Thomas Hampson - Shenandoah

[dande19]

This song exposes his poor technique.

[MOZ1175]

Have to say this too. It (for me anyway) It is one of the most infectious pertormances ever. When you look up the history of the song and its meaning. Its a tiresome song of surrendering to another man (the chief) his love for his daughter and its relation to the missouri river. Torn, tattered and willing to sacrifice his own person to have his own true love. It is very much so reflected in his deliverance, his last and final stand to get her at nothing and only hoping for the chiefs approval.

[MOZ1175]

This shows how much a musician he is and determination to withstand the critics regardless how harsh. I'm a classical singer and people tend to be over critical of my "technique" and have done juries for feedback, they as well can be brutal. If thats my experience in this field I can only imagine what Thomas (Thom) must encounter. If someone reads this they must at least know how the industry is. Really, enjoy its simplicity, his delivery. Screw the nonsense about vowels, breath and phrasing.

[gordbard52]

And I'm screaming - like - GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT!!!! What the fuck is WRONG with these people!!??!!

[joelflorew]

wikipedia say he's a kavalierbariton

[classact55]

@RionPhotography: Agreed!

[RionPhotography]

LoL YouTube comments crack me up... wonder what some of these professional critiquers sound like. :)

[youngwarrior2]

Interesting to all the comments from people who know nothing of music (no music lessons) or nothing about Thomas. I went to grade school with him for six years and high school for one (he was one year ahead of me). So I heard him sing before his voice changed and after. I also attended one of his Masters Classes in 1995. He indeed is one of the best baritones ever.

[bodiloto]

ahahahahahahahahahahahah

[andyrawn]

VERY Cool Video ~ Hearty Congratulations! Perhaps You & Your Viewers Would Also Enjoy Watching On You Tube: 1st Lesson FREE !

[TheVerdiBaritone]

Bernstein worked with Hampson when the voice had not significantly deteriorated. Hampson never did sing as well as Cappuccilli or Milnes. For those who enjoy Fischer-Dieskau I suppose Thomas Hampson's Mahler is adequate. I see that you have exposed your own motives, in as much as "The thief thinks every man is a thief." All the best for your holidays.

[Chanteuredelopera]

@TheVerdiBaritone Hampson may not have sung as well as Milnes in your opinion but Hampson certainly has the superior technique, by the time Milnes was Hampson's age he had damaged his voice and retired from singing almost completely. Cappuccilli is incomparable in Italian opera! Hampson is also a more full bodied lyric baritone whereas Milnes and Cappuccilli were both real Verdi baritones and neither Cappuccilli or Milnes could rival Hampson in German opera and lieder.

[TheVerdiBaritone]

Hampson is one of the worst singers ever foisted on the public. His tragic lack of proper singing method was not so obvious when his voice was young and the unsupported mixed voice allowed him a decent baritone range. As he's aged the faulty production has left him with a strident top and a breathy unsupported soft voice. The worst of it is his staying onstage to spread this caricature of "serious" art.

[AmericanEvita]

@TheVerdiBaritone Thomas Hampson was discovered by Leonard Bernstein. Are you going to tell me that the great Maestro Bernstein didn't recognize talent when he heard it ?He can sing Mozart and Mahler. His Kindertotenleider album and Wonderhorn are award winners. He has a broad range & sings folk music an Broadway musicals. I think you are upset since he's now taking on Verdi opera. You're sn is TheVerdiBaritone & maybe you feel he's no Milnes or Cappuccili, but Hampson is just as good!

[sumalumajumjum]

he really butcheres this....listen to ernie ford sing this...tom tom brings to much "opera" into this song...and the result is typical of him....he ruins a song that i love...

[spiritual101]

@sumalumajumjum

Thank you for introducing me to Ernie Ford. So far, I've really enjoyed his song, titled, Try a Little Tenderness.

[davidhalldurham]

Yeah, the end is a bit strained, probably because of the hour. Nonetheless, Hampson is the leading baritone in the US today, no question about it. He also has a high-end that any baritone in the world would kill for.

[rosca04]

love this one. best version online -imhop- sure cause mine`s not online yet... well done and faaaar beyond talking rubbish about opera or not. if some guy is able to move our feelings: enjoy, don´t destroy!

