The matter is purely subjective. Since this is actually my favorite recording of VOCALISE, I simply want to leave room for others to politely disagree. The fact that Anna Moffo could sing it with the correct slow tempo is an accomplishment in of itself. Some artists do not have such breath control. That probably accounts for the faster tempi. Should they be singing this work in that case? Well, that's what makes horse racing.
@legatofancier I agree wholeheartedly - it really is amazing that she can carry the phrasing through at this tempo, and it gives her more choices in her interpretation. I just recently came upon this recording and... well, I don't have adequate words to describe what it did to me. I'm very familiar with the Natalie Dessay recording, which is, truly, breathtaking, but nowhere near as sensuous or deliberate as Anna Moffo's recording.
Finally! Someone who doesn't rush through Rachmaninov like they're playing in a goddamn discotheque! I thought I would never find a proper version of "Vocalise" until now.
It's almost as if most Westerners aren't even able to attempt this without speeding it up 2X. Why would someone want to do that? Why accelerate through this magnificence without savoring every last bar?
Absolutely beautiful! Of the ones I've seen on YouTube so far, this one is my favourite!
Side note: I wish I could find a version where the singers pop it up a third! I'm just so used to hearing the orchestrated version that begins on a G...
My favourite rendition to date I think - thank you for sharing. Wonderful control, glorious portamento, sublime tone and just enough gliss to add to the colours and all topped off with her beautiful, lush sound.
As distinguished as Anna Moffo's performance is (and it's one of the best things she ever recorded), don't underestimate Leopold Stokowki's conducting here. Certainly he knew and understood Rachmaninoff's music as well any conductor apart from Rachmaninoff himself. Proclaiming any performance as definitive is what makes horse racing, but this one is definitely a contender.
She got the concept exactly right. I didn't like Vishnevskaya's interpretation and forced sound at all. You would thing that a Russian can sing this better!
Well, you could of course be right, but you used "beautiful", "amazing", "breath-taking", and some might find, for instance, "breathtaking" to sound as phony as you think "exquisite" is. Just because you think it's phony for you doesn't mean it is for them.
the pictures move far too fast for such a lovely and SLOW piece. Please redo pictures so that they pause for longer on each one, so as not to disturb the slowness of the piece. thanks
If you like this you should listen to her "Songs of the Auvergne" from the same recording... heavenly. thanks for the posting, it's nice to be reminded of greatness now and then as we trawl the net...
this may be the finest piece of music ever written ( or one of - that may depend on th taste ) - but it surely is the best ever performance of it ever - this is for gods, and for whoever can hear the divine
it kind of makes you feel (even an agnostic soul as mine) that death can't be the end...
I think Cecilia Bartoli and Anna Moffo both have two of the most powerful and beautiful female voices of this century. Either one would be a hard pick to choose between.
I've listened to this on an old LP for decades. It still makes me weep every single time. It simply could not be sung any more beautifully. If there are angelic choirs, they likely learn to sing by listening to this.
For 35 years I have listened to my recording of Anna Moffo singing this piece as no one else can or could, at least to my ear and sensitivity to this exquisite interpretation. Many greats have sung this magnificent work and beautifully, but Moffo got it. Both cynic150 and garyrobert13 said it best.
Magnifique interprétation mezzo-soprano (?) sa voix est très sensuelle et profonde et je n'entends pas une telle voix chanter à un rythme plus rapide...je ne suis pas puriste mais cela me semble impensable...Anna MOFFO...c'est un velouté sublime et qui convient si bien il me semble au tempérament de RACHMANONOV....Merci !*****
The transcendent quality of this music has brought so much joy to my parched soul. Listenening to this piece has made the world beautiful again. God bless you Rachmaninoff and Moffo.
As part of a government program for health and nutrtion in some of the poorest rural areas in Mexico, we took some pieces of opera including Vocalise with Anna Moffo for people living there to have some contact with this kind of music...They had never listened to opera, and were very sensitive and receptive, and totally enjoyed, even though they wouldn't know what the words in italian or french were in some arias. They kept asking for more and more...Oh, the human soul!
I am no expert, but I can tell when I listen to good music. This rendition of Vocalise is superb, I can feel it in the deepness of my soul....It is as if I could touch divinity...oh God, this is so beautiful it hurts.
why in music, is the word "exquisite" used so much in defining some art pieces. The first things I think of are "beautiful", "amazing", "breath-taking", etc, not "exquisite", it just sounds more like something you should define.... some sort of cheese, I don't know, it just doesn't paint the picture into my mind as well, that may just be me, or everyone else might just want to say it to sound smart?
@jojojo943 I don't know, it just sounds to me like people try to make themselves look smart by using big words that you learn in 3rd grade, the ones you just don't use unless you want to look smart in front of the teacher
@pwnage0fn00bs I don't know. It sounds to me like your inferiority complex regarding the English language is doing the talking when you make comments like this. Know what a synonym is? Go look it up. Maybe you should have paid a little more attention in third grade hm?
@Kaggypants i know what a synonym is, smart one, i just think exquisite is a retarded word that people say to make themselves look smart, when its just a word and can be better expressed, and made to sound better
@pwnage0fn00bs I think retarded is amongst the vocabulary abilities of a third grader too! Congratulations, you've convinced me. Also, do you mean you know how to express words like...I don't know...screen names in a more eloquent manner? My sides are in stitches. (＝゜ω゜)ノ(⊃д⊂)
If anyone is searching for the definition of the word love, i suggest watching this video, for it contains the most romantic cries of love and despair. He was, and is, and will remain a pure genius, Rachmaninoff.
