Gosh the month of March has disappeared fast and I can’t believe that it is April next week. I have two lunch time recitals in the first week and here are the songs that I will be performing 🙂
‘Endless Pleasure, Endless Love’ is from Act 1 of Handel’s 1743 opera ‘Semele’ which was originally presented as an oratorio. Semele is the daughter of Cadmus, the King of Thebes and the story is based on a classical myth; she falls in love with the god Jupiter which ultimately results in her death.
‘Sweet Chance That Led My Steps Abroad’ is a beautiful art song by an English composer called Michael Head from ‘Songs of the Countryside’. A lovely, cheerful song of rainbows and cuckoo’s song.
‘Home’ from the musical Phantom by Maury Yeston is one of my favourite operetta style musical theatre songs. It was based on the 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. The musical was first performed in Texas in 1991.
‘Gretchen am Spinnrade’ is a German Lieder composed by Schubert means Gretchen at the spinning wheel. It is a lament about lost love and starts: my peace is gone, my heart is heavy, I will find it never and never more. The poem was written by Goethe.
‘Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém’ (Song to the Moon) by Dvorak from Act 1 of Rusalka. Which you can read all about here.
‘Une Flute Invisible’ a French piece written for voice, flute and piano by Saint-Saens, I sing this with Elizabeth Lawton RCS on flute absolutely beautiful, romantic music. It begins: Come! An unseen flute, sighs among the orchards.
It’s my Grandad’s 70th birthday on Saturday 29th March, I learnt a couple of Shirley Bassey songs to sing for him and I took the opportunity to sing them at the Tideswell Male Voice Choir annual charity concert last year, which they held in the church next to their rehearsal rooms. The concert was a mixture of show songs, audience favourites and I also got to sing a classical aria 🙂 I have uploaded ‘I Who Have Nothing’, which is a bit of a departure for me musically and the first time that I had performed it, I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Then on Sunday 30th March in the UK we celebrate Mothering Sunday or ‘Mother’s Day’ as we call it. It is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent and went back to the days where children worked and those in service were allowed to all take this day off to go to church with their mothers. I’ll post a photograph on facebook on Sunday to celebrate my ….. Mum xxx
Grandpa looks like he has aged well, like a fine wine. Lovely song for a lovely voice.
Yes he has aged well Don although he’s more of a whiskey man 😉
I sang Diamonds Are Forever and Grandad forgot we were videoing and he joined in from the pew fabulous.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Really amazing! beautiful voice 🙂
Thanks Carolina, did you get some sunshine 😉
Best wishes
Charlotte
I did! 😀 Thank you! 🙂 and can’t wait to get it again! ^^ hehe have a great weekend, Carolina
Great, you are fab ! Happy Birthday from Provence for Grandpa and a big friendly kiss for your Mum !!! (and a little for you ;-))…….) All the best for u and familly !!
Glad you enjoyed it 😉
Hopefully I’ve have worked on my French vowels sufficiently to improve Une Flute Invisible.
Merci beaucoup
Charlotte
Charlotte , tu es (you are) une fille magique (a magic girl !) !!!
I’m a Shirley Bassey fan too, beginning with the theme from Goldfinger, which was the first Bond movie I saw in a movie theater.
I had a choice of Shirley Bassey or Neil Diamond, his favourites but somehow the sparkly dress just called out for a Bassey number.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Awesome rendition of the song. Shirley will be proud.
I’m really pleased you enjoyed it Joe, I did listen to Shirley singing this song on You Tube she is fabulous.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Happy Birthday to your granddad! Love this singing of yours here too.
Thank you 😉
Grandad might just kill me for giving his age away lol.
Best wishes
Charlotte
No. He won’t. I turn 70 in a few weeks and I’m proud of it. I suspect he is too.
Lots of family coming up, and a beautiful song!
It’s a good thing lessons have stopped for this week so that I can make the time to make the cards I need to send 🙂
Best wishes
Charlotte
Absolutely beautiful, Heather. I know your grandfather is so proud! 😉
He is Linda 🙂 my Nana plays my songs so often now that he can hum along now and recognises all the tracks on my blog from the first notes.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Really enjoyed that. Lucky grandfather to get such a birthday treat 🙂
I’m pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
Best wishes
Charlotte
Thank you… needed that 🙂
You’re welcome Uncle S 😉
Best wishes
Charlotte
YAY!! I loved it! I hope you have fun at the recitals. “Happy Birthday” to your Grandpa and “Happy Mother’s Day” to your Mum. 😀 That was like a movie. Like you were performing in a movie…and we got to hear the whole story…
Thanks Eric 🙂 I would love to be in a musical movie. I wrote to Disney about making Mulan the Opera as I could use my martial arts as well as my dancing and singing LOL 🙂
Last year when I was in Italy I met the lovely David Nichols and I suggested that if he ever needed a young blonde opera singer then I was his girl 🙂
Best wishes
Charlotte
You really get into character and are not distracted. Loved that! I also wondered about you singing about some guy in clubs while you are in a church was a bit contextually challenging.
