As we teeter on the edge of destroying our world and
ourselves, it sometimes feels (to me at least) that music might be one of the secrets
to saving it all. Why not? From the Arctic Circle to the forests of
Africa, there are tribes that believe the universe was sung into existence.
I once won a substantial bet with someone who could not believe Elvis had done a Christmas album (he actually did more than one). Here’s a great version of my favorite Elvis Christmas song, a virtual duet between Martina McBride and Elvis (he died when she was only 11):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KK6sMo8NBY
There are three famous “Ave Maria”s—by Bach, Vavilov/Caccini and Schubert. Schubert’s is probably the most popular and recognizable of the three. Ironically, it was not originally a religious song per se, but it has since been modified and re-interpreted hundreds of times and is now a Christmas staple. Here is one of my favorite renditions, also re-cast as a duet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut6ufu2CPNg
As a child, Diana was abused by her parents, and eventually abandoned in the middle of the brutal Russian winter. When she was rescued, she had a broken collarbone and suffered from developmental and speech deficits that were probably the result of the abuse. Placed in an orphanage, she likely would have remained there had she not been adopted by one of the staff members (at the urging of that person’s own daughter).
To help Diana overcome her speech deficit, a therapist suggested singing lessons. Her teachers soon discovered that she had an extraordinary voice and loved performing, and she began singing in shows and children’s festivals at every opportunity. Her big coming out took place when she was 14, and performed on Ты супер (“You’re Super”), a Russian show similar to The Voice, but restricted to orphans and children with disabilities. She won the show that year, and then again the following year when they held a series just for previous winners. Those performances, and others since then, have gone massively viral on youtube, and for good reason: She has a powerful, haunting voice, and her stage presence is riveting.
Here is her opening performance from Ты супер. It’s a cover of the French pop star Indila’s biggest hit, “Derniere Danse” (“Last Dance”).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mve3-fEuTHA
Here is her semi-final performance from the same show. “Rechenka” (“River”) is a Russian folk song in which an orphan prays to the dead to bless her wedding because she has no one else to do so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Dwo4QVLqs
The following season, now 15, she covered Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”. This arrangement perfectly captures the harmonics that make her voice sound so surreal. Some central Asian folk singers train to produce this kind of resonance. Hers just seems to come naturally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jv-DQnf2UY
More Diana to come.
(Screen-shot from Heavy Metal Never Dies)
Gorgeous
compositions. Brilliant arrangements. Jedi-level musicianship. Divine female power. Fearless
performances. This band pushes
all the buttons for me. They are all
classically trained multi-instrumentalists—they play everything you hear, even doing
their own backing tracks. Their guitar tandem may be the best ever in
one band.
"Frozen Serenade" is nominally about lost love, but it’s really about the end of the world--no time to waste pining over some dumb-ass guy! It starts as a ballad, slow, measured and melancholy. You can hear the singer’s blues and soul influences. The instruments weave a dense tapestry of harmonies and fills supporting the vocals. The song’s intensity builds in stages, until cresting like a huge wave and crashing ashore. Think Ravel’s “Bolero” or Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”, and you’ve got the idea.
(If you see a sign-in pop-up, just close it and you'll get to the video.)
If you are ready to see what they're like when they uncork the napalm, here goes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99zsH6iG_6c
For a perspective on the group and what I think they mean:
https://zapatosjam.blogspot.com/2021/11/supernova-retrospective-on-first-five.html
Nightwish were founded in 1996. They were pioneers of symphonic rock—the fusion of classical-style composition with rock instrumentation. Their epic sound was built around their classically trained vocalist, Tarja Turunen. Tuomas Holopainen, the band founder and main composer, specifically wrote music tailored for Turunen’s capabilities, resulting in a unique and instantly recognizable sound. Nightwish became Finland’s biggest musical export and to this day are one of the biggest bands in Europe.
In 2005, at the height of their power and popularity, the band had a bitter breakup with Turunen and nearly disbanded completely. They eventually hired a new singer, Anette Olzon, in 2007, and released two successful albums with her. However, the band’s physically exhausting touring schedule, and the stress of constantly being compared to Turunen, wore on her, and in the middle of their 2012 Americas tour, she broke down and was unable to continue. Faced with the prospect of cancelling the rest of the tour, Holopainen called Floor Jansen, with whom he was acquainted from the European metal scene, and asked if she would be willing to step in. He knew that she could handle big, challenging songs, but it was still a huge risk for all of them.
Jansen flew to the U.S. with two days to learn the set list. Both she and the band were apprehensive that the turmoil in the lineup would not go over well with the fans, but they soldiered on and played the remaining U.S. dates, mostly in small venues, allowing Jansen to establish her chemistry with the band. Then they headed to South America, where they have a bigger and more committed fan-base. At each stop, they had to face the fans’ skepticism. The fans still idolized Turunen, but each time, Jansen won them over.
This is “Ghost Love Score”, from the final concert of
the tour, in Buenos Aires. It is the band's signature song, a ten-minute, six-movement epic which
calls for extreme vocal agility, power and endurance. Their performance a year later at Wacken Open Air in 2013 would be more polished, but this one
captures the moment when Jansen took full ownership of the song, and the band realized that
they were going to be all right. Jansen not only nailed it, but she rewrote
the ending, adding a spectacular vocal climax which fans have since dubbed the “Floorgasm”. It has become a hallmark of their performances ever since.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V_eoR6r1Tw
If you want to check out the 2013 performance at Wacken, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYjIlHWBAVo
