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Emma Kirkby

Dec 10th, 2009 by Elizabeth Scalia

Perfection!

Oh, encore!

Crossposted at Blogs Lucianne Loves

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, video faves

15 Responses to “Emma Kirkby”

  1. kelleybee says:
    December 10, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    Wonderful!! Thanks

  2. Tweets that mention Emma Kirkby » The Anchoress | A First Things Blog -- Topsy.com says:
    December 10, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Anchoress, The Anchoress. The Anchoress said: The first makes you gasp in wonder, the second makes you weep in awe. No words, here. http://tinyurl.com/yk8jzp7 [...]

  3. Maggie45 says:
    December 10, 2009 at 10:56 pm

    So beautiful! Thank you for a much needed soul feeding.

  4. waltj says:
    December 10, 2009 at 10:58 pm

    Stunning! I can imagine Georg Frederic and Wolfgang in Heaven nodding approvingly at each other for Ms. Kirkby’s performances.

  5. Mimsy says:
    December 10, 2009 at 11:40 pm

    glorious music to sooth the savage Eeyore…

  6. Maggie45 says:
    December 10, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    There is another soprano, with a delightfully clear, pure voice…. Hayley Westenra. She’s from New Zealand. I had never heard of her, but I clicked on commenter SubVet’s name one day and he has one of those playlists on his blog, and I heard this magical voice. Just search on YouTube for her name. There are many of her videos on there, and I wouldn’t know which to recommend.

  7. Blackthorne says:
    December 11, 2009 at 2:12 am

    She truly is devine! After I listened to her and repeated the pleasure, I listened to several versions of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Pie Jesu”, which are also provided. Have you ever listened to the entire Webber “Requiem”? It is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to, and when Placido Domingo takes off on the “Hosanna In Excelsis” I join in at the top of my lungs no matter what shape they’re in, and wobetide anyone who tries to stop me! Thank-you for the respite you so graciously provided in the midst of all the filth we are forced to confront from the likes of the “safe” schools czar.

  8. Rich says:
    December 11, 2009 at 11:51 am

    A few years ago I was working in London. I had some time one afternoon and visited the church, St James of Piccadilly. Ms Kirkby was rehearsing for a solo recital that evening. I was blown away by what I heard. Not only was I able to hear the whole rehearsal, but I was also able to snag a ticket for the evening performance. It was truly amazing.

    There are a few singers who have a special quality in their voice that seems to touch people’s hearts. (Check out Eva Cassidy’s work.) As I understand it, Emma Kirkby was a schoolteacher who started singing for fun. It’s obvious that her professional career has not quenched that desire for fun.

    Thanks for these videos!

  9. Piano Girl88 says:
    December 11, 2009 at 4:58 pm

    Emma Kirkby has a glorious voice, but something kept nagging at me about the Messiah performance. Ah, the curse of perfect pitch ~ she was singing it in a different key than I’d ever heard it before. Sometimes sopranos do this aria, but usually it’s a bass, and it’s pitched about 5 notes lower than where she sings it. If I don’t know the work, then I can relax and enjoy it…otherwise, the brain goes into overtime trying to figure out “where” the notes really should be! And please don’t get me started on “original instruments”!!! :~)

  10. NoisyRoom.net: Where liberty dwells, there is my country… says:
    December 11, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    [...] The Anchoress – Emma Kirkby [...]

  11. Catholic News Headlines Dec. 10, 2009 « Catholic News says:
    December 11, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    [...] Emma Kirkby – Perfection! Oh, encore! [...]

  12. Andy Waits says:
    December 11, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    Hi,
    Thanks for the straw on the camel’s back which helped me decide to buy Bob Dylan’s Christmas record. It is absolutely wonderful.
    Andy Waits

  13. Frances says:
    December 12, 2009 at 1:47 am

    Fantastic. I’d not heard a soprano do that.

    Thank you. Now I’ll never sleep until I find that arrangement.

    Just hearing her wiped away all the news-gloom.

  14. Ethan C. says:
    December 12, 2009 at 10:06 pm

    What a lovely voice!

    However, on the Handel piece: I have a recording of a performance from Wheaton College where a countertenor performed that piece and really nailed it. I think you need something at least a little more substantial than an airy and light soprano to match the gravity of the text. Ms. Kirkby does a phenomenal job; I just don’t think the piece quite works in that range.

    But I’d really love to hear how she does some of the other sections from Messiah, like “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” She really is wonderful!

  15. Mark. Gooley says:
    December 14, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    I got to hear Dame Emma live on tour in the US over 20 years ago — and I’d been a fan for some years by then. See if you can find the now-old (I bought it new on LP, and where have the years gone?) recording of Handel’s early oratorio La Resurrezione, in which she sings the part of a rather cheeky angel who taunts Lucifer — more than a trace of the comedy of the medieval morality play there, and she sounds both funny and truly angelic. She nearly ended up as a schoolteacher rather than a singer…