I've always thought of this aria as out of place with the rest of the opera, if not the era. It's got such a "modern" sensibility, even in the original. Imo, it's a good choice as a modern era ballad.
I am with cptmaz. Having also had a fairly thorough classical education, I much prefer this rendition to the alternative operatic style. I feel sure that Alison Moyet would have reduced Purcell to tears, had he known that the notes he penned would elicit such a depth of emotion.
cptmaz and blackbeas... Like you I am on both sides, both classical and modern, and welcome your appreciation of this performance. This rendition is how I would define 'art'. It is what lies beyond the technical performance, it is finding out what the composer really intended his music and words to portry, and I think that Moyet has pulled a blinder with this. For those who either do not, or refuse, to understand, I ask that you take a little time to find out what makes Alison Moyet tick.
Vulgar? I grew up a classical musician (piano, violin, viola, recorders, renaissance lute, harpsichord etc). I was a music history major who participated in many early music consorts. I was moved by, and concentrated upon on Purcell's musick. I also received a classical education--one closely aligned with what Purcell would have had in his day. I have been to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This rendition, while it is new to me, rends my soul every time. I think Purcell would have approved.
all these opera singers think they are entitled to sing this song and sing it but when i listen i feel nothing, its a beautiful song! but the fail to move me! except for one person and that person is not an opera singer! JEFF BUCKLEYS version of this is so hauntingly beautiful its perfect and the fact that it wasnt really rehearsed he just came on stage and did it makes it even more perfect
I'm only curious about one thing: Did Alison Moyet come up with the idea of Purcell's aria or did someone else say, "Hey Alison. You should do this song! No one will know it's from the 17th century."
@yvesvangelre I think, with all my respect, that in music (and in the arts) being a "taliban" makes no sense. I mean, I'm sure Moyet's voice couldn't supercede a great opera singer...anyway, she doesn't intends that, for sure.... and her voice is plenty of EMOTION. so please, open your mind and get down from the chosen's Parnassus. Without anger. Thank you.
@alessandro8uroborous You are absolutely right, but not as horrible as Moyets rape of one of the most beautiful arias ever. She has no talent at all to sing serious music. If you dig for the grave of Purcell, you'll probably find him turned around and upside down after this blasphemy. It's a disgrace!
@yvesvangelre we are all entitled to an opinion and different taste, i still don't see the point of bashing. I mean, how would you react if somebody used your words to describe something you love doing? I like AM, she is not my favourite artist, but even with music I don't like (for example Lady Gaga), I never go around saying bad things about them. I mean, they make many people happy, who am I to say that's s.h.i.t.? Don't concentrate too much on things that you don't like, makes you bitter :)
@yvesvangelre a very callow one. there's no such a thing as bad taste. just things you like and things you don't. :) i bid you farewell and wish you all the best for the future.
Fabulous. Love her soft voice. I t conveys the feeling of the lament perfectly. I particularly love, as others have said, that she does not over act the song. To me, that is just as someone would actually sing it. It's real.
Like many Baroque composers Purcell used the "ground bass" or "basso ostinato" repeated throughout the piece. It could be 4 notes or 8 measures but it held the piece together while the free flow of the melody above it created variety and tension. A descending line in half steps showed grief or sorrow. Ground bass came from the development of the basso continuo where the bass played the roots of the chords and the harpsichord improvised on them. Bach was a great improviser. 18th century jazz.
Cet acte est simplement le plus émouvant de tout l'opéra de didon et énée... Cette chanson perturbe les sens, la mélodie est merveilleuse, les paroles tellement belles et macabres... Très tragique ! Alison Moyet interprète cette chanson à la perfection.
I think It is very interesting when pop singers dare to get into the risky field of classical music. There are not so many around. Even if they lack the technique needed for opera, like in this case, the result is quite unique. It´s unfair to compare her with opera singers. In fact, opera singers use to make horrible versions of pop and rock classic... Thanks for posting
This version of Dido´s Lament was my wish and played in Finnish/swedish radio Radio Vega, classical program the 16 nov. 2010. They were surprised by her expressions and voice and the whole part. I love it!
This version of Dido´s Lament was my wish and played in Finnish/swedish radio Radio Vega, classical program the 16 nov. 2010. They were surprised by her expressions and voice and the whole part. I love it!
Waouh! It is just incredible! She has a so beautiful voice and she gives a real personnality to the desperate and worthy queen Dido! Very delicate and strong.
Hello, my name is Nushin Brooke Alavi. I am a 19 year old college student. I have been playing piano for 15 years. I am currently taking composition lessons at UCSD. I compose classical music. I have 11 improvisations and 4 compositions. If you please, take a look at my videos.
