This is absolutely beautiful! Singing, acting, and all. I LOVE her high notes. I'm not a big fan of all the ornamentations added, but it's still amazing.
IMO, Emma's relatively unadorned voice conveys the reality of painful emotion so very much better than the florid style of a diva like Sarah Connolly, even though Sarah is the better actress.
Kirby acts well, and her voice is magnificent. Jessye Normal sings as if Purcell's style is Italian when in fact his style is uniquly English. Normal's vibrato ruins it for me as well.
What is everybody talking about?! She is singing with a lot of vibrato... Sure Jessey Norman has a much bigger voice and sings in a much more romantic way, but don't come saying Emma Kirkby is singing without vibrato.
This is just SO beautiful. One of the best renditions of the lament I've ever heard. Such a shame it was a couple of years before coming to York and I missed this! :(
I like Ms Kirkby and I have to admit she is wonderful in Early English repertoire...
I don't like much this interpretation: there are too many abbellimenti for a dramatic and declamato piece (it's a lament!), and sometimes she opens too much (1:48 - 2:18 - 2:59), in 1:25 - 1:30 is unhearable.
Though I have to say that the expression is wonderful, and it express true sorrow
As a lover of period performance Krkby would be the Dido I would have to live with. She manages to combine the pathos Baker and Connolly without sacrificing any authenticity. However, if I were choosing a desert island version of this aria alone I could not be without the Dame Janet performance from the 60's.
to say this is without merit is foolish. Of course a true Baroque interpretation is going to have something other versions do not. However, I have to agree that there are more passionate performances, for instance (in my opinion) that of Hayley Westenra in the 'poperatic' style.
To critic anything requires great skill. Please direct us all to your repetoire of operatic performance. I am sure you would offer a version that whilst may not be pleasant to others would still be a version.
When I first discovered this beautiful voice and lovely lady I was immediately under the spell. She has been, and still is, an authority on Baroque interpretation. We owe her all the respect and admiration she deserves. This lament is a fine example of her talent. May she continue to give us joy for many a year.
No way. Alison Moyet does not have what it takes. Jeff Buckley is a genious and no other pop musician has ever come that close, and his interpretation has stuck many classical musicians, but saying Emma Kirkby has no soul in her singing is very laughable. She's made the greatest interpretation we'll ever listen to of this lament. She breathes baroque, Jeff Buckley does not.
This comment is surely going to offend a lot of classical music sticklers and I've made it before.
Dido's Lament is proof that the most important quality in music is not some elitist view of classical music pitch/timing perfection but comes from something deeper.
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 I was feeling a little frustrated and vindictive, so I googled 'Emma Kirkby has no soul' and came up with your comment. Finally, someone who hasn't been blinded by 'The Dame'! She may have a good voice, but the emotion in her singing is very superficial. Yes, she acts it out facially, but not in a truly convincing way and not much at all vocally. A little too smooth and refined, if you ask me - lacking in real feeling. Whew, rant over.
@TheIronyOfLunacy - I must admit I am not a great fan of classical music but as a piece of music Dido's Lament is truly haunting from the lyrics to the doom laden bass line - for some reason I think of the start of Strange Fruit (Billy Holiday studio version). Maybe its just me.
Начало смазано, но пение Керкби все списывает. Посмотрела эффектных молодых солисток, но такого профессионализма и пения не встречала еще. Жаль, что и заканчивается клип неожиданно. Пение хора, как канон плача Дидоны очень эффектен.
Yes - there's another version by her on youtube without video but it sounds even better. The simplicity of her sound makes it more touching than a big Jessye Norman-style sound I think. And it's more authentic we assume.
C'est quand même un peu "cheap" les versions baroqueuses ultra-dépouillées, n'est-ce pas ? Certes, elles sont historiquement plus justes, mais mon oreille est trop habituée aux ornements romantiques à la Norman...
I think they both did the piece their own way. Jessye Norman's piece is a bit harder and I think thats the way she wanted it ,like she was screaming out remember me with her last breath and her lower notes were rich with color. Emma Kirkby seemed to have a softer way of saying it and I love her higher notes it was like she floated to them. I'm no expert obviously, I'm just a music student ,but I don't see the use in having such angrey conversation. Delivery is everyting.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
AND... does anyone notice how many times she scoops and slides? And I have to mention bad language diction again. You don't flip R's in English. She's obvoiusly poorly trained.
you can flip/role "r"s in english while singing opera for articulation. The same happens in french. You don't role your "r"s or pronounce the silent "e"s at ends of words in french speaking but you do when singing french opera.
There are different types of "r"s in singing. There are retroflex "r"s in American English that are made with the back of the tongue bunching. Flipped "r"s in "British" English and rolled "r"s in many other Germanic and Romantic languages. There are no rolled "r"s in any form of English, not even operatic. Just retroflex and flipped.
Actually, you can role your "r"s in opera. Also, French "r"s are voiced at the back of the throat and never robed yet in French opera singing rolls their "r"s in singing. However the letters are spoken, it doesn't necessarily reflect sung letters.
Also, British "r"s are not flipped. That's how Spanish "r"s are usually voiced, flipping them (except in initial position or doubled, where they are trilled).
there are... when some english speakers say words like "very" they roll the "r" - they tap their tongue on the gum (it sounds like a "d"). like the spanish single "r".
When I am laid on earth please remember me...life is such a breathlasting trip, but even if so short and pale sometimes, it also is intense and everlasting...Thank you God for the music and artists like this...thank you Purcell
Emma Kirkby sounds as baroque operas should sound: whithout vibrato and with a lot of dramatism. This is the best existing verssion of this song. It sound incredibly good.
Jessye Norman is very bad, and this way of singing does not correspond to the XVIII-century style. She sings in a romantic way and wit a lot of vibrato (disscusting vibrato). Jessy Normal sings as if she were singing an opera by Verdi or Rossini.
Why doesn't Jessye Norman sing together with players of original baroque instruments?
You ask for respect for Jessye Norman. I ask you for a bit of respect for Henry Purcell, the composer of this fantastic song. Purcell would diserve much respect for his operas. This song should be sung only with original baroque instruments, as Purcell would have desired.
@dani1978el There is a lot to be said for individual interpretation. Kirkby's interpretation is certainly true to accurate performance practice of the time, and is very beautiful. However, I think it's inappropriate to label Jessye Norman's performance as "disgusting". While it's certainly not performed in a baroque style, Norman's performance is an exquisite portrayal of Dido's anguish at losing Aeneas to his fate. Personally, I think it's great to hear different stylistic interpretations.
@dani1978el Maybe you mean't not the Romantic Vibrato, Cause Vibrato IS there and not all baroque es so plane, remember, a lot of ornaments they used back in those days. Ok not just vibrato.
@dani1978el Natural vibrato in every period is a proper and natural way of singing. Doing note fisse for long notes (which require natural vibrato and messe di voce) is a total lack of style and taste.
Many studies about human phisiology found that a slight vibrato in producing the sound is natural (you can here in 2:39-2:40 a natural vibrato and in many other places). So exagerated vibrato in early music should be avoided (for instance the romantic one) but no vibrato in singing is insane!
...listen closely. She has vibrato. It's lighter, but it's present. And who says that baroque singing has a certain checklist to follow? No vibrato? Vibrato adds shape, and drama to the phrase. Look at Baroque visual art. It's all about expression and drama... There are too many made up rules about baroque music that bug me so bad!
@straitbab You, of course, know this, because Purcell no doubt left some sort of communication that you have some sort of access to, regarding performance practice in the period?
Oh... Wait...
This performance is beautiful. Purcell may have loved or hated it, but it is, by today's standards of early music performance, beautiful. That's all that really matters.
@dani1978el I could agree with your perception about the style of baroque music, on the other hand, Jessye Norman brings an overwhelming sentiment and she is an actress as well. That´s what we have to find in Dido, a terrible pain sang out by a tremendous long-suffering artist.When I listen to great Kirkby I wish I couldn´t see her because she is not an actress.Her voice, off course proves what Monteverdi or Purcell should sound... but voice is only a part of a great artist.
I don't think it's nearly sad enough. It's a bit too energetic. I think she should have lingered more. Her voice is good. It's not incredible, but it's pretty good. I get the strangest feeling that she's singing the wrong notes...
Emma Kirby is definitely better in reference to this song.
i dont really like the tone of her voice - natural colour. no real full tone colour - thin voice - what i like is the way she sings the aria - very baroque - style
Such a shame it's poor video quality - I don't generally like Emma Kirkby but I really do think she's hit this one on the head....wonderfully powerful and right on the notes consistently.
They're theorbos (like the double-bass of the lute family). It's a shame that they're only used in the recitative and not the aria. The softer tones of their gut strings blend so well with strings and voices, which is why they were (and are) popular as continuo instruments for vocal music from the 17th/early 18th Centuries.
this is the most visually and vocally stunning and emotionally authentic rendition of this song i've come across (and i've heard many renditions!). what a joy Kirkby is. :)
my take on baroque: they didn't focus on vibrato itself, but rather, they used embellishments and ornaments to fill in the music. (not really in this song, because of the meaning in it). the use of ornaments and embellishments is better than having to constantly use vibrato which gets too think and messy. of course there are exceptions where there is use of (too much?) ornamentation and embellishments as seen in the case of Rameau, but his is still not the same as vibrato!!!
How can you say that Hanoncourt's stuff sounds consitpated because his violinists didn't have to hide their bad intonation with intense vibrato. The Concertgebouw by the way is conducted by Ton Koopman - one of those 'purists'.
I agree with you. The purists' interpretation of the Baroque music, like Nicholaus Harnoncourt's make me think of the efforts of a constipated person,-if you see what I mean. I am so sad because my Mzttheus Passion by the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam(1939)is getting too old. I feel sure that Bach, Haendel and Telemann would have enjoyed it, played that way.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Well, it's the 21st century, and damn purists are the reason why orchestral music can't progress. Take the Bach cello suites for example, hundereds of interpretations.. sure there is the 'baroque' way but it leaves most people bored shitless. BUt now, keep being a purist... Music is merely dots on the page, we adapt it and make it art.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
I agree with you. The purists' interpretation of the Baroque music, like Nicholaus Harnoncourt's make me think of the efforts of a constipated person,-if you see what I mean. I am so sad because my Mzttheus Passion by the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam(1939)is getting too old. I feel sure that Bach, Haendel and Telemann would have enjoyed it, played that way.
Reject consumerism. Reject the myth of "progress" and its chronological snobbery. Never judge a thing by time, whether it's old or new. Judge simply based on quality. On truth, whose home is eternity.
Ah yes, spoken like a typical chronological snob who's bought today's myth of "progress." This myth has infected every area of thought.
For example, it's closely related to consumerism, which insists that if something isn't "NEW AND IMPROVED!!!" then it's lacking. And of course it's very much part of today's dictatorship of relativism.
I know there are lots of other singers who do this justice, but this one that most expresses the feeling of despair and tragedy of the situation to me. Perhaps its the clarity of Emma's voice, but who cares why; its great clip.
Definitive? The truly reference performance of this role in the past 50 years belongs to a mezzo... Dame Janet Baker. The power that her voice gave to this role is unsurpassed. With apolgies to Ms Kirkby, who is a wonderful soprano...
The best... Totally out of words for the wonderful singing of Emma and the cooperation from instrument players in the background.
me7115 2 days ago
Bravo! Emma. Exquisite.
Pyrrha108 1 month ago
not my fav performance of this but by god is this haunting and beautiful!
primadivo 1 month ago
Sí, eso, esta, la de Emma Kirkby, me gusta más.
antibesa 2 months ago
I love it when I come across Ms. Kirkby in my research :-)
emmejem 2 months ago
Great performance of Dido´s Lament! the best I´ve ever heard! absolutely charming!
BarrocoeBrahms 4 months ago
WHY cut the final corus? I LAMENT its fault.
Marzziooo 6 months ago 2
She sings with her facial expressions as well as her voice so well... brilliant!
gypsytheif 6 months ago
Too bad the recording is so bad, Kirby sure deserves much better...
ferthjani 6 months ago 5
Wow she's still alive!
hallobaaaby 6 months ago
@hallobaaaby The hell, She is only 62!
angietihi 4 months ago
@angietihi Time Stands Still eh? LoL ;P
hallobaaaby 4 months ago
Great!
Sofoclaudio 9 months ago
Ancora bravissima!!!!
leprincebeaumont 10 months ago
Im happy you put the rectative in.
batain 10 months ago
Sin palabras.... :'-(
Polluxgeminae 10 months ago
Wow...I haven't heard it sung this beautifully. Just incredible.
NoobSaibotWins1 11 months ago
I hope Emma Kirkby knows how much I and many more appreciate her true singing of the great English master.
cousinjk 11 months ago
Truly a masterpiece!
differentgaze 11 months ago
This is absolutely beautiful! Singing, acting, and all. I LOVE her high notes. I'm not a big fan of all the ornamentations added, but it's still amazing.
aboyd1jsu 11 months ago
Masterpiece performance.
And Emma Kirkby and the entire ensemble.
There are no words ....
VladimirRadiomay 11 months ago
what an amazing voice. I am mesmerized!
differentgaze 11 months ago
IMO, Emma's relatively unadorned voice conveys the reality of painful emotion so very much better than the florid style of a diva like Sarah Connolly, even though Sarah is the better actress.
davehshs 11 months ago
Kirby's vibrato fades away; beautiful. She also keeps the pronounciations true to the period, with the hard rolling "r"
straitbab 1 year ago
Kirby acts well, and her voice is magnificent. Jessye Normal sings as if Purcell's style is Italian when in fact his style is uniquly English. Normal's vibrato ruins it for me as well.
straitbab 1 year ago
What is everybody talking about?! She is singing with a lot of vibrato... Sure Jessey Norman has a much bigger voice and sings in a much more romantic way, but don't come saying Emma Kirkby is singing without vibrato.
