Light and dark can both be damned, together will crazy work schedules!
...It's amazing what one can accomplish with the inertia of constant intense work when one suddenly lands in a free weekend with relatively few responsibilities. I am somewhat surprised at the amount of productivity.
This song for one can no longer be said to be unfinished. ^.^
(I rather am proud of myself for catching up to the imaginary schedule, so that it might be finished sometime before I retire
)
I rather enjoyed the variations-on-a-theme feel with that short repeating
down-up-down drip-drop segment. And is that Luthien's theme making an appearance in the second section of the piece? You bet it is. Why? I think my best answer is - why not?
It's about love, and it's not terribly obvious or out of place, it's like an easter egg for people who know the musical (because this piece of the melody doesn't formally appear until Dream).
A word of warning, this piece is much quieter relative to the other ones I've done recently. Part of that is that it's not a mini orchestra the entire time but more of a piano with wind instrument support, like Wind - it has fewer competing voices. And the other part is that the volumes I've set here are more in the mezzo range as opposed to the f to fff I had in the last few pieces. So it would probably need more volume adjusting relative to the recording to be heard. I am actually wondering if I should not make the quieter parts louder relative to the more exciting bits, because my suspicion is that they might not be heard at all beneath the voice, or if they are then the loud bits would be overwhelmingly loud. I think the best way is to test it out, and I can adjust the volume if there are issues on the first take, it's a bit hard to judge without the voice there. It's a more thoughtful and gentle song, it's supposed to be more subtle - but it should also be in the hearing range.
EDIT: I couldn't rest easy until I
tried it out, even though I'm too hoarse to sing properly and can't hit the higher notes. I think it works reasonably enough that I have hope for it and don't feel the compulsion to go rebalance the volumes immediately. ^.^ It's a grand song, I am very happy that we can now sing it with music. Happy First Song to you! :-)
EDIT 2: hey, look what the cat dragged in to my youtube feed!
Another Zong performance! I've only seen the Prison Duet so far, but it looks like they have a whole concert. I like this version of Prison - and they change the words a bit: in the end instead of Finrod's "of these two lamps", they have Beren commending him for his loyalty, before going into his "only the faithful can stand on the edge without fear". I like the music and the acting, and the music here is actually very simple sounding and I might use it to draft the piece. ^.^ Beren's aesthetic is also interesting - he seems to still be "medieval warrior" rather than "bandit" appearance, but a bit more on the rougher side and not the super romantic V1 style, yet not in Thug zone. I peaked at Duel of Song too - they have Sauron wearing the Silmarils. >.< The acting is
superb, they do some amazing staging stuff there. Finrod is right on. I don't agree with their choices for Sauron though (and not just over the Silmarils) - I think they might have been going for the "Necromancer" aesthetic, but it ends up more like necromancee. The result is that he isn't convincing, he doesn't sound/look powerful, it doesn't sound like he actually should be winning. But yes I am biased because I am just so enamoured by the V1 Sauron, who met my vision perfectly of what the embodied Sauron would have looked like - Elf-like but slightly vampiresque, haughty, overbearing in his confidence, and giving the general sense of emanating power. Or at least Rock God, who might be awfully gleeful but still has that sense of easy power. This Sauron doesn't carry the same conviction. But all of this aside, I really enjoyed that performance! I am totally watching this tomorrow!
...Ugh, who am I kidding, I've watched it all today. It's not a whole concert, just a few clips.
Meeting - an
excellent example of acting out that song without making it look the slightest bit like a rape scene *glares at V2 on which I still hold a grudge for ruining that song for me*
Appeal - I don't think this version is my favourite, but some good acting and some interesting musical choices.
Ballad to Amarie - very heartfelt, I like it. The music cut out in the middle, and the guy didn't beat an eye, he landed right on the note and the beat when it came back on - damn he's good!
Duel of Song - as I said above, I am in
love with the staging here, and Finrod here is truly someone who could take on a Maia in a Song of Power. Absolutely recommend watching. Actually... is Sauron trying to mind-control Finrod's Elves?... Could very well be... It's an interesting idea, but I think it misdirects Finrod's second section to be more specific than intended (e.g. "falsehoods and illusions" now only seems in context of his bewitched friends, and not the world in general, and "strength to counter you" does in no way mean a couple extra guys with spears). This puts a very different interpretation of how and why Sauron won - almost like he did so by "convincing" the Elves of his point of view, rather than finding the crack of doubt within Finrod. Still, watch it for the acting, you will not regret it!
Captivity - okay, now Sauron just looks like he's wearing a nightgown and he's just hard to take seriously. But man do he and nearly-broken Finrod make a great acting pair when it's just them and not the Elf choir! Seriously, this cast and whoever did the staging/choreography are really good at their stuff.
Prison Duet - yup, good acting, and I am so using this to sketch out the melody.
Truth - very believable. If I'm not mistaken, the score is the same or very similar to the ...2010?... concert performance with the V1 cast members, where I also liked Truth.
A collection of fragments - a different channel but this is clearly the same performance. Featuring the Loyalty stanza of Lament, Luthien Not At Bay (another bit with some cool acting), a snatch of Dream which seems to taking place after Captivity (with the alternate lyrics that I can
finally make out!*), and Showdown (where Sauron tries to zombifie Beren with some interesting results).
Overall impression? Excellent acting skills, and I think I've finally found a Finrod to rival the V1 actor - though I still think Susalev holds the gold trophy. The music is not too heavy on the rock, and the singing is pretty good. Some curious interpretations, which I don't necessarily agree with but make sense within the frame of the lyrics. I wish there was a full performance video available, I would totally watch the full thing. This show definitely gets the Best Acting and Choreography trophy, it's not even a competition.
*Let heart over duty all decide,
Let [=so what if] my path lie over an abyss!
The threads of former ties will tear,
What do I care for the weight of immortal years
When my soul belongs to you?
(And now that there is pretty much a rhyme already in there my translation reflexes are tingling)
Let heart over duty all decide,
Let my journey take me far and wide,
The threads of former ties will tear,
What good are my immortal years -
Only a burden while my heart with you abides!
Huh, and here's another neat fragment collection that was in the same batch of links -
Lay of Leithian the Musical. It has what seems to be an equivalent of Doriath Duet / Tonguelashing, followed by the lovers' return, and the hunt for Carcharoth. Features mentions of Daeron and Huan! Maybe I'll jot down a translation tomorrow, it doesn't have subtitles.
...Aaaand now it is nearing 1am and this time it is entirely my own fault that I'm not getting enough sleep.