From fred<br>
Date Thu, 8 Jan 2004 1:15 PM<br>
<br>
intro to viva la diva<br>
<br>
if you've gotten my mix then you know by now that this mix is in praise
of divas, esp in the genres of opera, gospel, musical theater, and
"modern" pop. i think there are different qualifications that come w/
divahood, but in music i think of a diva as someone who has either
incredible technical skill or incredible passion (oftentimes they have
both) combined with a magnetic "presence". originally i contemplated
other genres but i found that divas of jazz and motown were generally too
reserved and cool, and i didn't want to try to muddle things too much
with people i like but are too different from the others, such as tammy
wynette. also, i found myself drawn to non-white women, who i personally
find have a compelling, innate exotic quality.<br>
<br>
there are quite a few musical elements that recur on this mix, some
intentionally. the first two tracks have a lot of them, including the use
of background singers, mellismas (singing many notes on one syllable,
something that's still used (oftentimes overused) by modern singers) and
ornamentation (taking the same melody and improvising around it, as in
the third section of the handel aria which repeats and embellishes the
first section), and contrasting slow sections w/ fast sections. i think
overall the thing that unites most of these tracks is that each woman is
instantly reconizable not only from her voice but also the way she uses
her voice. they all really color each and every word, although this is
especially apparent in the slower songs. just listen to the way babs'
voice breaks on the last word "parade" or the way audra disparages the
word "beautiful" and stresses the "l" sound of the phrase "learn what
they lack" or the strong "r" cecilia puts on the first syllable of her
entrance, "riedi".<br>
<br>
one of the things i liked about making this mix is that i let it marinate
for a really really long time, almost two months. i had the musical
theatre and opera idea early on, but as i got more interested in gospel i
made an effort and did some research by listening to a few gospel cds,
which i felt really fit well with the rest of the mix. i think divas are
more beloved by gay men in general, so i'm quite interested in hearing
everyone's reaction to this mix.<br>
<br>
well, i guess that's it for now. andy says that we should get everyone
together and make everyone do karaoke to one of the songs. hahahaha. hope
you found this to be entertaining.<br>
<br>