enterandeject 1 year ago 2
If Dido exists, she would look just like her
Lolox141 1 year ago
I'm supposed to perform this for my Solo and Ensemble Competition. This is an amazing example to work with. If only I had her voice...
hannahmp1020 1 year ago
I'm supposed to perform this for my Solo and Ensemble Competition. This is an amazing example to work with. If only I had her voice...
hannahmp1020 1 year ago
One word: "BRAVA!"
artdanks 1 year ago
"like" this if you agree that the best part of this song is 4:08
spudman13 1 year ago
I like that when she hits the highest notes on "Remember Me" her voice does not dissapear into a squeak but is still very strong and powerful.
ElizabethLovesMuch 1 year ago
Stunning voice and absolutely perfect for the period. She totally nails it.
Julietjeske 1 year ago
This is just SO beautiful. One of the best renditions of the lament I've ever heard. Such a shame it was a couple of years before coming to York and I missed this! :(
jennythemusicmaker 1 year ago
this just goes to show that you don't need massive costumes and hair to have a moving opera perfomance. The look on her face, this is art
illshootforthemoon 1 year ago 2
I like Ms Kirkby and I have to admit she is wonderful in Early English repertoire...
I don't like much this interpretation: there are too many abbellimenti for a dramatic and declamato piece (it's a lament!), and sometimes she opens too much (1:48 - 2:18 - 2:59), in 1:25 - 1:30 is unhearable.
Though I have to say that the expression is wonderful, and it express true sorrow
MisterPapageno 1 year ago
She's being a little too damn dramatic. suck it up
jazzmessenger8 1 year ago
@jazzmessenger8 it's baroque opera haha it doesn't get much more dramatic than that.
ElizabethLovesMuch 1 year ago
Period performance style is stupid.
FoggyRoad81 1 year ago
@FoggyRoad81 how so?
TonicMike 1 year ago
How about Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's version?
Another gorgeous version.
cooperdogable 1 year ago
Prachtige muziek. Zo mooi gezongen
paulien1951 1 year ago
Beyond any doubt the best since Kirsten Flagstad. BumbumDK.
bumbumDK 1 year ago
damn.
hella nice to say the least
smokelakes 1 year ago
Emma is still singing as well as she ever did at 60.
I’ve seen her countless times and every time her expressive singing always deeply moves me.
mrbigarms 1 year ago
I can't believe she is over 60..
Her voice is beautiful!!
Also,, Isn't it similar to the piece that Oda Nobunari used for his SP in 2009-2010 season??
JinheumPark 1 year ago 2
Comment removed
JinheumPark 1 year ago
As a lover of period performance Krkby would be the Dido I would have to live with. She manages to combine the pathos Baker and Connolly without sacrificing any authenticity. However, if I were choosing a desert island version of this aria alone I could not be without the Dame Janet performance from the 60's.
musodavid 1 year ago
Wow!
JasonJason210 1 year ago
Wow
JasonJason210 1 year ago
to say this is without merit is foolish. Of course a true Baroque interpretation is going to have something other versions do not. However, I have to agree that there are more passionate performances, for instance (in my opinion) that of Hayley Westenra in the 'poperatic' style.
flaze3 1 year ago
How can someone have a voice like this? Unbelievable.
cykantode 1 year ago
absolutely agree, Dani1978el
sapagena2008 1 year ago
By way of responding to dani1978el.
To critic anything requires great skill. Please direct us all to your repetoire of operatic performance. I am sure you would offer a version that whilst may not be pleasant to others would still be a version.
tensae7 1 year ago
@tensae7 very eloquent and insulting!
straitbab 1 year ago
She's an amazing Lady!
I met her and sang in a master class for her when she came to my university last year! She's just such an inspiration!
musicloon1 1 year ago
Still a very beautiful voice!! our Kirkby gives us the best performance of the Baroque style, and of the Dido´s Lament!
nunolamas1 1 year ago
When I first discovered this beautiful voice and lovely lady I was immediately under the spell. She has been, and still is, an authority on Baroque interpretation. We owe her all the respect and admiration she deserves. This lament is a fine example of her talent. May she continue to give us joy for many a year.
musamor75 1 year ago
Incredible. What a powerful performance. Thanks for sharing
live4soraya 1 year ago
Incredible. What a powerful performance. Thanks for sharing
live4soraya 1 year ago
No way. Alison Moyet does not have what it takes. Jeff Buckley is a genious and no other pop musician has ever come that close, and his interpretation has stuck many classical musicians, but saying Emma Kirkby has no soul in her singing is very laughable. She's made the greatest interpretation we'll ever listen to of this lament. She breathes baroque, Jeff Buckley does not.
gogo38 1 year ago
This comment is surely going to offend a lot of classical music sticklers and I've made it before.
Dido's Lament is proof that the most important quality in music is not some elitist view of classical music pitch/timing perfection but comes from something deeper.
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.
This version, by contrast, has no soul.
Stevieboy130664 1 year ago
@Stevieboy130664 I was feeling a little frustrated and vindictive, so I googled 'Emma Kirkby has no soul' and came up with your comment. Finally, someone who hasn't been blinded by 'The Dame'! She may have a good voice, but the emotion in her singing is very superficial. Yes, she acts it out facially, but not in a truly convincing way and not much at all vocally. A little too smooth and refined, if you ask me - lacking in real feeling. Whew, rant over.
TheIronyOfLunacy 1 month ago
@TheIronyOfLunacy - I must admit I am not a great fan of classical music but as a piece of music Dido's Lament is truly haunting from the lyrics to the doom laden bass line - for some reason I think of the start of Strange Fruit (Billy Holiday studio version). Maybe its just me.
Stevieboy130664 1 month ago
Brilliant, an what beautiful character acting as well.
wunderschonenable 1 year ago 2
Начало смазано, но пение Керкби все списывает. Посмотрела эффектных молодых солисток, но такого профессионализма и пения не встречала еще. Жаль, что и заканчивается клип неожиданно. Пение хора, как канон плача Дидоны очень эффектен.
margonavarra 1 year ago
Высокое искусство!
Эмма Киркби и музыканты достойны высших похвал.
Спасибо за видео.
VladimirRadiomay 2 years ago
I love how sad the lute player behind her looks the whole tme, rofl.
lettuchi 2 years ago 23
ahaha! he looks like hes going to burst into tears and bawl like a baby at any moment~!
lilyaoifan 2 years ago
Kirby is indeed a baroque an early music goddess. She has kept her voice for so many years and the acting . One of the timeless laments.
lovesGenet 2 years ago 24
The videoless version sounds nicer, but she can't touch Jeff Buckley's version no one could or can. Still this is moving nonetheless..
nat00ben06 2 years ago
@nat00ben06 aw fuck Jeff Buckley . . .
yukikoforevernoise 1 year ago 2
You're crazy. Go clean your ears, seriously.
colombineann 1 year ago
What a pity that cut before the brilliant final chorus part...
Marzziooo 2 years ago
melancolic
processus79 2 years ago
she's the Baroque Queen! I love her!
Anababe111 2 years ago 3
Credo che intimo ed epico siano profondamente legati in questo canto
SecondaParte 2 years ago
Intimate is best for this rather than epic
hobgobblet 2 years ago
This is an intimate rather than an epic death, but moving in its own unique way.
paulprocopolis 2 years ago
Yes - there's another version by her on youtube without video but it sounds even better. The simplicity of her sound makes it more touching than a big Jessye Norman-style sound I think. And it's more authentic we assume.
elliechoir 2 years ago
Is there the rest of this perfrormance on youtube? I really like it such much.
darkisimus 2 years ago
Ground bass ftw. I love baroque music.
TheChipster91 2 years ago
She is better than ever!! AND in her late 50's, she still sounds like a young beautiful woman.
gabrielleaviva 2 years ago
Some beauty is timeless.
MarsVideolet 2 years ago 2
So beautifully sung <3 very heart touching lament
TsubasaNoKuro 2 years ago
Hauntingly beautiful!
MrTamzzin 2 years ago
emma kirkby has her own unique sound, I like this interpretation so much...
darkisimus 2 years ago
She is AMAZING!!!!!! This is how Baroque Music is meant to be performed!!!
AJMD08 2 years ago
C'est quand même un peu "cheap" les versions baroqueuses ultra-dépouillées, n'est-ce pas ? Certes, elles sont historiquement plus justes, mais mon oreille est trop habituée aux ornements romantiques à la Norman...
lascarisvintimille 2 years ago
dramatic and beautiful performance Dame Emma!! congratulations!
nunolamas1 2 years ago 2
The most beautiful voice!!!
Marielegoth 2 years ago
I think they both did the piece their own way. Jessye Norman's piece is a bit harder and I think thats the way she wanted it ,like she was screaming out remember me with her last breath and her lower notes were rich with color. Emma Kirkby seemed to have a softer way of saying it and I love her higher notes it was like she floated to them. I'm no expert obviously, I'm just a music student ,but I don't see the use in having such angrey conversation. Delivery is everyting.