[Lisnageeragh]

Listen to Paul Robeson

[flylooper]

Hampson has a pipe most baritones would kill for. What a gift. Best of all he has the intelligence to use that voice impeccably.

[KarrotKun1]

He's a great orator. I was lucky enough to see him perform this piece live. That was before I knew what an amazing singer he was. I was able to "discover" him on my own :)

[ShawDAMAN]

Generally a nice moving rendition, I was about to say "very nice" until that raspy, breathy attempt at a 'piano' ending.... :-/

[badmintondud]

i think the raspiness is magnified by the microphone here.

I saw him sing this live, during the Song of America tour he mentioned in the brief interview, on a stage without a mic and it was just beautiful. I concurr with you about the end in this rendition, but when he sang that night on stage (without a mic) the ending was absolutley gorgeous.

[pearlminnie]

Composer unknown. Oh, Shenandoah was a sea chanty or river chanty

[DorothyMcBain]

i agree that nelson eddy was the baritone to beat all others,,,lets hope people will always remember this brilliant singer and keep his memory forever fresh. nelson and eddy and his singing partner jeanette macdonald should never be forgotten

[pearlminnie]

If you haven't heard Nelson Eddy sing Shenandoah (not on Youtube) or any other American songs from the 1930s and 40s then you don't know how a baritone should sing. He WAS America's greatest baritone. Voice quality and emotion. He was on the radio from 1935 to 1950. His fans are almost faded like the Vets of WW 2. I pray for a revival of his beautiful singing. There are many CDs out there reviving his songs. I wish they would remaster all his musical movies. They were so grand.

[coriumboy]

who compose shenandoah?

[dcwoodardjr]

Breathiness, Where? Thomas has become the major interpreter of American Song. It's for a Network Morning Show, put in in context. He was not doing opera, he was doing a Great American Folk Song for a Very Shallow Audience. I think he pretty much hit the mark for the venue...well maybe a bit strained at the end...perhaps you just listened to the end, perhaps not his best moment...but at that hour, prob. not the best time to try a light, high, ending on that combination of vowels.

DC in SC

[donatello1]

what year was this?

[akowns]

he clearly has talent... but i think he should stick to opera.. This song doesnt really fit him that well... He is good though so dont hate on me... Hearing his other stuff that is better... Plus this is just a weird arrangement of the song.

[PK292TSM]

@akowns

and you should stick to being a moron

[zolluuu]

He's got a great voice, but he's oversinging this, I think. This kind of folk tune is meant to be simple. That's when you get to really hear it. Opera singers always sing everything like it's opera. I'd like to hear him do something like Amazing Grace without all the showiness. I bet it'd be terrific.

[PK292TSM]

@zolluuu

yeah, right.... a comment from some one who clearly has no idea what true art is about

[mathymarge]

As a German, living in Scotland I have heard of this "wonderful" Baritone, I did not like his recital of Schubert/Silcher Lindenbaum, I did not like his Italian Barber of Seville, I thought I give him a chance singing in his native tongue, what a " let down", he is a decent singer, but he lacks the heart and it doesn't sound right, I agree, Robert Merril,Paul Robeson, Merilyn Horne are different class, because they feel the song and it comes across!

[mravenged7foldl]

i cant believe you would say that stuff. dude i am 16 years old and i am literally i proffessional when it comes to judging voices and thomas is definately ' The World Leading Baritone '

[mathymarge]

well, Wolfgang Amadeus raving7fold!

there are quite a number of very talented young people with the "absolute hearing",

but you said it, you are literally (adverb of dull, factual, prosaic) a professional, (by letter), but are you by the

"score"??

[Preoww]

Did anyone else realize the slide show pictures had nothing to do with the actual theme of the song?

[TheLOLrus12]

This is bloody awful...And I like Hampson most of the time.

[unotenore]

Ye who judge such an accomplished artist are judged yourselves for being so small that you cannot imagine another version of the classic song. this man is possessed of immense vocal gifts and hugely gifted in delivering the many forms of art and folk songs. your hateful and jealous negative comments are just the ticket that prevents many homegrown talented artists from being saluted in their own Land, America! Thomas, the MAN when it comes to tops for Lyric Baritones today.

THANKS!