@BeniaminoGigli How interesting that a man assailed by doubts and depression all his life could write such works of beauty and clearly worthy of the title of genius - few are today if any! Somehow when sadness comes to us all - it brings us nearer to something more than divine!
@BeniaminoGigli Few people have genius today but clearly Rachmaninov was in possession. When sadness come to us all - it brings us closer to something more than divine
Anna Moffo distinguishes herself in her superb performance of Rachmaninoff's Vocalize. This is an example of the voice surpassing the beauty of all man-made instruments. One would think that Rachmaninoff wrote this piece with Anna Moffo's voice in mind. Bravissimo!
This RCA recording was issued on CD some years ago (BMG 09026-62600-2) along with Canteloube's "Songs of the Auverne" and Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, all with Moffo. She sang this Rachmaninov piece to an accompaniment arranged for strings by Arcady Dubensky. Moffo had previously been cast as Liu in Puccini's "Turandot" which Stokowski had conducted at the New York met in 1961.
One of the most sensuous voices ever, in her prime. Notice that she does not breath after the initial breath as she ascends up the scale to a high c sharp at the end of the vocalise. Truly astonishing. I love the scooping and lushness she brings to this, although I'm sure purist will complain....
I am a purist but I think this performance as good as, if not better than, any I have heard. The others posted on you tube do not do the ascending scale as well as she AND pianissimo! Wonderful! I like the slow tempo too. Her voice is just right for this.
@garyrobert13 Yes she was amazing, though I would not call her notes "scooped" but rather beautifully controlled portamento. A hard act to follow for any soprano.
Moffo does exhibit beautiful, expressive tone qualities. Although, orchestral tempi in places are a little too slow for my taste, perhaps. I prefer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's version overall. Her tempos are much more on the traditional side of the spectrum. Being a pianist, I have accompanied this piece over the past twenty-five years, and my preference has always been to take the piece a little bit faster; I think it works better and doesn't come across as sluggish. (But that's just my opinion.)
- Ma belle NATHALIE, moi aussi je t'aimais, je t'aime, et je t'aimerai toujours, par delà les siècles des siècles. Que cette douce mélodie et cette voix suave soient transportées à travers l'espace et au delà du temps, si telle le veut la grâce divine. - "I ALWAYS LOVE YOU" - VINCENT
when i was a voice student around 30 years ago my voice instructor told me of this recording. Id listen to it and try to practice the vocalise along side with Anna which was quite humbling. try to achieve the beauty she produced in her interpretation of this emotional song.
I have loved this interpretation for more than 20 years now, she has a clean attack, her vibrato is not in question as any fool can tell that she adapts to the music, try her bachianas brasiliaris 5 if you can get it!
Incredibly beautiful singing--WHAT a voice! And she makes it seem so effortless! I don't think I've ever heard "Vocalise" sung so beautifully--not even Vishnevskaya's version matches this, in my opinion. Anna Moffo was truly the stuff of legends.
This was one of Anna Moffo's personal favorite recordings, along with her aria albums she did with Maestri Ferrari and Serafin, and her Nanetta with Karajan; she was a friend, and sorely missed.
One final point: Moffo's vibrato is NOT wide. It is a fast and narrow vibrato, akin to the vibrato of a violin. If it had been a wide vibrato her pitch would not have been as dead-on as it always was.
Classical singing from the 19th century onwards differs considerably from the older style of singing, most notably because of the change of both the buildings they sang in and the orchestral accompaniments they sang with. A renaissance singer would never be heard in a modern hall, nor would they be able to get through a full orchestral accompaniment. So, my advice to those accustomed to pop singing is to get used to it. It is just as "natural" to sing with vibrato as it is to sing without it.
But do singers have to use so much vibrato, surely they can control the amount they use. Its just my preference but i think classical singers use way to much vibrato, "Renaissance" singers use very little vibrato so i dont see why singers cant find a balance between the two. just my opinion.
to contro that amount of vibrato is unhealthy and dangerous, frankly. Renaissance Singers also often didn't sing past 30 or 40, with a few exceptions, of course. Classical singing is aimed to keep a person singing well into their old age (Ms. Moffo could sing until very close to her death.)
Can anyone tell me why classicaly trained/orchestral singers use so much vibrato when they sing? It really gets to me, almost every single note they use a very wide vibrato.
Our vocal chords naturally vibrate and vibrato is the result. Classically trained singers are taught to sing with their vocal chords in the most "relaxed" state and therefore you get vibrato. The better the singer, the more consistent the vibrato. In this case, Anna Moffo has a very consistent vibrato and this performance is absolutely incredible.