Solojenki 2 years ago 4
Troyanos, Flagstad and von Otter...
mozzrt 2 years ago
I don't think she has a particularly bad sound... I just really hate her vowells.
princeblondie 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
AND... does anyone notice how many times she scoops and slides? And I have to mention bad language diction again. You don't flip R's in English. She's obvoiusly poorly trained.
princeblondie 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
And you don't flip "r"s in ENGLISH!
princeblondie 2 years ago
So I suppose you would sing "Rrrrrrreeeemember Meee" instead. Nonsense, r's are flipped all the time for articulation.
choirboyfromhell1 2 years ago
you can flip/role "r"s in english while singing opera for articulation. The same happens in french. You don't role your "r"s or pronounce the silent "e"s at ends of words in french speaking but you do when singing french opera.
horn0viola 2 years ago 3
There are different types of "r"s in singing. There are retroflex "r"s in American English that are made with the back of the tongue bunching. Flipped "r"s in "British" English and rolled "r"s in many other Germanic and Romantic languages. There are no rolled "r"s in any form of English, not even operatic. Just retroflex and flipped.
CountertenorJ 2 years ago
Actually, you can role your "r"s in opera. Also, French "r"s are voiced at the back of the throat and never robed yet in French opera singing rolls their "r"s in singing. However the letters are spoken, it doesn't necessarily reflect sung letters.
horn0viola 2 years ago
Also, British "r"s are not flipped. That's how Spanish "r"s are usually voiced, flipping them (except in initial position or doubled, where they are trilled).
horn0viola 2 years ago
there are... when some english speakers say words like "very" they roll the "r" - they tap their tongue on the gum (it sounds like a "d"). like the spanish single "r".
silvr94 2 years ago
That isn't a roll. That's a flip. It's a different technical term in diction.
CountertenorJ 2 years ago
I wish she was more still.
ajking26 2 years ago
This is what baroque is all about. This is what Purcell meant. It's the ensemble of instruments,
song en performance , and the contence of the story
an484972 2 years ago
¡Bellísimo! Bien barroco, hermosa versión :D
Soniaalbafika 2 years ago
When I am laid on earth please remember me...life is such a breathlasting trip, but even if so short and pale sometimes, it also is intense and everlasting...Thank you God for the music and artists like this...thank you Purcell
tenorschofield 2 years ago 3
Universal and timeless beauty ! that is how baroque should sound !
an484972 2 years ago 2
very good !!!!!!!!!!!
dani1978el 2 years ago 2
ahh ... lightweighted and without pathos =)
hylozoik 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Terrible ornamenatation, unintelligible words and a weak voice - great.
tonebarry 2 years ago
It's sounds as if she talks. It's not singing. Listen to Jessye Norman, and understand how this aria should be sung, and how singing should be.
counteralto 2 years ago
Emma Kirkby sounds as baroque operas should sound: whithout vibrato and with a lot of dramatism. This is the best existing verssion of this song. It sound incredibly good.
Jessye Norman is very bad, and this way of singing does not correspond to the XVIII-century style. She sings in a romantic way and wit a lot of vibrato (disscusting vibrato). Jessy Normal sings as if she were singing an opera by Verdi or Rossini.
dani1978el 2 years ago 27
i totally agree....
sofiacaffe 2 years ago 4
You're retarded...
princeblondie 2 years ago
Even if I am retarded, that is not your problem.
dani1978el 2 years ago
You also can't spell and that's rude. Jessye Norman has a unique voice... and should be respected.
princeblondie 2 years ago
You might know a lot of english pronunciation. But you have no idea of musicology.
dani1978el 2 years ago 3
Why doesn't Jessye Norman sing together with players of original baroque instruments?
You ask for respect for Jessye Norman. I ask you for a bit of respect for Henry Purcell, the composer of this fantastic song. Purcell would diserve much respect for his operas. This song should be sung only with original baroque instruments, as Purcell would have desired.
dani1978el 2 years ago
Musicology? I know plenty. I think Jessye Norman's arrangement of the song was creative.
This Emma Kirkby character has some nice ornaments I must say but she doesn't have to the edge. She adds nothing to the song.
Every performers take on every song should be unique. Jessye did a much better job of that.
princeblondie 2 years ago
I think you already wrote (without knowing it) what is the difference between Norman and Kirkby:
Kirkby doesn't add anything to the song. She sings what Purcell intented.
On the other hand Norman uses Purcell to perform her own genius.