[TheLOLrus12]

I'm gonna level with you here for a second. I enjoy the song itself. There were moments of the song that were truly moving. There was also the majority, which was incredibly weak. That weakness was mainly do to an incredibly weak and weaky mix voice. You could hear the breathiness through out the entire song.

[MelancholyBaby21]

There are a number of different resonators. Form bottom to top they are the chest, the pharynx, the larynx, the nasopharynx, the mouth, the nasal cavity, and the skull. The higher the tone, the higher its target resonator. Healthy nasality is often confused with "being nasal" but they are NOT the same. Natural air flow through the nasal cavity is essential for a forward focused tone. A voice should not be nasal. But it must always be forward.

[tenorismo]

Americas greatist Baritone ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol lol ol lollol Ha ha ha . Robert Merril has been dead for 3 yrs and hes still the greatist Baritone. LOL n Hampson great ? LOL LOL LOL LOL

[zv03]

Poweful performance by a superb vocalist of a familiar folk tune that raises it above the commonplace. Interestingly though, despite the illuminating explanatory comments preceding it, there are no accompnying images of American indians (aka 'native americans'), only blacks and po' whites. Thar perhaps tells us someting about America right there.

[KennethKozak0514]

ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED THIS AMERICAN CLASSIC. PERIOD.  Stick to what you know best...........boooooooooooooo­oooooooooooo

[mrmuszynski]

What a toolbag! He doesn't even make sense in the interview! I once had to sit through half an hour of his blathering at a commencement address.

As for the singing... Stick to opera. You're way over thinking what should be a very simple song.

[candyfourpaws]

Thomas, Spokane is SOOOO proud of you--such a nice, nice man. And talented beyond belief. I could listen to him sing the phone book.

[kern39743]

well done but ernie fords rendition is my favorite.

[dolicimani]

he slides about too much for my likely

[joaopedro12]

for god sake you people his not perfect, and even memorable but his performance is quite moving, he's sensible and shows great humanity in his voice and i think that is already great, thanks for posting!

[flaze3]

I didn't like that ending. And I think it could have been less shouty, but overall, pretty good.

[ivelios]

It seems that it was very early in the morning, and if he didn't get the proper warm up time, which is what seems to have happened with that airy ending, you can't do shit about it.

[flaze3]

maybe. Let's hope he takes the time to warm up properly next occasion!

[KainTheDragoon]

I think this guy has a beautiful voice! I don't care about airy endings/whatever small details; to me singing is expression and art, and in my opinion this guy has sung something beautiful!

[flaze3]

No doubt, but it's easy to be pedantic on youtube.

[lester0091]

Amazing.i wish i had that voice lol

[chiara54324]

The voice... I was in second line(one or two meters from the stage), so, obviously I could hear the voice,better than the orchestra.

About the power? Oh, yes,power enough. In the piano, pianissimo, or forte, I could hear everything. And even every consonant, If you are a singer you will know how important it is.

Thank you for asking me the question about live performance. It is a good question because sometimes some singers sound different when they are on stage.

[chiara54324]

Hello, Kristy!

Talking about his live performance,well... I was had a great expectation because I knew he is a wonderful, refined singer. But,like you, I only have heard his voice on cd or dvd.

The concert was better than what I was expecting.

Kindertotenlieder is a moving repertoire, Mahler is his favourite composer and he was able to put us ( the audience) in the heart of the songs.

I mean,was able to share his emotions.

[moh672]

I will probably be vilified for saying so, but I feel like I am being shouted at. This is supposed to be an intimate song. It's true that opera singers have to project over orchestras, but any decent singer sings to the room he is in. Hampson is screaming.

Correct opera technique allows for piano as well as forte, and Hampson shouts on the highs and goes nasal and breathy on the lows and softs. His ending where he goes hoarse isn't intimacy, it's raping the song.

[dropover]

I'm sorry. I completely disagree with you. It was a majestic performance with a tender second verse. Who said that the song has to be intimate? Just because it is loud, it hardly means he is shouting. Usually people who don't understand operatic technique hear it as shouting.

[moh672]

I'm an opera singer so I know a little about its technique. Proper technique allows for the flow of air past the vocal chords and into the sinus cavern and create a "loud" or "resonant" sound by the production of overtones in the head voice. Hampson has none of these when he sings this song. This can be conclusively determined by the fact that at the end, the air is "whispering" past his chords... meaning his production of sound relies on vocal tension. Ergo--shouting.