The more a person who sings controls the way their vocal chords work, the more damage the person does to them. Classical singers (good ones, at least) are taught to free their voices, and let whatever tension go. Depending on the natural amount of vibration in each person's vocal chords, the amount and girth of the vibrato may be different (this is fairly subdued) You may like less vibrato: so do most pop singers, which is usually why most can't sing past 30 or so.
ceili, if this exquisite singing with its amazingly nuanced vibrato, bothers you, don't listen. A singer's vibrato is one of the most distinctive aspects of their singing. Listen to how Moffo is able to begin a note with a straight tone and, from it, swell to a full healthy vibrato. Brilliant technique and a luscious sound. How many other classically trained sopranos can caress a melodic line like she does? When Moffo was singing well, and she was singing wonderfully here, she was amazing.
Anna Moffo sings this song which I love very much, excellently and wonderfully. Cis3 at the end is sung really, nicely piano beginning. Thus every singer should sing. Many thanks for this video!
exquisite, marvelous and magesterial, I get goosebumps every time I hear it. And her lilting voice brings out the agony and despair and longing that makes all of Rachmaninoff''s symphonies and concerti so profound and penetrating. I love him, I love her, I cry and sigh and nearly die.
This is considered to be the definitive recording of Vocalise. Ms. Moffa signed my album cover when I met her at the reception, following her performance in Tosca. Often, Vocalise is performed too fast. Here, it is just right. After all, the title of the music describes what singers do before a concert or voice lesson...'vocalize'. Voila!
I like Moffo's permormance better than a lot of others.... this is such a particular song that is hard to find it's right voice... the singer really has to feel it...see Rakhmaninoff was a deeply suffered man...
I have been trying to find this specific version of Rachmaninoff's Vocalise op.34 no.14, and it is nearly impossible to pinpoint it. Can you send me this innovative piece of work?
How curious that Rachmaninov suffered from acute depression all his life. A belief that his music was never good enough. I don't like the word genius because it is used too often - but in Rachmaninov's case it is more than appropriate! This music has haunted me for years and will continue to!
Yes, the music historian Donald Grout reduces him to one sentence in his book on music history: "Of some interest is Sergei Rachmaninoff..." Please! Yet he goes on for pages about composers who could only dream about writing such gorgeous melodies!
what can top a genious composer, when one of his most beautiful works is performed in a way that makes people cry? i love rachmaninov, i love anna moffo!
I grew up on moffo and price probably because my father joined the RCA record club and I was able to pick a few albums to purchase each month....I remember buying this LP back in the 60's and was enthralled and never forgot it....anna herself said this was the best album she ever made...her ascending line just before the piece closes is a miracle of breath control.....she did not break the line at the top as so many others have to do.....like a rose opening up in full bloom
Callas was great in her own right of course. Hers was a voice of freedom and conviction and pain all wrap in one. But Anna Moffo gives you pure beauty.
My favorite "vocal" recording of the Vocalise, made when Moffo was still being taken seriously. Whatever may have come later, she commands attention for this performance. Stokowski's conducting must not be underestimated. His personal relationship with Rachmaninoff, championing the composer's orchestral music in America, gives this performance it's special pedigree. The tempo is deliciously slow, allowing the listener to savor the achingly beautiful quality of this composition.
The most angelic voice ever! I had the pleasure of meeting her in Rochester in the 60s after a recital par excellance. She is as sweet as her voice and I look forward to hearing her sing again in person in Heaven.
I have been a fan of the marvelous Moffo since the middle 1960s, and I was a kid when I heard her sing on a collection of operettas my parents had. To find all of you wonderful people on youtube commenting on her gifts, speaking and writing so honestly about what I believe to be the most beautiful coloratura of our time fills me with emotion I cannot adequately express. I allow Anna's performance of the Vocalise to speak for me. Thank you all.
je viens de lire TOYER de Gardner Mc Kay et le personnage du roman,est subjugué par cette musique entendue incidemment dans les rues de L..A. ET j'ai
voulu ecouté ce morceau.
cette musique,cette voix divine,tout vous emeut.
67jules 2 months ago
Brilliant!
tps607 2 months ago
Anna Moffo sous la direction très"lyrique" de Stokowski nous offre une interprétation expressive et nuancée de cette sublime vocalise de Rachmaninov!
Merci à laoniricArte1 pour son envoi et merci à andrewgrummanJC !
Katiuszkasanda 3 months ago
Without a hint of self indulgence or melodramatics, Moffo and
Stokowski sing the eternal song of Rachmaninoff's soul with
exquisite beauty, grace, truth and humanity. Words are un-
necessary. Thank you for posting and to laoniricArte1 for
sharing.
Kievest 3 months ago
Ethereal and Timeless Anna Moffo!!!
makes us transcend into the poem sung
the Great Master Leopold Stokowki who else?
bring the Spirit of works of the Great Master Rachmaninoff
to us
A Perfect Combination!!!
Many thanks for sharing with the World
this Souvenir of Great Beauty*
laoniricArte1 3 months ago
She brings all the sadness of Russia into her voice. This is the greatest performance of all time. Rachmaninoff would have cried!
BalletBabyBoy 4 months ago
Wow! Such beautiful lady and voice! Thanks for this upload!
littlefattyxf 4 months ago
This is the ultimate. She sings it so gorgeously slowly -- as if in a dream. A little glimpse of heaven...
bb8319 4 months ago
her middle and lower registers here are like a dramatic soprano. I love how her voice both dark and youthful sounding at the same time =)
raigekimaru 5 months ago 3
beautiful...
TheHarpharp 5 months ago
<3
potterclubtv 6 months ago
Beatiful!!!!!!!
invoicewithlove 6 months ago in playlist Рахманинов
This is a person deserving her fame-filled pedestal.
Breathtaking <3
R.I.P. Anna
iHondeux 6 months ago
No recording can ever surpass the perfection of this performance. Rest in peace, beloved Anna.
ClaudioAs88s 7 months ago
Ah, lloré...morí...en su voz...que elegante...
violinistx100 7 months ago
Ahhhhh exquisito...
matavichitos 7 months ago
The dislikes was from the people who were sad that he died...
BobbyEnergy 8 months ago
How beautiful can it be? How talented some people can be? This is just amazing, touching, wonderful. Some people's talent bring delight to our lives.
AnoMundi 10 months ago 5
Amazing
cedricluk 10 months ago
9 people dislike this
Shizzmonger 10 months ago
beautiful!!!
nixxy92 10 months ago
23 seconds without a breath
5:57 - 6:20
thomastmwc 11 months ago 14
a vocalise such as this one shows how purely touching the human voice can be
fledgehog 1 year ago 5
Bozanski glas. Izvrsno.
algpop 1 year ago
supposedly she does the entire last phrase with one breath. isn't that astounding?
dropsoffaith 1 year ago
It touches my heart and my soul.
thomastmwc 1 year ago 2
The matter is purely subjective. Since this is actually my favorite recording of VOCALISE, I simply want to leave room for others to politely disagree. The fact that Anna Moffo could sing it with the correct slow tempo is an accomplishment in of itself. Some artists do not have such breath control. That probably accounts for the faster tempi. Should they be singing this work in that case? Well, that's what makes horse racing.
legatofancier 1 year ago 2
@legatofancier I agree wholeheartedly - it really is amazing that she can carry the phrasing through at this tempo, and it gives her more choices in her interpretation. I just recently came upon this recording and... well, I don't have adequate words to describe what it did to me. I'm very familiar with the Natalie Dessay recording, which is, truly, breathtaking, but nowhere near as sensuous or deliberate as Anna Moffo's recording.
corriemanslayer 8 months ago
Finally! Someone who doesn't rush through Rachmaninov like they're playing in a goddamn discotheque! I thought I would never find a proper version of "Vocalise" until now.
It's almost as if most Westerners aren't even able to attempt this without speeding it up 2X. Why would someone want to do that? Why accelerate through this magnificence without savoring every last bar?
Tokopol 1 year ago
прекрасное исполнение!!!
Lenok777777 1 year ago
Marvelous! Simply brilliant! Soothing to the soul..
mic300391 1 year ago
Very nice piece of music...
kasha1932 1 year ago
Absolutely beautiful! Of the ones I've seen on YouTube so far, this one is my favourite!
Side note: I wish I could find a version where the singers pop it up a third! I'm just so used to hearing the orchestrated version that begins on a G...
I think it would sound amazing...
keetner 1 year ago
Any words are poor to describe her voice...
Inessa1112 1 year ago
Astonishingly beautiful. Anna at her most sublime.
Pywacket2 1 year ago
Proprio non ho parole...E la cansone non ne ha...
eugeniodimilano 1 year ago
So beautiful!! the decrescendo's just fade into forever!
sscheckerrs 1 year ago
Beautifull, I want to try to sing this to!!
juf1412 1 year ago
То, что создал Сергей Рахманинов - Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 – вечно будет исполняться и слушаться всем благодарным человечеством.
4567rus 1 year ago
My favourite rendition to date I think - thank you for sharing. Wonderful control, glorious portamento, sublime tone and just enough gliss to add to the colours and all topped off with her beautiful, lush sound.
singerswithpresence 1 year ago
meraviglioso!!!...............
antonellawhite 1 year ago
Beautiful voice. I'm Impressed
jcmyluv1 1 year ago
As distinguished as Anna Moffo's performance is (and it's one of the best things she ever recorded), don't underestimate Leopold Stokowki's conducting here. Certainly he knew and understood Rachmaninoff's music as well any conductor apart from Rachmaninoff himself. Proclaiming any performance as definitive is what makes horse racing, but this one is definitely a contender.
legatofancier 1 year ago 14
@legatofancier VeryWell Put :)
andrewgrummanJC 1 year ago
@legatofancier Let me hear another? Who sang it? These recordings are going to be lost, thanks to Ipod.
dad4usmc 1 year ago
She got the concept exactly right. I didn't like Vishnevskaya's interpretation and forced sound at all. You would thing that a Russian can sing this better!
TheBoombazooka 1 year ago
Vishnevskaya / Rostropovich (piano): Vocalise (Вокализ), Op. 34, Nr. 14 (Rachmaninov) - DG, 1976
watch?v=F5Sj7QpUXNk
thanks and regards
classicvinylbiz 1 year ago
Well, you could of course be right, but you used "beautiful", "amazing", "breath-taking", and some might find, for instance, "breathtaking" to sound as phony as you think "exquisite" is. Just because you think it's phony for you doesn't mean it is for them.
jojojo943 1 year ago
She didn't have a long prime, but her prime was so wonderful.
jojojo943 1 year ago
the pictures move far too fast for such a lovely and SLOW piece. Please redo pictures so that they pause for longer on each one, so as not to disturb the slowness of the piece. thanks
happygolucky2000 1 year ago
If you like this you should listen to her "Songs of the Auvergne" from the same recording... heavenly. thanks for the posting, it's nice to be reminded of greatness now and then as we trawl the net...