Hello Mario, the event wasn’t a traditional choral concert 🙂 . The Tideswell Male Voice Choir organised this event in the most beautiful village in the Peak District where they practise; Tideswell. Dennis, the Director of Music, likes to provide a wide-ranging concert of material with something for everyone in the diverse audience to enjoy from their interpretation of contemporary popular tunes through musical theatre, to cabaret and even operatic arias and I can’t go far wrong with the brilliant Christopher Ellis accompanying me on piano. I know what you mean though, when the man sang the fabulous Bohemian Rhapsody at the end of the night it was accompanied by a storm and thunderbolts.
Best wishes
Charlotte
You are lovely as always.
Very nice. Extending my wishes for a Happy Birthday as well to your Grandpa. I’m sure he enjoyed your gift of voice through song, a gift you share so freely with all of us here. Thank you for that.
Thanks Phil, I enjoy freely sharing my music whilst I’m training, these little home videos help me to put annual markers in the sand and hopefully helps to introduce my voice to a diverse range of people, some who may not usually listen to or think my genre of music is for them. Over time I hope to win you all over so you want to come to listen to me perform live 🙂
Best wishes
Charlotte
I look forward to that day, perhaps an appearance in the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. I’ve got dibs on an autographed program and maybe a selfie, so I can brag to my friends that I knew you before you became so famous… 😀
Hi Phil, you have a deal 🙂
Best wishes
Charlotte
beautiful, you voice is very powerful.
Thanks Isabel 😉 for your visit and lovely comment.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Followed & on my blog roll!
Thanks Brick I appreciate it 😉
Best wishes
Charlotte
Thank you for uploading your lovely song. I enjoyed listening to it. Your granddad looks awfully young. I thought he might be your dad at first. Dianne
I’m glad you enjoyed the song Dianne, ooh he’ll love reading that he looks young 😉
All the best
Charlotte
Positively lovely! I don’t comment often, but that is merely due to the lack of brilliant adjectives in my vocabulary. Your talent is beyond words. Care for it as a treasure.
Thanks for staying with me over the past year 😉 and your lovely words I appreciate them. I’m hoping to find some time over Easter to catch up with my favourite blogs, I recently discovered that my Grandma’s twin sister married an American pilot for the US Airforce which brings your posts even closer to home.
All the best
Charlotte
I’ll be looking forward to reading what info you discovered. (and no need to thank me for anything, listening to your voice and watching your career grow – has been my pleasure.)
Charlotte, what an amazing gift you have, thank you for sharing it with us and the world!
Thanks Carl I’m happy that you enjoyed my recordings.
Best wishes
Charlotte
That was wonderful. I am a Bassey fan. Did you manage to get away with “Big Spender” in that venue as well?
I think that may have been one step to far Gwen 🙂 But I am sure my Grandad would like me to give it a go.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Ah boundaries, schmoundaries. Aren’t rules made to be broken? Then again, I suppose you must protect your emerging and growing reputation. Another advantage of getting older, along with becoming invisible, people just assume you are losing the plot if they notice you doing something too bizarre 🙂
Reblogged this on Charlotte Zang and commented:
This is an amazingly beautiful rendition of the song, ‘I Who Have Nothing’. Oddly enough there is a song close to my hearty at the moment which has captured the heartbreaking lyrics of this song and given them a twist into the hip hop world.
Marc 7 of Jurassic 5 has put out his independent debut album that is fun, endearing and promising. His first music video is ‘I who have nothing’,a social commentary based on the Trey Von Martin situation and how such an unfortunate circumstance could happen to anyone.
It’s not only a great message but the video manages to capture the message visually. Check it out:
This is amazing. ‘I Who Have Nothing’ is such a beautiful song. You perform it beautifully.
Should be a great concert – good luck! Just heard Gretchen at my friend’s recital this past weekend, Schumann has so many awesome songs.
You’re ready for Broadway. Fantastic rendition. 😉