas could be less rushed through and clearer. More generally, I think you sing different things the same way too often and character, sensation that you know what you're singing about are lacking. Some practice on pronunciation in Italian could do you good as well.

These are bad things and I write them to be at least a little bit constructive, but it doesn't mean I entirely dislike your singing. Good luck in doing better, which is in your capability.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

The affinities are mutual; the Marschallin's delighted.


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## Hepkat (Jan 25, 2014)

@Aramis, thanks for the input. I think the Che Farò is perhaps the most difficult aria in my repertoire, because #1, it lies pretty low in my range, so I have to be constantly careful not to push the top and then have nothing left for the bottom notes. Secondly, it demands total neatness. The chords and accompaniment are written in such a way that you can't hide a sloppy note behind a wall of sound and get away with it. That makes me nervous! You can maybe sing a quarter tone flat in Strauss and get away with it because of the thick wall created by some complicated chord, but in Che farò you're immediately exposed for all the world to see. That's probably the reason it sounds so mechanical, I wanted to be extra cautious, no sloppy vibrato or messy tones. I think it's clear that this aria still needs improvement. It just doesn't flow freely enough.

Regarding the Mozart, it's actually been much improved since that recording last September. I've worked on better placement of the voice, which helped to significantly clean up much of the pronunciation issues.


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## unlearner (Dec 19, 2014)

So heartfelt, and a gorgeous instrument IMO. I could listen to that all day.

Some of the top notes did sound almost strained. I don't know what to make of that, or if it's true, since I'm not too familiar with countertenor voices.


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