Rattywotin 1 year ago
So ethereal! Like dreaming awake...
MsPlumLover 1 year ago
this may be the finest piece of music ever written ( or one of - that may depend on th taste ) - but it surely is the best ever performance of it ever - this is for gods, and for whoever can hear the divine
it kind of makes you feel (even an agnostic soul as mine) that death can't be the end...
branko1b 1 year ago
I feel there is a kind of profound sadness beyond the music.
lyric60616 1 year ago 2
What incredible breath control..... amazing!
brucegbean 1 year ago
I think Cecilia Bartoli and Anna Moffo both have two of the most powerful and beautiful female voices of this century. Either one would be a hard pick to choose between.
dakwa1 1 year ago
Awesome! Perhaps the best performance on record. TY.
paulostroff99 1 year ago
@paulostroff99 You are right my friend. Thanks for the suggestion. adriana
Msalopezbard 1 year ago
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wow that was just a pain to my ears to listen to
Domhottness 1 year ago
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wow that was just a pain to my ears to listen to
Domhottness 1 year ago
HOOOO .HIM,...THE BEST COMPOSER IN THE WORLD
dengde 1 year ago
I cut my teeth on the orchestral version by Ormandy, but this is wonderful
injamaven 1 year ago
Un des plus purs chef d'oeuvre de la discographie
luckyluc1248 1 year ago
I've listened to this on an old LP for decades. It still makes me weep every single time. It simply could not be sung any more beautifully. If there are angelic choirs, they likely learn to sing by listening to this.
jojojo943 1 year ago 3
For 35 years I have listened to my recording of Anna Moffo singing this piece as no one else can or could, at least to my ear and sensitivity to this exquisite interpretation. Many greats have sung this magnificent work and beautifully, but Moffo got it. Both cynic150 and garyrobert13 said it best.
mortondavid 1 year ago
I did the 100.000ª visit, a honor
ArlyCravo 1 year ago
Пятрясающая музыка! Замечательное исполнение! Спасибо...Спасибо... Спасибо...
Paranich1 1 year ago
What a beautiful renditiion of the Vocaliise of Rachmaninoff by Anna Moffo...!
jinjsbach 1 year ago
Magnifique interprétation mezzo-soprano (?) sa voix est très sensuelle et profonde et je n'entends pas une telle voix chanter à un rythme plus rapide...je ne suis pas puriste mais cela me semble impensable...Anna MOFFO...c'est un velouté sublime et qui convient si bien il me semble au tempérament de RACHMANONOV....Merci !*****
543693The 1 year ago
@543693The Oltre che a essere una delle più belle soprano. È stata grande in questa nostalgica aria Walter,
macciboma 1 year ago
Truly, the stairway to paradise was constructed with musical notes.
vegforlife555 1 year ago
The transcendent quality of this music has brought so much joy to my parched soul. Listenening to this piece has made the world beautiful again. God bless you Rachmaninoff and Moffo.
vegforlife555 1 year ago
As part of a government program for health and nutrtion in some of the poorest rural areas in Mexico, we took some pieces of opera including Vocalise with Anna Moffo for people living there to have some contact with this kind of music...They had never listened to opera, and were very sensitive and receptive, and totally enjoyed, even though they wouldn't know what the words in italian or french were in some arias. They kept asking for more and more...Oh, the human soul!
isabellamatisse 1 year ago
@isabellamatisse God bless you Isabella, for the work that you do!
KyBlue528 1 year ago
@isabellamatisse
Well, it isn't opera, but it IS splendid.
jojojo943 1 year ago
I am no expert, but I can tell when I listen to good music. This rendition of Vocalise is superb, I can feel it in the deepness of my soul....It is as if I could touch divinity...oh God, this is so beautiful it hurts.
isabellamatisse 1 year ago 2
why in music, is the word "exquisite" used so much in defining some art pieces. The first things I think of are "beautiful", "amazing", "breath-taking", etc, not "exquisite", it just sounds more like something you should define.... some sort of cheese, I don't know, it just doesn't paint the picture into my mind as well, that may just be me, or everyone else might just want to say it to sound smart?
pwnage0fn00bs 1 year ago
@pwnage0fn00bs
...or maybe for them is DOES paint the picture in their mind. Ever think of that?
jojojo943 1 year ago
@jojojo943 I don't know, it just sounds to me like people try to make themselves look smart by using big words that you learn in 3rd grade, the ones you just don't use unless you want to look smart in front of the teacher
pwnage0fn00bs 1 year ago
@pwnage0fn00bs --
"Exquisite" is defined in part as:
'Beautifully made, delicately or poignantly beautiful, refined, intense." I think that's a pretty good word for this performnce.
jojojo943 1 year ago
@pwnage0fn00bs I don't know. It sounds to me like your inferiority complex regarding the English language is doing the talking when you make comments like this. Know what a synonym is? Go look it up. Maybe you should have paid a little more attention in third grade hm?