[dropover]

Thanks for your reply. I just listened again and I agree with you that it was not perfect opera technique. But Shanendoah is not opera and I liked what he did. The ending may not be what he intended, but the fragile break in his voice seemed to punctuate the nostalgia. After such power, the weakness at the end just works for me.

[stevevandien]

The correct spelling for vocal "chords" is "cords." Please explain "the sinus cavern," since researchers from Vennard to Miller have long since established that the sinuses have NOTHING to do with vocal resonance. The "flow of air past the vocal chords [sic] and into the sinus cavern" to create "loud" or "resonant" sounds is NOT supported by the vast amount of vocal function research conducted over the last 50-odd years.

[costernocht]

I agree. Jo Stafford's version is my favorite.

[encoreandbravo]

You are so right! The opera singer who does Shenandoah best is countertenor David Daniels. Check it out. Bryn does a good job, too, but I love the Daniels version because it is so quiet and he completely transports all that Hampson talked about but didn't deliver.

[Durial321Real]

:P:P my name is james hampson!! :D haha

[whateveruchoose]

Lew Dewitt and the Statler Brothers have a much better country rendition on YouTube.

[Mropera111]

I enjoyed this, but I like the tenderness of Leonard Warren. I pray I spelled his name right. Leonard was sincere in his rendition.

[meltzerboy]

Warren's version was indeed the best!

[operacrasher]

I also sang with him (at The Music Academy of The West...in Santa Barbara)in the late 1970's.He was only about 20-21 at the time.Even then(as a "post-teenager"),it was indeed, quite evident,that Mr. Hampson was destined for great(world-wide,grammy award winning) success.

[dellanmetoud]

So? The guy can sing all night and never be tired. Wish we could say as much for the people having to listen to this force-fed rendition, it sounds like it was being pressed out of some kind of syllabllic pump of relentless pressure.

Yes, there are also guys who can service a woman all night without stopping.  But the woman just gets sore and bored. The guy never loses his breath, nor does he create anything which causes her to lose her own breath.

Give me breathless performance anytime.

[SieglindeMoos]

Huh?

[opmaus]

Projecting across an orchestra CAN be damaging, if the singer is not singing properly and supporting. But classical training strengthens the voice and surrounding muscles to stand that kind of use. In fact, opera singers (good ones) can sing a 3-4 hour opera without amplification at night (over an orchestra) and then the next morning have vocal chords that look fresh and healthy as if nothing happened (as per scoping by an ENT).

[opmaus]

Well, in fact, opera technique IS good. It is hands down the healthiest way to sing. And really, it does take time to develop, but once the technique is there, it's easy. Technically, it is superior from the standpoint of vocal health. May not be to everyone's taste, which is fine, but it is simply good, solid vocalism.

[Sqid101]

Perhaps I shouldn't have used the term "nonsense". I was thinking more of those who claim it cannot be art unless it is done exactly to opera conventions. There are a lot of singers, like the 3 New Zealand so-called "popera" singers who have had some "classical" training (voice coaching) for the the sake of vocal health. But I just read somewhere that the technique used to project over an orchestra is not that good...? The basics of opera style may be healthy vocalism.

[Woundtootight]

Amazing...

[UniqueRobbo]

i'd like to hear him sing it with a full orchestra in a proper concert hall. His voice is too big for the room! great stuff though.

[Sqid101]

It's the acoustics of the room that matter, not its size. How can you make a comment about his voice being to big for the room when you are listening to a recording that is now through your computer speakers? You aren't hearing his voice reflected off the walls of the TV studio (which may be designed to absorb sound) - you are hearing it via the mike and your speakers. You probably think I'm being pedantic, but you'd have to be in the concert hall listening to him live to get what you want.

[UniqueRobbo]

hmmmm good point perhaps

[Sqid101]

If you are a fan of opera, then it is probably the amplification of his voice that you find unpleasant. Think how voices in the hallway of an apartment house or shouting across a canyon can be amplified. But in a tiny room with properly sound-proofed walls, you can't hear someone shout across it (literally). There is such a room at the local university, and a TV studio may use similar techniques (but not to the same degree).