If you princeblondie prefer Norman's genius to Purcell's genius then you are right: "Jessye did a much better job."
altemusik 2 years ago
@dani1978el There is a lot to be said for individual interpretation. Kirkby's interpretation is certainly true to accurate performance practice of the time, and is very beautiful. However, I think it's inappropriate to label Jessye Norman's performance as "disgusting". While it's certainly not performed in a baroque style, Norman's performance is an exquisite portrayal of Dido's anguish at losing Aeneas to his fate. Personally, I think it's great to hear different stylistic interpretations.
ladyfuchsia 1 year ago 2
@dani1978el How right are you! Thanks for your opinion! She's really a baroque singer!
etresanchez 1 year ago
@dani1978el Maybe you mean't not the Romantic Vibrato, Cause Vibrato IS there and not all baroque es so plane, remember, a lot of ornaments they used back in those days. Ok not just vibrato.
luisiege2 1 year ago
@dani1978el Natural vibrato in every period is a proper and natural way of singing. Doing note fisse for long notes (which require natural vibrato and messe di voce) is a total lack of style and taste.
Many studies about human phisiology found that a slight vibrato in producing the sound is natural (you can here in 2:39-2:40 a natural vibrato and in many other places). So exagerated vibrato in early music should be avoided (for instance the romantic one) but no vibrato in singing is insane!
MisterPapageno 1 year ago 2
@MisterPapageno 3:18 - 3:19 wonderful natural vibrato :)
MisterPapageno 1 year ago
...listen closely. She has vibrato. It's lighter, but it's present. And who says that baroque singing has a certain checklist to follow? No vibrato? Vibrato adds shape, and drama to the phrase. Look at Baroque visual art. It's all about expression and drama... There are too many made up rules about baroque music that bug me so bad!
wayateflautista 1 year ago
@wayateflautista this song was not meant to be sang with that much vibrato
straitbab 1 year ago
@straitbab how about *sung, and show me where Purcell indicates that...
wayateflautista 1 year ago
@straitbab You, of course, know this, because Purcell no doubt left some sort of communication that you have some sort of access to, regarding performance practice in the period?
Oh... Wait...
This performance is beautiful. Purcell may have loved or hated it, but it is, by today's standards of early music performance, beautiful. That's all that really matters.
eoghdes18 1 year ago 2
@eoghdes18 thanks for that, some people need it
Guichotpresident 1 year ago
@dani1978el I could agree with your perception about the style of baroque music, on the other hand, Jessye Norman brings an overwhelming sentiment and she is an actress as well. That´s what we have to find in Dido, a terrible pain sang out by a tremendous long-suffering artist.When I listen to great Kirkby I wish I couldn´t see her because she is not an actress.Her voice, off course proves what Monteverdi or Purcell should sound... but voice is only a part of a great artist.
neronyhaendel 1 year ago
I don't think it's nearly sad enough. It's a bit too energetic. I think she should have lingered more. Her voice is good. It's not incredible, but it's pretty good. I get the strangest feeling that she's singing the wrong notes...
Emma Kirby is definitely better in reference to this song.
aprilsoldier4 2 years ago 3
O.O I mean Kirkby.
aprilsoldier4 2 years ago
I think that there are some flat notes
operaandy 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
great musicality but such an ugly voice...
not what I want to hear for Dido.
KlangK
PmItS22 2 years ago
*slap*
You dishonor the great Emma! The best Dodo's lamenter ever!
dado1802 2 years ago
*slap*
You dishonour the great Dido by misspelling her name! lol
But yes, she has an absolutely beautiful voice, clear and pure - it's just heavenly, particular in her earlier years.
OwnYouScum 2 years ago 2
Comment removed
dado1802 2 years ago
Great Dodo has no honor :P
But PmltS22 has a point, if I imagine her in every day conversation, it would be nasty, like somebody grabbed her by the balls :/
dado1802 2 years ago
I love her voice, she represents this music on so many levels, its almost spiritual!
samuelus12 2 years ago
Simply Enchanting thank you
berlinman46 2 years ago
love it
CubbyNH 2 years ago 2
Her voice is as clear as a bell! It's so different to hear for Dido's Lament! But it's pretty!
SmartStart24 3 years ago 2
Hers is not typically a voice I would like, but this definitely moved me to tears! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
maryjivinjane 3 years ago 2
i dont really like the tone of her voice - natural colour. no real full tone colour - thin voice - what i like is the way she sings the aria - very baroque - style
cgczf76777 3 years ago
Such a shame it's poor video quality - I don't generally like Emma Kirkby but I really do think she's hit this one on the head....wonderfully powerful and right on the notes consistently.
1svlad 3 years ago
They got lutes instead of the harpsichord?
d2leech 3 years ago
harpsichords are expensive :D
Montyleeny14 3 years ago
heheehe i don't think money is an issue for this people :D
nicosupersex 2 years ago
They're theorbos (like the double-bass of the lute family). It's a shame that they're only used in the recitative and not the aria. The softer tones of their gut strings blend so well with strings and voices, which is why they were (and are) popular as continuo instruments for vocal music from the 17th/early 18th Centuries.