Kaggypants 1 year ago
@Kaggypants i know what a synonym is, smart one, i just think exquisite is a retarded word that people say to make themselves look smart, when its just a word and can be better expressed, and made to sound better
pwnage0fn00bs 1 year ago
@pwnage0fn00bs I think retarded is amongst the vocabulary abilities of a third grader too! Congratulations, you've convinced me. Also, do you mean you know how to express words like...I don't know...screen names in a more eloquent manner? My sides are in stitches. (＝゜ω゜)ノ(⊃д⊂)
Kaggypants 1 year ago
If anyone is searching for the definition of the word love, i suggest watching this video, for it contains the most romantic cries of love and despair. He was, and is, and will remain a pure genius, Rachmaninoff.
Martel211996 1 year ago
Anna! What a haunting, exquisite and sublime rendering. Anna! Always with an apostrophe!
Pywacket2 1 year ago
I've heard other singers do this piece but I always come back to her. Anna! with the apostrophe, sets the standard for me. :-)
KyBlue528 1 year ago
Beautiful!!!!
BeniaminoGigli 1 year ago
@BeniaminoGigli How interesting that a man assailed by doubts and depression all his life could write such works of beauty and clearly worthy of the title of genius - few are today if any! Somehow when sadness comes to us all - it brings us nearer to something more than divine!
Saffron1947 1 year ago
@BeniaminoGigli Few people have genius today but clearly Rachmaninov was in possession. When sadness come to us all - it brings us closer to something more than divine
Saffron1947 1 year ago
does anyone know what tenor does this if any, i would like to hear it.
babbybob 1 year ago
@babbybob
There's a gedda recoding that's just wonderful, if not as perfect as this.
jojojo943 1 year ago
@babbybob
Gedda did it. I love Gedda, but this is a better performance than his.
jojojo943 1 year ago
Simply Exquisite - this version can turn night to day. Simply time-stopping.
marquischadier 1 year ago
Incríble. Nada mejor que escuchar una obra egregia interpretada por la cantante indicada.
5/5 :D
Aberwitz88 1 year ago
AWESOME..............
I am not Dissapointed in this case. Thank u
Dissappointment 1 year ago
she has a lower register like a lyric mezzo.
raigekimaru 2 years ago
Brought tears to my eyes. So haunting and sensitive.
vrsing 2 years ago 3
the best interpretation ever
PracticalMagic2003 2 years ago 5
Elle chante comme un ange.
profling 2 years ago
Its ...in one word.....unforgettable...
Like the most precious ....in a life time.....the purity of LOVE
JustEvita 2 years ago 3
One of my favorites....I agree that this piece fits so well with her voice. Absolute beauty and emotion.
jacmac127 2 years ago
Anna Moffo distinguishes herself in her superb performance of Rachmaninoff's Vocalize. This is an example of the voice surpassing the beauty of all man-made instruments. One would think that Rachmaninoff wrote this piece with Anna Moffo's voice in mind. Bravissimo!
EltaLBunner 2 years ago 8
I truly thank my friend Otto for reccomending me this version!!!!
GeorgieSand 2 years ago 2
Who knew "ah" could be so expressive and evoke so much emotion? She was amazing.
geomusic 2 years ago 5
This rendition of Moffo's has turned many of my nights into Day!
dphmichigan 2 years ago 7
...stunning...
Loismustdie26 2 years ago 9
This RCA recording was issued on CD some years ago (BMG 09026-62600-2) along with Canteloube's "Songs of the Auverne" and Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, all with Moffo. She sang this Rachmaninov piece to an accompaniment arranged for strings by Arcady Dubensky. Moffo had previously been cast as Liu in Puccini's "Turandot" which Stokowski had conducted at the New York met in 1961.
adam28xx 2 years ago
Anna how we miss you...we will not hear your like again.
dngrbunny 2 years ago 6
Tears in my eyes.
hkjazz1 2 years ago 8
One of the most sensuous voices ever, in her prime. Notice that she does not breath after the initial breath as she ascends up the scale to a high c sharp at the end of the vocalise. Truly astonishing. I love the scooping and lushness she brings to this, although I'm sure purist will complain....
garyrobert13 2 years ago 28
I am a purist but I think this performance as good as, if not better than, any I have heard. The others posted on you tube do not do the ascending scale as well as she AND pianissimo! Wonderful! I like the slow tempo too. Her voice is just right for this.
cynic150 2 years ago 33
@cynic150
Yeah say what you will about her, she could float pianissimi with the best of them. I'm sure Stokowski had a hand in the phrasing here as well.
shivastotravali 1 year ago
@cynic150 I thik so too Her medium generally much too big compared to the real size of her voice allows her to give it this particular color.
monpitt500 1 year ago
@garyrobert13 Yes she was amazing, though I would not call her notes "scooped" but rather beautifully controlled portamento. A hard act to follow for any soprano.
lornabegbie 1 year ago
@lornabegbie Thank you. Beautifully controlled portamento is exactly what those notes are. I've never been able to put my finger on it!
patjan92 1 year ago
Nobody sings Vocalise or Villalobos Bachiana #5 like Anna Moffo.
jmartinezcanas 2 years ago 7
I like her trills =D
raigekimaru 2 years ago 3
thank you so much. The most beautiful Vocalise of all.
slvc415 2 years ago 4
STUNNING
Fnessundorma 2 years ago 4
Brava, Anna. Another treasure and tribute to your art.