[MelancholyBaby21]

The "chewing" and connectivity of one word to the next is indeed what is called "the line". This is correct because the song is not a collection of words but a story told in complete sentences. that's what the line is. a complete thought. It, as in correct speech, makes the language a flowing stream of one vowel to the next with the consonants lightly placed in front.

[Ninnydumbbumb]

Beautifully and succinctly put. BRAVA!

A rarity on this here internet thingy....

[opmaus]

His technique is operatic, and the clarity of his words that some see as "chewing" is simply clearly saying the words and infusing them into a legato line. It may not be everyone's taste, but it is REALLY good. Also, he's not usually singing in a small studio with cameras RIGHT THERE. And as to ego, I think that is simply the fact that he is a very educated and intelligent singer who has informed himself about the songs that he performs - that's not ego, that's professionalism.

[Sqid101]

I am not a fan of opera or opera technique, but I thought this singer did better than most opera singers do attempting songs like this. I see sluring the words into a continuous line as more of a folk trait - Joan Baez and Hayley Westenra (whose forte is really folk ballads) do something similar. That operatic technique is REALLY good is nonsense. More complex, yes; better, no. He'd be asthetically more pleasant if he let go of even more of his opera technique for songs like this.

[Sqid101]

I am not a fan of opera or opera technique, but I thought this singer did better than most opera singers do attempting songs like this. I see sluring the words into a continuous line as more of a folk trait - Joan Baez and Hayley Westenra (whose forte is really folk ballads) do something similar. That operatic technique is REALLY good is nonsense. More complex, yes; better, no. He'd be asthetically more pleasant if he let go of even more of his opera technique for songs like this.

[Blackmage777]

The way he slurs words into each other makes it sound strange. He has a nice and powerful voice, but I suppose what is considered "good" in the world of opera is different from what most people would consider "pleasing" to the ear.

[Faurecellist]

He does well for an opretic interp of this song. He does chew the words, but he also resonates them. Whether you are used to hearing this song sung opreticly or bluegrass, He has an amazing voice and amazing breath control.

[NJRocks281]

this guy completely fucked up a great song with his ego

[chloaaayy]

agreed.

[loudsinger]

I don't see why he's chewing through the words so much. His affectation has gotten the best of him, as he's found himself in diphthong city with this one.

[revacohen]

I used to have a crush on Thomas Hampson despite the fact that he is older than me by 18 years. He just exudes sexuality.

[thisdiva99]

hellz to the yes!!!! He's like 25 years older than me, but he's dead sexy. :)

[ursus1302]

....und das soll der beste bariton sein-lachhaft!!!! wirklich lachhaft!!!

[shockingonyourbody]

He, schau mal auf die Uhrzeit! Morgens vor zehn Uhr ist die Stimme eh noch belegt und der Körper noch nicht wirklich wach... habe Hampson schon live gehört - suberb!!!

[EddieVanHalen1984]

Beleive it or not I took lessons from Tom. He help me push-start my 1967 Triumph GT-6. He was a great guy and a singer beyond belief. He tought me valuable lessons. Great guy he lived in Spokane Washington before he was famous.

[NonInflatable]

Does this man think we don't know he's bald?

If Elton John can't buy a convincing toupee, what chance has this man?

By the way, if you want to hear how "Shenandoah" should be sung, put "Paul Robeson Shenandoah" into the search panel.

Thomas Hampson, hang your head.....

[formenlehre]

A toupee is just another article of clothing like a tie. Serves no practical purpose, just makes you look nicer.

[NonInflatable]

You reckon? A toupee is simply a sign of vanity, of not accepting yourself for the way you are, and since no toupee is even remotely convincing, it just makes you look ridiculous (in my opinion).

And compared to Paul Robeson's version, this was pretty bad. That last, high raspy note was particularly painful.

Sorry folks, if this offends anyone.

[asfixiated]

come on - everyone wants to look good. I mean singers have to give a good impression - Hampson simply wouldn't look good without hair.

[meltzerboy]

Paul Robeson's version is much better, and even better than Robeson's is Marilyn Horne's version. IMO the best, however, is the recording of the song by Leonard Warren.

[figurativa]

He is not bald.

And if you want to see/hear how Mr. Hampson can actually sing "Shenandoah", go and check his concert of Stephen Foster in Pittsburg from some years ago. He is a poet!