This is a terrific version. Sarah Connolly is amazing, so is Renée Fleming's version, and believe it or not Jeff Buckley sang it with unearthly emotion, perhaps my favorite of all. Purcell wrote one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
This is a terrific version. Sarah Connolly is amazing, so is Renée Fleming's version, and believe it or not Jeff Buckley sang it with unearthly emotion, perhaps my favorite of all. Purcell wrote one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
To all the smug and self- satisfied purists who think they know how this song should be interpreted, the answer is that you are perfectly entitled to your opinions, but they carry no more validity than those of anyone else. They are personal preferences and nothing more. There is no magic formula which tells us what is right and what isn't, This is as well because otherwise creativity would die and we'd all be stuck in a time warp. Music is not a science, so don't try to treat it as such.
@blackbeasthamish smugness has nothing to do with it. The tune is really simple - it was written a long time ago - so the singer has to come up with something very deep and dark to make it work, but the genius of Purcell is that when they do it leaves you in pieces. If, like jannokas85, you want something smooth and jazzy, then you'll enjoy Moyet's version. I understand that. The intro sounds just like a Hamlet cigar ad. But it doesn't do justice to the powerful simplicity of Purcell's tune.
@namemistaken I fully understand the point you are making, but I have heard versions of this tune by so called "acclaimed" opera singers who overdo it to the point it starts to become comical. This works in much the same way that a role in a play can be overacted. I agree that something dark and deep might be appropriate, but the singer's natural inner feelings should always preside over attempts to achieve technical excellence, in whatever way these happen to manifest themselves.
Dido's lament is a simple and extraordinarily powerful piece of music, but this is the weakest performance of it that I've heard. Sorry, Alison Moyet, but you don't sound like you're dying. A slight head cold, perhaps.
this Aria is extremely beautiful and i agree that the whole point of the aria is to convey how the character feels, the grief especially, not matter how someone chooses to sing it; however, i think it conveys that emotion better when it is sung in the opera
Alyson Moyet has always surprised the establishment with her treacle voice and engaged inate musicality and here she does it again! What a lovely rendition!!!
I had only known of Janet Baker singing this previously, but am so enjoying this one by the amazing Alison Moyet too....I love that whole opera by Purcell, and to be honest who cares whether the music you like is 'classical' or not...I feel we have moved on from that these days, and I just love such a variety of music from violin concertos to Lily Allen....
This comment is surely going to offend a lot of classical music sticklers but Dido's Lament is proof positive that the most important quality in music is not some elitist view of classical music pitch/timing perfection.
The two versions of this haunting piece of music that best communicate the grief and despair that I believe Henry Purcell intended to convey are by pop singers, Alison Moyet and Jeff Buckley.
@Stevieboy130664 Well said Stevieboy. I know some of the purists will be wringing their hands in horror, but you're dead right. Music is not about technical perfection but about the feeling and inate quality that goes into it. This is often by-passed by someof the more traditional vocalists who are too busy trying to make sure they "get it right" and in consequence the finished product can end up the worse for it.
Curiosa versión, aunque no sé yo si la voz de cazallera fumadora de dos paquetes de Celtas diarios que tiene esta mujer va muy bien con el "pathos" de la pieza. Bueno tal vez si uno se imagina que Dido está muriendo de SIDA, alcoholizada y tirada en algún callejón de la zona de Las Ramblas en Barcelona, XDD
Allison Moyet has a nice, smooth and soulful voice but i prefer klaus nomi's version, this sounds like if it was taken from an Andrew Lloyd Webber happy go lucky production. Don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of Ms.Moyet's work since my childhood, I'm very fond to her work in Yazoo, and her solo career is great, but I feel that her voice doesn't quite match with this style of music.
When pop singers get into opera you can have surprising results, like this one. Even though she does not have an opera range the melody kind of suit her voice. A very, very interesting voice. Thanks for posting
Everyone grieves as differently as their unique personalities. It is fitting to have different renditions on this piece. It's a beaufiful version. What I hear emotionally is a point beyond what most experience. Ask anyone who has lost a loved one far before their time, and in the midst of their life's ruin, and perhaps you would understand. But maybe not.
There's no feeling in this version. Does she even know what she's singing and why? Nothing subtle. This makes one appreciate Dame Janet Baker's classic b/w live performance all the more (also on YouTube). Janet Baker makes you feel suicidal with her, wringing out every nuance and bit of melancholy the lyrics hold. This is like listening to Ashlee Simpson sing Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen.
