S2.E72. Verdi Lux Aeterna, Rossini Una Voce Poco Fa, Mozart Sonata Facile, Dvorak 8 Finale.

Welcome back to Perfect Pitch with Nick Healy Hutchinson and his fresh approach to the world of classical music. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, old or young. Perfect Pitch has something for everyone.

All the way back in episode two, I was extolling the extraordinary capabilities of a human voice. Opera may not be your thing yet, although if you've been listening to my ramblings for a while, I'd be a little disappointed if you hadn't put a tone by now. But every so often, you get reminded how singing can stir the soul quite unlike anything else. And that applies equally to whether you're listening or participating, be it in a choir, a shower, or a sporting arena. Exposure to singing changes us in that moment. And so it was when I recently attended my umpete performance of Verdius Requiem. Quite unexpectedly, something else was at play here because we weren't in a concert hall but a cathedral. And that changes everything having an organ for a start. Of course, it was still a performance. But one of the age-old observations about the scale of the work is that it's operatic in nature. Yes, there are solo parts and big forces required. But all that really means ultimately is that it has no practical use. The performance aspect of it means that it's taken me all this time to appreciate it properly for what it is. A long pleading prayer for forgiveness and redemption. Yes, the deer's area is there to put the frighteners up. But overall, it's a work not of fear, but of hope. And whether you believe or not, it doesn't matter in this context. Hope is not exclusive to a particular religion. After hearing this in its rightful setting, I came away far less as a mere listener and much more as a participant in a shared experience. Here is the penultimate passage of the work. Look at Eterna. It is hung here by Metal Soprana, Christopher Ludwig, Karla Kosuta, and bassist Nikolai Giroff, with a Berlin Philomonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karrian. You need a complete silence for this. Close your eyes if you can and think of loved ones no longer here. Step up Rosina from Latini's Barbara Seville, a maiden who is desired by her pompous guardian, but who quite reasonably has eyes for a much younger version in the form of Lindoro, which overhears her singing, she dies straight into this aria voce a voice a little while ago, in which he makes it very clear that this is a guy for her, and that she's got all sorts of tricks up at least if anyone tries to get in the way. After the introduction, the music has everything to tell the singer. Rapid scales, and a few great melancholy passages. That's where the solo is sitting in the same syllable on multiple notes. So there are traps aplenty, and you need not just skill but enormous confidence to pull it off. Neither of those requirements is in short supply of catholian battery. Edvar Grieg gave it an extra splash of freshness by writing another piano part to go alongside the original. Before I leave you with my final offering today, I talked at the beginning about how singing can enrich your life, and I want to give a quick mention to a fabulous organization called Opera Prelude. Opera Prelude is a young artist program that nurtures talented emerging opera singers at the start of their careers, providing opportunities to perform in concerts, recitals, or education projects. But supporting them in a partial way as well. Talent is where the artist's journey begins. From a career advisor to being a listening ear when their journey isn't too hard. Which leaves their young artists as real people. And which encourages their audiences across London to truly invest in their journey. There are many chances to catch them in action all year round. If you go to their website at www.operaprelude.org, you'll see what you can also find out how to teleport in my journey.