Pywacket2 2 years ago 6
Nothing but beauty
serene06 2 years ago 3
Moffo's rendition is beautiful here and showcases both her fluidity of line and beautiful timbre at its best. Brava!
SqueakyIri 2 years ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
Moffo does exhibit beautiful, expressive tone qualities. Although, orchestral tempi in places are a little too slow for my taste, perhaps. I prefer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's version overall. Her tempos are much more on the traditional side of the spectrum. Being a pianist, I have accompanied this piece over the past twenty-five years, and my preference has always been to take the piece a little bit faster; I think it works better and doesn't come across as sluggish. (But that's just my opinion.)
yourwadeness 2 years ago
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yourwadeness 2 years ago
Excellent performance! RIP Anna!
moonligh111 2 years ago 4
***** Message Personnel ***** (Merci) :
- Ma belle NATHALIE, moi aussi je t'aimais, je t'aime, et je t'aimerai toujours, par delà les siècles des siècles. Que cette douce mélodie et cette voix suave soient transportées à travers l'espace et au delà du temps, si telle le veut la grâce divine. - "I ALWAYS LOVE YOU" - VINCENT
Forever young together...! Thanks SO much ANNA !
giotto3cento 2 years ago 3
Beautiful. xx
DivaKazza 2 years ago 2
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giotto3cento 2 years ago
ANNA MERAVIGLIOSA...FAI SOGNARE
LOVE antonio
octopussy51 2 years ago 3
realmente parece coisa do céu!!
Que pouse na terra!!
malikagf1 2 years ago 3
She is now our great angel in heaven!
Rest in peace La Moffo!
leontyne2 2 years ago 3
when i was a voice student around 30 years ago my voice instructor told me of this recording. Id listen to it and try to practice the vocalise along side with Anna which was quite humbling. try to achieve the beauty she produced in her interpretation of this emotional song.
k00ki 2 years ago 2
I have loved this interpretation for more than 20 years now, she has a clean attack, her vibrato is not in question as any fool can tell that she adapts to the music, try her bachianas brasiliaris 5 if you can get it!
Rattywotin 2 years ago
What year did she perform this piece? Someone please send me a reply with the year, thanks!!!
speedyoncp 2 years ago
This was recorded in 1964.
patjan92 2 years ago
Incredibly beautiful singing--WHAT a voice! And she makes it seem so effortless! I don't think I've ever heard "Vocalise" sung so beautifully--not even Vishnevskaya's version matches this, in my opinion. Anna Moffo was truly the stuff of legends.
soami2u 2 years ago 2
This was one of Anna Moffo's personal favorite recordings, along with her aria albums she did with Maestri Ferrari and Serafin, and her Nanetta with Karajan; she was a friend, and sorely missed.
billyguns2 2 years ago
One final point: Moffo's vibrato is NOT wide. It is a fast and narrow vibrato, akin to the vibrato of a violin. If it had been a wide vibrato her pitch would not have been as dead-on as it always was.
Varese52 2 years ago 4
Classical singing from the 19th century onwards differs considerably from the older style of singing, most notably because of the change of both the buildings they sang in and the orchestral accompaniments they sang with. A renaissance singer would never be heard in a modern hall, nor would they be able to get through a full orchestral accompaniment. So, my advice to those accustomed to pop singing is to get used to it. It is just as "natural" to sing with vibrato as it is to sing without it.
Varese52 2 years ago
I totally agree. This was the most acceptable version I could find on youtube.
'Classical' singers, please chill out on the old vibrato!
malma1 2 years ago
But do singers have to use so much vibrato, surely they can control the amount they use. Its just my preference but i think classical singers use way to much vibrato, "Renaissance" singers use very little vibrato so i dont see why singers cant find a balance between the two. just my opinion.
ceili 2 years ago
to contro that amount of vibrato is unhealthy and dangerous, frankly. Renaissance Singers also often didn't sing past 30 or 40, with a few exceptions, of course. Classical singing is aimed to keep a person singing well into their old age (Ms. Moffo could sing until very close to her death.)
ged424 2 years ago
Thanks for the info, appreciate it
ceili 2 years ago
Can anyone tell me why classicaly trained/orchestral singers use so much vibrato when they sing? It really gets to me, almost every single note they use a very wide vibrato.
ceili 2 years ago
Our vocal chords naturally vibrate and vibrato is the result. Classically trained singers are taught to sing with their vocal chords in the most "relaxed" state and therefore you get vibrato. The better the singer, the more consistent the vibrato. In this case, Anna Moffo has a very consistent vibrato and this performance is absolutely incredible.
imfewoman08 2 years ago
The more a person who sings controls the way their vocal chords work, the more damage the person does to them. Classical singers (good ones, at least) are taught to free their voices, and let whatever tension go. Depending on the natural amount of vibration in each person's vocal chords, the amount and girth of the vibrato may be different (this is fairly subdued) You may like less vibrato: so do most pop singers, which is usually why most can't sing past 30 or so.
ged424 2 years ago
ceili, if this exquisite singing with its amazingly nuanced vibrato, bothers you, don't listen. A singer's vibrato is one of the most distinctive aspects of their singing. Listen to how Moffo is able to begin a note with a straight tone and, from it, swell to a full healthy vibrato. Brilliant technique and a luscious sound. How many other classically trained sopranos can caress a melodic line like she does? When Moffo was singing well, and she was singing wonderfully here, she was amazing.
geomusic 2 years ago 2
Perfection!!!
mensasleaze 2 years ago 2
She is one of the soprano Iove the most. I discovered her 19 years ago with These vocalises and Bachianas Barsileras N°5.