Your comment is spot on. Many of the so called "operatic" versions of this piece are severely over-hammed. They do to it what pub singers often do to Sinatra's "My Way" by trying to put too much into it, and just end up by making it sound totally contrived.
ironic that I just found out who she was a few days ago through the Flying Pickets' cover of Yazoo's Only You and now I'm casual studying up on Purcell and find her here . . . not a big fan . . . and I'd prefer the pure tone of a trained singer but I think it's cool that she did this and what a nice coincidence . . . everyone should see Fallen Angels by Wong Kar-wai . . . lol
Evilbitch666 I agree completely. Her voice is not operatic but she still has a rich resonant tone which brings something new to the piece. Music is a living thing and it's important both to reinterpret and even experiment sometimes. I think Purcell would have been pleased with the result
this is good, and so is buckley's. I believe though, that this woman has a much more trained voice than buckley, but there are some pros and cons to it. Buckley i bet can do a lot more varieties of music and singing than this woman. I would not think she would be able to go from scatting in the way young lovers do like ella fitzgerald and then perform an aria.
Er, hello? - he did. Ok, he is not trained, and his intonation is sometimes wayward, but a lot of musicians, including classical ones, were knocked out. Have you heard it, or are you just being wilful? :)
I am used to the classical version of one of the most moving arias from opera history. Still, this version of Alison Moyet learned me to re-listen to it in a more down to earth way. She is a very emotional singer. I love her work.
@jannokas85: I owe Moyet an apology. I've now heard a worse performance. YouTube has led me to the Swingle Singers' version. I'm afraid I don't know how to link it to this comment, but if you're a fan of jazzed-up Purcell you should check it out
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
My father died earlier this year-the old sod! l so hated him-and l so loved him. He was told that last Christmas would be his last, as he had cancer. How awful!! lt was, as it happened, and he died in January. l'll remember him!
I agree - I think it's wonderful to hear a 'non-classical' singer of Alison's stature tackle a song like this. Also I think the slightly faster-pace-than-usual is interesting and wholly acceptable in this context
Listened to Jessye Norman and Janet Baker's versions, both of which I found much more moving than this version. I don't care if this singer tried it. It just doesn't work for me. Change in key, vocal quality - especially on high note at the end, lack of harpsichord for continuo, etc. all change the piece negatively for me.
This is terrific! As an opera/classical singer myself, it's fantastic to hear singers from other genres put their unique fingerprint on these songs. Alison Moyet sounds WONDERFUL! I have an album of Sting singing some early music with lute and it is wonderful. It's nice to hear these singers not limit themselves to the public's perception and allow themselves a chance to express themselves in other styles of music.
@jcga30346 Totally agree. In same positon as you here. Sometimes it works (here, Sting doing the Dowland), other times it really DOESN'T (Hayley Westenra doing this aria). She's bent it to a jazz / blues mood and I get it. and for me it works. Best thing has to be it exposes her reg. listeners to some rep they might not usually listen to. imho
I cried.
agl126 16 hours ago
I've always thought of this aria as out of place with the rest of the opera, if not the era. It's got such a "modern" sensibility, even in the original. Imo, it's a good choice as a modern era ballad.
TheKleserts 4 days ago
It moved me to tears.
steveluttrell 1 month ago
This is gorgeous
Takanopeka 1 month ago
I am absolutely blown away!
If we would hear more of such performances, I would actually go to classical concerts!
This is sublimely beautiful... and very sad...
Margus81 2 months ago
Hermoso!
MrDarknesslover 2 months ago
Precioso, pero me gusta más Emma Kirkby
antibesa 2 months ago
le massacre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
giniedragon 2 months ago
I am with cptmaz. Having also had a fairly thorough classical education, I much prefer this rendition to the alternative operatic style. I feel sure that Alison Moyet would have reduced Purcell to tears, had he known that the notes he penned would elicit such a depth of emotion.
centrifugal123 2 months ago 2
So sad, My friend chose this for his funeral. Not long before he took his own life. RIP my dearest friend. xxxx
loveyouforeverMJ 2 months ago
Gorgeous.Like so much of what she does. Shame about " I yam" and " bu tarr "
thirlestanelodge2 2 months ago
Sublime - her rendition makes all the disputes irrelevant - just open your heart to the words and her voice.
zcatfanxq 3 months ago 4
Comment removed
centrifugal123 3 months ago
cptmaz and blackbeas... Like you I am on both sides, both classical and modern, and welcome your appreciation of this performance. This rendition is how I would define 'art'. It is what lies beyond the technical performance, it is finding out what the composer really intended his music and words to portry, and I think that Moyet has pulled a blinder with this. For those who either do not, or refuse, to understand, I ask that you take a little time to find out what makes Alison Moyet tick.
centrifugal123 3 months ago
I'ts beautiful and so moving to hear Alison Moyet performing this song.
Thanx for posting it!!!! I love it....
merlijn0100 3 months ago
Those haunting words expressed through silken throat.