TheCrazyCello 3 years ago
A chilling, stunning performance
54spiritedwill54 3 years ago 2
this is the most visually and vocally stunning and emotionally authentic rendition of this song i've come across (and i've heard many renditions!). what a joy Kirkby is. :)
vegantrooper 3 years ago 2
I agree.
It is so innocent. She heightens the tragedy of Dido.
escaelis 3 years ago 2
my take on baroque: they didn't focus on vibrato itself, but rather, they used embellishments and ornaments to fill in the music. (not really in this song, because of the meaning in it). the use of ornaments and embellishments is better than having to constantly use vibrato which gets too think and messy. of course there are exceptions where there is use of (too much?) ornamentation and embellishments as seen in the case of Rameau, but his is still not the same as vibrato!!!
Zorica12 3 years ago
I am amazed, suddenly she sounds like an alto, where is her angelic voice gone?
puppetmasterin 3 years ago
How can you say that Hanoncourt's stuff sounds consitpated because his violinists didn't have to hide their bad intonation with intense vibrato. The Concertgebouw by the way is conducted by Ton Koopman - one of those 'purists'.
constudent87 3 years ago
Emma Kirkby and Agnès Mellon sing much better than they used to with their youth.
hacchyan 3 years ago
I agree with you. The purists' interpretation of the Baroque music, like Nicholaus Harnoncourt's make me think of the efforts of a constipated person,-if you see what I mean. I am so sad because my Mzttheus Passion by the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam(1939)is getting too old. I feel sure that Bach, Haendel and Telemann would have enjoyed it, played that way.
I think that Jessye Norman is the one I prefer.
teofrasto51 3 years ago
The singing is great, and I understand the music I just don't like it! It's a bit too refined and baroque, needs more sweeping grandeur.
FUZZYisBIG 3 years ago
well it is from the baroque period, so it should sound baroque.
chandelier27 3 years ago 5
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Well, it's the 21st century, and damn purists are the reason why orchestral music can't progress. Take the Bach cello suites for example, hundereds of interpretations.. sure there is the 'baroque' way but it leaves most people bored shitless. BUt now, keep being a purist... Music is merely dots on the page, we adapt it and make it art.
FUZZYisBIG 3 years ago
Different people - different tastes. I am not bored, I am deeply moved listening to this.
Feel free to adapt. But I doubt that your art ('art'?) will survive the next 400 years just as this timeless piece.
Sinsouk 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I agree with you. The purists' interpretation of the Baroque music, like Nicholaus Harnoncourt's make me think of the efforts of a constipated person,-if you see what I mean. I am so sad because my Mzttheus Passion by the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam(1939)is getting too old. I feel sure that Bach, Haendel and Telemann would have enjoyed it, played that way.
I think that Jessye Norman is the one I prefer.
teofrasto51 3 years ago
Reject consumerism. Reject the myth of "progress" and its chronological snobbery. Never judge a thing by time, whether it's old or new. Judge simply based on quality. On truth, whose home is eternity.
Jitpring 3 years ago 6
Ah yes, spoken like a typical chronological snob who's bought today's myth of "progress." This myth has infected every area of thought.
For example, it's closely related to consumerism, which insists that if something isn't "NEW AND IMPROVED!!!" then it's lacking. And of course it's very much part of today's dictatorship of relativism.
Jitpring 3 years ago 2
I know there are lots of other singers who do this justice, but this one that most expresses the feeling of despair and tragedy of the situation to me. Perhaps its the clarity of Emma's voice, but who cares why; its great clip.
eucalyptuspauciflora 3 years ago
at 1:25 the second theorbist looks like "don't look at me!"
LutenistDeMari 3 years ago
LYNDA sayce is the theorbo lady behind her! Go Lynda.
LutenistDeMari 3 years ago
Gracias por compartir este excelente video.
monsimelo 3 years ago
Definitive? The truly reference performance of this role in the past 50 years belongs to a mezzo... Dame Janet Baker. The power that her voice gave to this role is unsurpassed. With apolgies to Ms Kirkby, who is a wonderful soprano...
MarkJSau 3 years ago 2
Then you haven't listen to Jessye Norman.
doddsalfa 3 years ago
Agreed. Jessye Norman makes everyone else look ridiculous.
ArrSee 3 years ago
definitive....
ulyssesjj 3 years ago
This has to be about the best live performance I have ever seen. There is so much emotion in her performance. It is stellar!
jprush 3 years ago 5
i don't like how she drops the dot. it makes it sound too detatched. but besides that, fantastic
shpantsboy101 3 years ago
Much much better than when she was younger!!!!!!
asisecanta 3 years ago 2
Is it the baroque tuning of the lute or is she flat?
ejtka 3 years ago