It is so moving.
Baez971 2 years ago
Anna Moffo sings this song which I love very much, excellently and wonderfully. Cis3 at the end is sung really, nicely piano beginning. Thus every singer should sing. Many thanks for this video!
jubilatede 2 years ago
I'm a Johann Sebastian Bach freak, but people ... am I right to claim that Rachmaninov was as great as Bach? He has SO many wonderful pieces ... !!!
Peteconomics 2 years ago 2
exquisite, marvelous and magesterial, I get goosebumps every time I hear it. And her lilting voice brings out the agony and despair and longing that makes all of Rachmaninoff''s symphonies and concerti so profound and penetrating. I love him, I love her, I cry and sigh and nearly die.
shogl 2 years ago
kiri te kanawa won me over on this song, but I can never deny the amazing gift Anna Moffo has whenever I listen to her. simply divine voice.
saxamaphoneguy1 2 years ago
This is considered to be the definitive recording of Vocalise. Ms. Moffa signed my album cover when I met her at the reception, following her performance in Tosca. Often, Vocalise is performed too fast. Here, it is just right. After all, the title of the music describes what singers do before a concert or voice lesson...'vocalize'. Voila!
SocialEtiquette 2 years ago
I like Moffo's permormance better than a lot of others.... this is such a particular song that is hard to find it's right voice... the singer really has to feel it...see Rakhmaninoff was a deeply suffered man...
natygdm 2 years ago
I agree . her voice has a heft to it that say La Flemming dosen't. Also a velvit quality.
tenorismo 2 years ago
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SocialEtiquette 2 years ago
I have been trying to find this specific version of Rachmaninoff's Vocalise op.34 no.14, and it is nearly impossible to pinpoint it. Can you send me this innovative piece of work?
dirensmokey 2 years ago
Wow! full of her graceful voices.
halpa8 2 years ago 3
Such a beautiful woman accompanied by such a beautiful voice
blaa94 2 years ago 5
How curious that Rachmaninov suffered from acute depression all his life. A belief that his music was never good enough. I don't like the word genius because it is used too often - but in Rachmaninov's case it is more than appropriate! This music has haunted me for years and will continue to!
Saffron1947 2 years ago 7
Indeed a musical genius
blaa94 2 years ago 4
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Tal vez porque Rachmaninov era homosexual, condición que en la época en que vivió, era mal considerada.
Belmonkis
erial80 2 years ago
Yes, the music historian Donald Grout reduces him to one sentence in his book on music history: "Of some interest is Sergei Rachmaninoff..." Please! Yet he goes on for pages about composers who could only dream about writing such gorgeous melodies!
billyguns2 2 years ago
Rachmaninoff was not gay! :-S What a strange idea... He was even bothered by the fact that Horowitz had gay tendencies...
godelike 2 years ago
Anna's version is the best out of so many I have heard. Her voice has a great control of the tempo. Bravo Anna!
18064755 2 years ago 7
i wonder where she took breath for the long phrase!
klausknulp 2 years ago
what can top a genious composer, when one of his most beautiful works is performed in a way that makes people cry? i love rachmaninov, i love anna moffo!
klausknulp 2 years ago 5
I grew up on moffo and price probably because my father joined the RCA record club and I was able to pick a few albums to purchase each month....I remember buying this LP back in the 60's and was enthralled and never forgot it....anna herself said this was the best album she ever made...her ascending line just before the piece closes is a miracle of breath control.....she did not break the line at the top as so many others have to do.....like a rose opening up in full bloom
r2d2lance 2 years ago 3
Callas was great in her own right of course. Hers was a voice of freedom and conviction and pain all wrap in one. But Anna Moffo gives you pure beauty.
jonhi1 2 years ago 5
This is perfection!
nasilemak2008 2 years ago 3
Beautiful, illuminating voice. Wonderful drifting sense of line. One of my favorites, thanks much for posting.
claroneamor 2 years ago 3
My favorite "vocal" recording of the Vocalise, made when Moffo was still being taken seriously. Whatever may have come later, she commands attention for this performance. Stokowski's conducting must not be underestimated. His personal relationship with Rachmaninoff, championing the composer's orchestral music in America, gives this performance it's special pedigree. The tempo is deliciously slow, allowing the listener to savor the achingly beautiful quality of this composition.
legatofancier 2 years ago
The most angelic voice ever! I had the pleasure of meeting her in Rochester in the 60s after a recital par excellance. She is as sweet as her voice and I look forward to hearing her sing again in person in Heaven.
Piermont2222 3 years ago 3
This is absolutely magnificent. I love it
petshopgirl72 3 years ago
I have been a fan of the marvelous Moffo since the middle 1960s, and I was a kid when I heard her sing on a collection of operettas my parents had. To find all of you wonderful people on youtube commenting on her gifts, speaking and writing so honestly about what I believe to be the most beautiful coloratura of our time fills me with emotion I cannot adequately express. I allow Anna's performance of the Vocalise to speak for me. Thank you all.
thnurd 3 years ago
We have to thank you for being here!