Dark and beautiful
CanadianPoets 4 months ago 2
One thing, among many, that I like about this version is that one can understand the words!
siachatah 5 months ago
Vulgar? I grew up a classical musician (piano, violin, viola, recorders, renaissance lute, harpsichord etc). I was a music history major who participated in many early music consorts. I was moved by, and concentrated upon on Purcell's musick. I also received a classical education--one closely aligned with what Purcell would have had in his day. I have been to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This rendition, while it is new to me, rends my soul every time. I think Purcell would have approved.
cptmaz 5 months ago 19
all these opera singers think they are entitled to sing this song and sing it but when i listen i feel nothing, its a beautiful song! but the fail to move me! except for one person and that person is not an opera singer! JEFF BUCKLEYS version of this is so hauntingly beautiful its perfect and the fact that it wasnt really rehearsed he just came on stage and did it makes it even more perfect
DonHumbostoni 5 months ago
@DonHumbostoni
Dude, it would have been rehearsed time and time again before he did it, hahaha
MrWiggerdale123 4 months ago
Nobody does it better than Alison Moyet!
dubmoyet 5 months ago
fantastic voice,not from this world....Always want to cry when hearing
cello3355 6 months ago 2
I'm only curious about one thing: Did Alison Moyet come up with the idea of Purcell's aria or did someone else say, "Hey Alison. You should do this song! No one will know it's from the 17th century."
BandaCaminoAlNorte 6 months ago
when I am laid in earth
am laid in earth
may my wrongs create
no trouble no trouble in thy breast
remember me!
remember me!
but ah!
Forget my fate!
koosloop 7 months ago
yay Purcel,fuck italy
tilty124 7 months ago
@tilty124 haha!
Mcbmusic 5 months ago
wow.what a voice
jolopukkii 7 months ago in playlist Purcell
ok, so sorry then.
totalcinemania 8 months ago
@yvesvangelre I think, with all my respect, that in music (and in the arts) being a "taliban" makes no sense. I mean, I'm sure Moyet's voice couldn't supercede a great opera singer...anyway, she doesn't intends that, for sure.... and her voice is plenty of EMOTION. so please, open your mind and get down from the chosen's Parnassus. Without anger. Thank you.
totalcinemania 8 months ago
describe, I mean... sorry :-)
totalcinemania 8 months ago
i have no words to descript this velvet voice... tears of emotion :-)
totalcinemania 8 months ago 2
listening to it all the time! just too beautiful
ilovemybestvideos 8 months ago 2
Shut up bitch! Learn to sing first and never rape Purcell again.
yvesvangelre 8 months ago
@yvesvangelre what an horrible thing to say
alessandro8uroborous 8 months ago
@alessandro8uroborous You are absolutely right, but not as horrible as Moyets rape of one of the most beautiful arias ever. She has no talent at all to sing serious music. If you dig for the grave of Purcell, you'll probably find him turned around and upside down after this blasphemy. It's a disgrace!
yvesvangelre 8 months ago
@yvesvangelre we are all entitled to an opinion and different taste, i still don't see the point of bashing. I mean, how would you react if somebody used your words to describe something you love doing? I like AM, she is not my favourite artist, but even with music I don't like (for example Lady Gaga), I never go around saying bad things about them. I mean, they make many people happy, who am I to say that's s.h.i.t.? Don't concentrate too much on things that you don't like, makes you bitter :)
alessandro8uroborous 8 months ago
@alessandro8uroborous Hey, one cannot differ about bad taste. How about that for an opinion?
yvesvangelre 8 months ago
@yvesvangelre a very callow one. there's no such a thing as bad taste. just things you like and things you don't. :) i bid you farewell and wish you all the best for the future.
alessandro8uroborous 8 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
YOU TASTE DOG ANUS
tilty124 7 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
@tilty124 Yeah you're right! Moyet sounds like an anus of a dog. Hurrah for you and many thumbs up!
yvesvangelre 7 months ago
@tilty124 ¡qué vulgar eres!
GabrielPadecopeo 6 months ago
¿Por qué tanta vulgaridad?
GabrielPadecopeo 6 months ago
WOW!
agitanna 8 months ago
Wonderful song and voice, I love it.
Thanks so much!
MiCanaldeArte 8 months ago
Fabulous. Love her soft voice. I t conveys the feeling of the lament perfectly. I particularly love, as others have said, that she does not over act the song. To me, that is just as someone would actually sing it. It's real.
zsleepwalker 8 months ago
Give me "Only You" any day.
hdprice 9 months ago
sounds like a shemale.
iTrollThis 9 months ago
It's a good, soulful rendition. I like the smokiness of her voice, the tiny cracks in the edges. I'm less fond of the "I yam laid".
And Barbara Bonney, for me, is as near perfection as I've heard: emotion and clarity with histrionics. But that's a matter of taste.
SarahWilson01 10 months ago 2
@SarahWilson01 In total agreement with your comments!
