A revival

Apart from a few performances, including a staged reading of a musical, I had all but stepped away from singing for the past couple of years, and in retrospect, there does not appear to have been any good reason.

Having realized how deeply I’ve missed exploring the musical side of my creative life, I am thrilled to be fashioning my way back into a consistent practice. I plan to take as many group classes as I can this fall, hit up some open mic nights, and perhaps wrap the year up with an intimate performance—stay tuned!

I’ve spent the past week reacquainting myself (and my neighbors) with my voice, and preparing for a placement audition for evening courses. Part of this process has been watching and listening to myself sing—an exercise I’ve historically found incredible cringeworthy—but one I’d like to do more, and share more of.

Here’s a practice video of me singing À Chloris, a classical song composed by Reynaldo Hahn in 1913, with French lyrics written by Théophile de Viau. There are some inaccuracies in my timing to the backing track, but I was eager to share, so I went for it.

P.S. major props to content creators who use iMovie to produce videos. It’s more time-consuming than it ought to be!

I hope you enjoy.
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A Chloris

S'il est vrai, Chloris, que tu m'aimes,

If it be true, Chloris, that you love me,

Mais j'entends, que tu m'aimes bien,

(And I'm told you love me dearly),

Je ne crois point que les rois mêmes

I do not believe that even kings

Aient un bonheur pareil au mien.

Can match the happiness I know.

Que la mort serait importune

Even death would be powerless

A venir changer ma fortune

To alter my fortune

Pour la félicité des cieux!

With the promise of heavenly bliss!

Tout ce qu'on dit de l'ambroisie

All that they say of ambrosia

Ne touche point ma fantaisie

Does not stir my imagination

Au prix des grâces de tes yeux.

Like the favour of your eyes!

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