[NonInflatable]

If Hampson ISN'T bald he should shoot his hairdresser for giving him a style that looks like a terrible toupee.

[thecurefan1]

"All black people"stupid comment,get a life man!

[bringthesong]

I like Mr. Hampson but, at the last verse he looked kind of funny in his stance. I know that that might have to be done in order to fill the diaphragm..

[ragnarkisten]

I don't know him personally of course, but thomas seems to me to be a bit too self-centred for my taste. He definitely enjoyed the comment on the richness of his voice from that reporter didn't he? anyway, his voice, is (used to be) astonishing.

[JonWash2000]

Mr Hampson would not know me from scat, but I had the priviledge of singing with him...I was one of 200 in the choir but I was there. I have experience tons of guest soloist over the years and Mr Hampson was one of the most humble and approachable I have ever seen. So I think you might confused his self-centerness with his love for making great music which he does in spades.

[EddieVanHalen1984]

No he's not he's a great guy I knew him before he was famous I took Voice lessons from him.

[youngwarrior2]

He does have a great voice. I went to grade school with him in Pasco, WA and to high school near Spokane. He was a grade ahead of me.

[LongDriveChamp03]

my choir sang this for our last concert of the year.

[aspsingr]

I don't know why he had to add that high note in at the end cause he doesn't do it on his album. if it was early in the morning and he was doubting his top register why add in an extra high note?

[donraul1979]

yup, thats a voice, but noone sings this like Marilyn horne, another very beautiful version is the moses hogan version. The lead is a tenor who slips like honey dripping off a spoon from a mellow baritone tone to the sweetest mezzavoce. Check it out

[meltzerboy]

Also Leonard Warren recorded a beautiful version.

[toretenore]

this recording didn´t make me cry....too commercial, a slap in the face for all black people

[Liedliebhaber]

what?

[Liedliebhaber]

how is this a slap in the face for black people?

[jeffro887]

Yeah, how is this a slap in the face for black people?

[mgalyean]

"a slap in the face for all black people"

Contrary to trendy popular opinion, not all music in America was invented by Americans of African descent. Both the melody and lyrics of this song go back to the Scott-Irish who immigrated to America.

Also, "Shenandoah" refers to the river in Virginia, not the Native American chief as referred to in the video. This is a common misconception.

wikipedia "oh shenandoah" for more history.

White people are "ethnic" too! Omigod!

[asfixiated]

Apparently in England it's racist to call a blackboard a blackboard - it has to be called a chalkboard. On the other hand the felt pen version - the whiteboard - is called a whiteboard. Nobody asked me if I was offended! Besides how can someone be offended by a board of his skin colour? That's political correctness for you...

[cloraxion]

I think the reason he had trouble at the end was that the key was too high for him. At least that early in the morning. The whole piece sounded a little strained. This guy is a great singer, but he should've taken it down a step or two.

[ragnarkisten]

He might crack up the last note, but his overall performance made me cry. He does these things so brilliantly!

[meltzerboy]

Hampson's overall performance made me cry too, but not for the same reason as your crying. I thought this performance was quite awful, NOT because he is an opera singer performing in a style foreign to him but rather because the vocal line was just not there. Perhaps it was indeed too early in the morning or just an off-day. Listen to Leonard Warren's beautiful recording of the song.

[bnojammymulligan]

He sings Stephen

He sings Stephen Foster's Hard Times brilliantly..go get it sham!

f

[willsusham]

haha yeah. ok guys, jesus, it is 8.30!

[raphaelhudson]

ahahahaahah I loved his "good morning" at the end, after he was like ok so this note is not coming out...

[madmusicianmax]

oh my god! we've just heard thomas hampson fucking up a high note because it was too early in the morning. somehow it just feels good to see that worldclass singers sometimes have the same problems as you and me ;-)

[abbeast22]

i wish they didn't mike him when he was singing...

[Pipeman61]

"i wish they didn't mike him when he was singing..."

How the fuck we gonna hear him then?

[Sqid101]

The Good Lord give me strength. Another braindead opera fan who thinks TV can be broadcast without it being recorded... Not Miking him makes as much sense as not putting a camera on him.

[steainsy]

too early in the morning

[rmm413]

How nice. Thank you so much for posting this. I love his recordings of American songs.