Wavewolfaroha 9 months ago
I love the pizz. double bass. It gives the piece a really appropriate blues feel. It goes with her voice.
samvall 10 months ago 2
Like many Baroque composers Purcell used the "ground bass" or "basso ostinato" repeated throughout the piece. It could be 4 notes or 8 measures but it held the piece together while the free flow of the melody above it created variety and tension. A descending line in half steps showed grief or sorrow. Ground bass came from the development of the basso continuo where the bass played the roots of the chords and the harpsichord improvised on them. Bach was a great improviser. 18th century jazz.
kfcohea 9 months ago
very interesting
catullus06 11 months ago
sublime....
pepitho 11 months ago
fantastica!
soffiotanto 1 year ago
awful
000nour000 1 year ago
@000nour000 eres purista,verdad?
paula69ayala 10 months ago
@000nour000 eres purista,no?
paula69ayala 10 months ago
This is great. I love that I can understand each word, unlike many to most classical singers. Thank you for posting this.
redbrian3655 1 year ago 2
I love this performance!!!!
garob4 1 year ago 2
Wonderful peformed in perfect transcript from soprano to an alt voice.
Well done Alison))
Finish57 1 year ago
:'(
mmenolwenn 1 year ago
A different but superb interpretation of this piece of music
blackbeasthamish 1 year ago
Jazzy en diable, voix du coeur, merci !
mariasarda 1 year ago
Incredible and moving.
bellydancetrainer 1 year ago
Cet acte est simplement le plus émouvant de tout l'opéra de didon et énée... Cette chanson perturbe les sens, la mélodie est merveilleuse, les paroles tellement belles et macabres... Très tragique ! Alison Moyet interprète cette chanson à la perfection.
Niitr0glycerine 1 year ago
Oh God! This moves me to tears, I've never felt the music so melted with the voice and the sense of the lyrics.... beautiful
johandrea92 1 year ago 2
Amazing! I love this.
richard5220 1 year ago
Beautiful......I love the versatility of Alison Moyet's voice.
revlonsdale 1 year ago
beautiful and moving -- I think Henry Purcell would be thrilled with this version
dlcurtis69 1 year ago
I think It is very interesting when pop singers dare to get into the risky field of classical music. There are not so many around. Even if they lack the technique needed for opera, like in this case, the result is quite unique. It´s unfair to compare her with opera singers. In fact, opera singers use to make horrible versions of pop and rock classic... Thanks for posting
Ivanbelastegui 1 year ago 8
This is absolutely sublime - and I'm a professional musician :)
IA2329 1 year ago
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This version of Dido´s Lament was my wish and played in Finnish/swedish radio Radio Vega, classical program the 16 nov. 2010. They were surprised by her expressions and voice and the whole part. I love it!
baggholma 1 year ago
This version of Dido´s Lament was my wish and played in Finnish/swedish radio Radio Vega, classical program the 16 nov. 2010. They were surprised by her expressions and voice and the whole part. I love it!
baggholma 1 year ago
Waouh! It is just incredible! She has a so beautiful voice and she gives a real personnality to the desperate and worthy queen Dido! Very delicate and strong.
AZ09PENTHESILEE 1 year ago 3
Alison will go down as one of the great voices, I wish she would duet with Annie Lennox!
davejukebox 1 year ago
I really like this version of Dido's Lament. Alison Moyet has a very unique voice and executes perfectly. Bravo!
Birdsong16 1 year ago 2
My God. The power of pathos....... superb.
ultramag 1 year ago
Haha, I don't understand classical music.
This is good though...
911650 1 year ago
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Hello, my name is Nushin Brooke Alavi. I am a 19 year old college student. I have been playing piano for 15 years. I am currently taking composition lessons at UCSD. I compose classical music. I have 11 improvisations and 4 compositions. If you please, take a look at my videos.
Thanks,
Nushin
nbalavi 1 year ago
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@Overbrough
This is a terrific version. Sarah Connolly is amazing, so is Renée Fleming's version, and believe it or not Jeff Buckley sang it with unearthly emotion, perhaps my favorite of all. Purcell wrote one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
cooperdogable 1 year ago
@Overbrough
This is a terrific version. Sarah Connolly is amazing, so is Renée Fleming's version, and believe it or not Jeff Buckley sang it with unearthly emotion, perhaps my favorite of all. Purcell wrote one of the most beautiful songs of all time.
cooperdogable 1 year ago 3
What a unique voice and also very sexy....
eirini148 1 year ago
What a unique voice and also very sexy...
eirini148 1 year ago
Wonderful. There's nothing I like to hear more than a classical piece like this done well in a modern rendention.
JasonJason210 1 year ago
Which painting is that at the begining of the video? It's beautiful!
hermione838 1 year ago
fantastyczne !
