This semester for my accompanist job, I learned 27 pieces. Twenty-seven! Tomorrow is Juries, where each of the seven applied voice students sings two songs for a panel of professors. One song is chosen by the student; the other is selected by the panel. So tomorrow I will be bringing ALL THE MUSIC with me and be ready to play whatever.
Here are the songs ranked in order of how much I enjoyed playing them. This is NOT a ranking of how well the students/choir sang them, or how difficult they were for me to learn. It's just my gut ranking of how I feel when I think about or remember playing them.
Will There Really Be a Morning? THE BEST.
Don't Rain on My Parade. Super fun once you get past some quirky rhythms and tricky passages.
Sure on this Shining Night. I love that the accompaniment is a counterpoint for the voice performance.
Amor. Once I got past the hate, I found...LOVE. However, this piece has left me with a lasting fear of sixths.
Deep River
Voi che Sapete. This piece is single-handedly responsible for giving me some kind of freakish tendonitis in my left hand/arm that I am, even as I type, treating with ice in preparation for tomorrow. Also, SIXTHS. But lovely and a fun romp if you can get through the tricky bits.
I Dreamed a Dream
Ole Muie Rendera. More fun to sing than play, but I just jammed along on the piano as best I could.
Als Luise Die Briefe...THE original break-up song!! (The title is "as Louise burned the letter from her unfaithful lover.") So dramatic to play!
An die Musik. Ah, bouncy Schubert.
Was ist Sylvia? See above.
Vittoria Mio Core. I thought I had this piece down and then the professor was like, um, it's supposed to be played twice as fast. DANGIT. Also, it has an unfortunately difficult last line - the stakes are very high at that point, you know? You can't end on a wrong note!
Ave Verum. Clear, predictable Mozart. Bless him.
They All Laughed. Magdalena: "Mama, that is a really weird song." Yes it is, sweetie. Yes it is. But it is fairly fun to play!
Anything You Can Do. Hard to follow along with the performers but always a crowd-pleaser.
Sebben Crudele. Another Italian aria in the "play this as fast as you can and then double it" category.
Light of a Clear Blue Morning. Fact: I still randomly break into the "liiiiiiiight of a clear blue" refrain.
Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento. Yawn.
Lullaby (from The Consul). SO WEIRD, seriously!
French song whose name I can't remember
Razzle Dazzle. Richard Gere = eww.
Tu Lo Sai. Yawn again.
Long Time Ago. Lots of potential, but the accompaniment is all over the place. Also, there is no correct tempo for this piece. No matter what, it drags, or else sounds rushed.
Give Me Jesus
Let It Be. I could play this in my sleep.
Take Care of this House. This song and the one below are the only songs I really didn't like this semester.
All the Pretty Little Horses.
What a wonderful semester of music it has been!
Here are the songs ranked in order of how much I enjoyed playing them. This is NOT a ranking of how well the students/choir sang them, or how difficult they were for me to learn. It's just my gut ranking of how I feel when I think about or remember playing them.
Will There Really Be a Morning? THE BEST.
Don't Rain on My Parade. Super fun once you get past some quirky rhythms and tricky passages.
Sure on this Shining Night. I love that the accompaniment is a counterpoint for the voice performance.
Amor. Once I got past the hate, I found...LOVE. However, this piece has left me with a lasting fear of sixths.
Deep River
Voi che Sapete. This piece is single-handedly responsible for giving me some kind of freakish tendonitis in my left hand/arm that I am, even as I type, treating with ice in preparation for tomorrow. Also, SIXTHS. But lovely and a fun romp if you can get through the tricky bits.
I Dreamed a Dream
Ole Muie Rendera. More fun to sing than play, but I just jammed along on the piano as best I could.
Als Luise Die Briefe...THE original break-up song!! (The title is "as Louise burned the letter from her unfaithful lover.") So dramatic to play!
An die Musik. Ah, bouncy Schubert.
Was ist Sylvia? See above.
Vittoria Mio Core. I thought I had this piece down and then the professor was like, um, it's supposed to be played twice as fast. DANGIT. Also, it has an unfortunately difficult last line - the stakes are very high at that point, you know? You can't end on a wrong note!
Ave Verum. Clear, predictable Mozart. Bless him.
They All Laughed. Magdalena: "Mama, that is a really weird song." Yes it is, sweetie. Yes it is. But it is fairly fun to play!
Anything You Can Do. Hard to follow along with the performers but always a crowd-pleaser.
Sebben Crudele. Another Italian aria in the "play this as fast as you can and then double it" category.
Light of a Clear Blue Morning. Fact: I still randomly break into the "liiiiiiiight of a clear blue" refrain.
Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento. Yawn.
Lullaby (from The Consul). SO WEIRD, seriously!
French song whose name I can't remember
Razzle Dazzle. Richard Gere = eww.
Tu Lo Sai. Yawn again.
Long Time Ago. Lots of potential, but the accompaniment is all over the place. Also, there is no correct tempo for this piece. No matter what, it drags, or else sounds rushed.
Give Me Jesus
Let It Be. I could play this in my sleep.
Take Care of this House. This song and the one below are the only songs I really didn't like this semester.
All the Pretty Little Horses.
What a wonderful semester of music it has been!