Szafran50 1 year ago
Wonderfl version. Favourite. Cheers!, Sergio.
profesorsergio 1 year ago
superbe chanteuse , superbe morceau
sensorofview 1 year ago
@namemistaken AMs version gives the aria new life in my opinion. Only a purist would complain. And I believe you fit that description.
lonedrone 1 year ago
Beautiful! It sounds like a requiem! Very tragical
slavaro1992 1 year ago
To all the smug and self- satisfied purists who think they know how this song should be interpreted, the answer is that you are perfectly entitled to your opinions, but they carry no more validity than those of anyone else. They are personal preferences and nothing more. There is no magic formula which tells us what is right and what isn't, This is as well because otherwise creativity would die and we'd all be stuck in a time warp. Music is not a science, so don't try to treat it as such.
blackbeasthamish 1 year ago 20
@blackbeasthamish smugness has nothing to do with it. The tune is really simple - it was written a long time ago - so the singer has to come up with something very deep and dark to make it work, but the genius of Purcell is that when they do it leaves you in pieces. If, like jannokas85, you want something smooth and jazzy, then you'll enjoy Moyet's version. I understand that. The intro sounds just like a Hamlet cigar ad. But it doesn't do justice to the powerful simplicity of Purcell's tune.
namemistaken 1 year ago
@namemistaken I fully understand the point you are making, but I have heard versions of this tune by so called "acclaimed" opera singers who overdo it to the point it starts to become comical. This works in much the same way that a role in a play can be overacted. I agree that something dark and deep might be appropriate, but the singer's natural inner feelings should always preside over attempts to achieve technical excellence, in whatever way these happen to manifest themselves.
blackbeasthamish 1 year ago 16
@blackbeasthamish I like her's the bet, because she is being artistic, not an opera zombie.
resonantdave 3 months ago
Dido's lament is a simple and extraordinarily powerful piece of music, but this is the weakest performance of it that I've heard. Sorry, Alison Moyet, but you don't sound like you're dying. A slight head cold, perhaps.
namemistaken 1 year ago
this Aria is extremely beautiful and i agree that the whole point of the aria is to convey how the character feels, the grief especially, not matter how someone chooses to sing it; however, i think it conveys that emotion better when it is sung in the opera
SpartanDB 1 year ago
Lo que queda claro con cosas como esta es que a la música pop no le faltan cantantes de talento, sino compositores.
guachereitor 1 year ago
This is NOT how this is to be sung.
aydenalexis 1 year ago
Alyson Moyet has always surprised the establishment with her treacle voice and engaged inate musicality and here she does it again! What a lovely rendition!!!
flyngalan 1 year ago
Where or can I buy this track ?
onegreyeye 1 year ago
How beautiful, this rendition comes a close second to Janet Baker.
Thanks
wanlockhead 1 year ago
this is absolutely beautiful!!!
TerentiaWillsomethin 1 year ago
I had only known of Janet Baker singing this previously, but am so enjoying this one by the amazing Alison Moyet too....I love that whole opera by Purcell, and to be honest who cares whether the music you like is 'classical' or not...I feel we have moved on from that these days, and I just love such a variety of music from violin concertos to Lily Allen....
sweetgypsywife 1 year ago
This comment is surely going to offend a lot of classical music sticklers but Dido's Lament is proof positive that the most important quality in music is not some elitist view of classical music pitch/timing perfection.
The two versions of this haunting piece of music that best communicate the grief and despair that I believe Henry Purcell intended to convey are by pop singers, Alison Moyet and Jeff Buckley.
Real soul music!
Stevieboy130664 1 year ago
@Stevieboy130664 Well said Stevieboy. I know some of the purists will be wringing their hands in horror, but you're dead right. Music is not about technical perfection but about the feeling and inate quality that goes into it. This is often by-passed by someof the more traditional vocalists who are too busy trying to make sure they "get it right" and in consequence the finished product can end up the worse for it.
blackbeasthamish 1 year ago
Exquisita Alison. Algunos no tienen el mínimo gusto musical para apreciar tu voz.
siulegroj 1 year ago
not my favorite version
AurolaGerero 1 year ago
Curiosa versión, aunque no sé yo si la voz de cazallera fumadora de dos paquetes de Celtas diarios que tiene esta mujer va muy bien con el "pathos" de la pieza. Bueno tal vez si uno se imagina que Dido está muriendo de SIDA, alcoholizada y tirada en algún callejón de la zona de Las Ramblas en Barcelona, XDD
Jarajofife 1 year ago
@Jarajofife: Celtas! Se han pasado años desde que probé uno de esos!
namemistaken 1 year ago
How dare you. How dare you. How dare you do this to ANY piece of music. I am disgusted!
leporello56 1 year ago
@leporello56 oh come on... don't get too serious.
juju1305 1 year ago
@leporello56 take a chill pill darl
chazza125 1 year ago
@leporello56 ha ha ha. You nut job.
shouldhavebeenme 1 year ago
She sounds like she smokes a shit load
maxjamesorgans 1 year ago
Allison Moyet has a nice, smooth and soulful voice but i prefer klaus nomi's version, this sounds like if it was taken from an Andrew Lloyd Webber happy go lucky production. Don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of Ms.Moyet's work since my childhood, I'm very fond to her work in Yazoo, and her solo career is great, but I feel that her voice doesn't quite match with this style of music.
killogow 1 year ago
Lovely. I'm a fan of the opera, but she does justice to this piece :)
juju1305 1 year ago
When pop singers get into opera you can have surprising results, like this one. Even though she does not have an opera range the melody kind of suit her voice. A very, very interesting voice. Thanks for posting
Ivanbelastegui 1 year ago
Beautiful, so beautiful!
lorsujan 1 year ago 2
Everyone grieves as differently as their unique personalities. It is fitting to have different renditions on this piece. It's a beaufiful version. What I hear emotionally is a point beyond what most experience. Ask anyone who has lost a loved one far before their time, and in the midst of their life's ruin, and perhaps you would understand. But maybe not.
ComposerLady 1 year ago 18
Please, Please, Please! check out Jeff buckley's version, so under rated and so amazing.
gawain259 1 year ago
There's no feeling in this version. Does she even know what she's singing and why? Nothing subtle. This makes one appreciate Dame Janet Baker's classic b/w live performance all the more (also on YouTube). Janet Baker makes you feel suicidal with her, wringing out every nuance and bit of melancholy the lyrics hold. This is like listening to Ashlee Simpson sing Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen.
RoboSlater 1 year ago
how can u call this singing with no feeling???...we are done with the over theatrical versions of the middle ages! long live this version.....
hafoko 1 year ago
@hafoko
Your comment is spot on. Many of the so called "operatic" versions of this piece are severely over-hammed. They do to it what pub singers often do to Sinatra's "My Way" by trying to put too much into it, and just end up by making it sound totally contrived.
blackbeasthamish 1 year ago
@blackbeasthamish "My Way" is not supposed to be sung by someone who is dying at their own hand after being abandoned forever by their lover.
namemistaken 1 year ago
I'm with slugslasher - this is going at MY funeral too. Hopefully it'll get everyone blubbing - just what you want at a decent comittal.
TheMerseaman 1 year ago
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tasteism 1 year ago
ironic that I just found out who she was a few days ago through the Flying Pickets' cover of Yazoo's Only You and now I'm casual studying up on Purcell and find her here . . . not a big fan . . . and I'd prefer the pure tone of a trained singer but I think it's cool that she did this and what a nice coincidence . . . everyone should see Fallen Angels by Wong Kar-wai . . . lol
yukikoforevernoise 1 year ago
I love this version and I would choose this for my funeral
slugslasher 1 year ago
It's a beautiful rendition even though it's not operatic, her dark voice holds so much pain, it'd gorgeous for this song
Evilbitch666 1 year ago
Evilbitch666 I agree completely. Her voice is not operatic but she still has a rich resonant tone which brings something new to the piece. Music is a living thing and it's important both to reinterpret and even experiment sometimes. I think Purcell would have been pleased with the result
.
blackbeasthamish 1 year ago
Interesting arrangement. But I like it :)
rypinky 1 year ago
Klaus Nomi did this the best
Usefulbanana 1 year ago
beautifull
vikisisa 1 year ago
this is good, and so is buckley's. I believe though, that this woman has a much more trained voice than buckley, but there are some pros and cons to it. Buckley i bet can do a lot more varieties of music and singing than this woman. I would not think she would be able to go from scatting in the way young lovers do like ella fitzgerald and then perform an aria.
But everyone has there own ideas. its all opinion
TheFilmGuy999 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This is an insult to Purcell.
juliefisher4000 1 year ago
Indeed...
artflamenoir 1 year ago
HOW is it an insult to Purcell? All she's done is sung it (very well) in her register. I doubt Purcell is turning in his grave.
homegrownwriting 1 year ago 5
It's not really operatic; it's more like a cover song for a more popular age.
juliefisher4000 1 year ago
@homegrownwriting
hackbrett7 1 year ago
Is it just me, or is this like way too contemporary sounding?
careyeOhkey 1 year ago
That's what I thought; it's like a more contemporary cover. I mean some artists can do it right but this doesn't sound right.
juliefisher4000 1 year ago
very nice, but check out jeff buckleys version!!!
hannah4440 2 years ago
You have got to be shitting me. Buckley is to this level of pipes as dishwater is to fine wine.
Jeff couldn't do this if you cut off his left nut and had a pair of snips around the right.
willfullyobscure 1 year ago
Er, hello? - he did. Ok, he is not trained, and his intonation is sometimes wayward, but a lot of musicians, including classical ones, were knocked out. Have you heard it, or are you just being wilful? :)
PeterOzanne 1 year ago
haha, i think wilfull! I just don't like Jeff Buckley but maybe that is irrelevant.
this voicing by Moyet is really great. not operatic but ol' Hank would have liked it, iI think.
willfullyobscure 1 year ago
What is this ?... Pop music ?
I like pop music, and baroque too, but that is... nothing.
Poor Purcell, what a shame.
sinestemusic 2 years ago
I am used to the classical version of one of the most moving arias from opera history. Still, this version of Alison Moyet learned me to re-listen to it in a more down to earth way. She is a very emotional singer. I love her work.
roelant2 2 years ago 2
I think this is just so gorgeous.
xclevermealsx 2 years ago 4
very emotional....and not shallow at all,,,,and how someone dares to call this Kitsch is unbelievable.....
hafoko 2 years ago 21
Ну, в этом, безусловно, что-то есть - но Перселла, признаем, в этом есть маловато.
uztakts 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Is this a man singing?
gojewla 2 years ago
She's not Janet Baker, but wow, a really nice version. thanks
WolfgangusMozartus 2 years ago 2
man your voice came out of no where.... very delightful and peaceful. a diminishing rejoice of sound. im so glad i stumbled across this.
jonniejonn 2 years ago 2
really NOT
Hantipas 2 years ago
very nice sounds like emotional pain is definitely in her voice
amy1wauc 2 years ago
Alison Moyet has one of the most amazing voices. Anything she touches is brilliant and this song is no exception.
hanumanji1961 2 years ago 4
This comment has received too many negative votes show
There is a word for this and it is called Kitsch.
Come on please, you are singing about a lover which left you and death is greeting you. You just cannot sing such an subtle aria so shallow.
Giannini1980 2 years ago
What a beautiful smooth voice. There is something subtly jazzy about this. :)
jannokas85 2 years ago 31
no.
futuristfood 2 years ago
@jannokas85: I owe Moyet an apology. I've now heard a worse performance. YouTube has led me to the Swingle Singers' version. I'm afraid I don't know how to link it to this comment, but if you're a fan of jazzed-up Purcell you should check it out
namemistaken 1 year ago
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What a unique voice and also very sexy....
eirini148 1 year ago
@jannokas85 gotta love the descending tetrachord.
mzjkm 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
My father died earlier this year-the old sod! l so hated him-and l so loved him. He was told that last Christmas would be his last, as he had cancer. How awful!! lt was, as it happened, and he died in January. l'll remember him!
rayacs1 2 years ago
i`m so sorry to hear that. I hope you'll be ok.
big hug from me!
dinmolle 2 years ago
A beautiful version. Thanks for uploading this. I would never have had the chance to hear it otherwise.
TooJubeJM1 2 years ago 3
I agree - I think it's wonderful to hear a 'non-classical' singer of Alison's stature tackle a song like this. Also I think the slightly faster-pace-than-usual is interesting and wholly acceptable in this context
composerinoxford 2 years ago 4
Check out an awful recording of Dido's lament I have!
jaaaaaayynnee 2 years ago
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I didn't hate it!
:)
BernardProfitendieu 2 years ago
I love this, its different yet the same - opens up a whole new spectrum of listeners.
OLIVIAISTHREE 2 years ago
Listened to Jessye Norman and Janet Baker's versions, both of which I found much more moving than this version. I don't care if this singer tried it. It just doesn't work for me. Change in key, vocal quality - especially on high note at the end, lack of harpsichord for continuo, etc. all change the piece negatively for me.
pgabhart1 2 years ago 4
Comment removed
tervito 2 years ago
This is terrific! As an opera/classical singer myself, it's fantastic to hear singers from other genres put their unique fingerprint on these songs. Alison Moyet sounds WONDERFUL! I have an album of Sting singing some early music with lute and it is wonderful. It's nice to hear these singers not limit themselves to the public's perception and allow themselves a chance to express themselves in other styles of music.
jcga30346 2 years ago 8
@jcga30346 Totally agree. In same positon as you here. Sometimes it works (here, Sting doing the Dowland), other times it really DOESN'T (Hayley Westenra doing this aria). She's bent it to a jazz / blues mood and I get it. and for me it works. Best thing has to be it exposes her reg. listeners to some rep they might not usually listen to. imho
pianomags 2 years ago
Beautiful ! end of line ;
And I love Alison for it .
an484972 2 years ago
I loved Alison Moyet's voice from the 1st time I heard it. This version is beautiful and interesting.
TheEvaCarlson 2 years ago 2
im not trying to caus conflict but i love the way she pronounces 'Fate' it makes her unique (: x
TeeDerbzz 2 years ago
Purcell was a fucking genius!!
arahim93 2 years ago 7
beautiful version...doesn't need to be intellectualised with unnecessary expiation or demeaned by bei