swan song: singing goodbye

Subject: when a singer stops singing
From: keberoxu
Date: 27 Sep 19 - 03:14 PM

Singing in public all your life
makes it especially tricky to say goodbye to the public performance arena.

It's not an easy decision for any musician to stop performing,
but when your musical instrument is your voice,
the decision is positively critical.
It isn't as if you can retire the voice that you have got
and replace it with another voice, after all.
And your voice, as an instrument,
is part of YOU.

History provides far too many examples
of what happens when a known singer goes one performance too far.

This example, for one.
tenor Carlo Bergonzi, the year 2000, Carnegie Hall, New York

... and who was in the audience

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: Jack Campin
Date: 27 Sep 19 - 06:03 PM

Probably the most spectacular goodbye was Zeki Müren, who had been in retirement for a few years due to illness, had a comeback concert and award ceremony arranged for him, and died of a heart attack on stage.

The most depressing carrying-on-when-you've-lost-it has to be Benjamin Luxon, who went totally deaf and went through years of arduous retraining so he could keep on singing as before. Except he couldn't. All those late recordings are expressionless nothing.

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 27 Sep 19 - 06:27 PM

That expression always conjures up for me in my mind pictures of "The Dying Swan" ballet scene to the wonderful music of Saint-Saens -
The Dying Swan

However, hysterically mixed with the picture of the all-male Ballet Trockadero's version with the poor old swan losing all his feathers one by one! Do watch this clip to the end!
Dying Swan - Les Trocks

Sorry, I know this thread was supposed to be about passe singers:can think of a few, but won't name them just now! Going through it myself just now, as my hearing deteriorates to the point that I no longer have that all-important feedback between mouth and ear.

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Sep 19 - 12:00 PM

Here is one singing musician
who kept herself, and her career, sternly in hand to the end.

Dame Janet Baker looks back on her career

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 07 Oct 19 - 03:16 PM

The swan song of Plácido Domingo was heard this year.
There is the sensational tabloid-news side of it, as allegations
of harassment and assault are in the works.
The man is, however, seventy-eight years old,
and if this coming-back-to-bite-you-in-the-backside development
had not put him in his place,
some other circumstance would have taken him out, this late in his career.

I am thinking of soprano Renata Tebaldi,
who I believe is still living,
although long retired and afflicted with arthritis.
Tebaldi, like Domingo after her,
was a favorite at New York's Metropolitan Opera.
It was when new management came in, looked and listened hard,
and evaluated Tebaldi's performances
that she was at last confronted at the contract table.
The new Met leader offered her roles that she had never performed,
which was his way of telling her that
she would no longer, at his company,
be engaged for the roles of her youth;
and she got the message, loud and clear, and walked away.


Because Domingo has had such a high-profile career and presence,
with maximum exposure and enormous success,
I find myself, oddly remembering
the death of Karol Wojtyla who became Pope John Paul II.
That man had hung on long after his physical health gave out,
and we all saw how pitiful and disabled and aged he was.
Then, when he died, and the mass media covered the Pope's career,
we were shown all that broadcast footage and video
from decades earlier,
to remind us of how he attracted, and commanded, world-wide attention.

And Domingo started, and peaked, at a fairly early age himself,
and became prominent and easily recognized.
Not just the sound of his voice when he was young,
but all those photos and videos/films
of that handsome unlined youthful face with its ready smile.

It is almost like looking at another person ...

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Oct 19 - 05:06 AM

Its a very sad day when you realise that your body will no longer do want you want it to !, and its very difficult to give up something you love doing.
There are far too many elderly Morris dancers whose athleticism and sprightliness has long departed still hobbling around rheumatically, doing themselves further injuries, and performing what has become a pastiche of their craft. also musicians particularly amongst the jazz fraternity whose "lip" has gone along with their stamina and concentration, not to mention singers whose once powerful voices have degenerated into a feeble croak.
as I said its difficult to give up what you love doing, but eventually we have to stop, and live with our memories and dine out on anecdotes of our youthful prowess !!.

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: GUEST,Henry Piper (of Ottery)
Date: 09 Oct 19 - 05:07 AM

SORRY !!   previous guest was me, ( getting old and forgetful !!)

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 09 Oct 19 - 05:37 AM

Swans sing before they die,
Twer no bad thing,
Should some folks die before they sing. [anon ]


Dave H

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: Mo the caller
Date: 09 Oct 19 - 07:43 AM

I was watching a video of our 'dance' club, walking their way through s dance. But that is a bit different from Morris teams who are performing for the public. At least it keeps us active and we can enjoy the music and patterns, even if we can't respond as we used to.
Sadder is watching callers (previously excellent) lose their grip. Scary to know when to stop.

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 09 Oct 19 - 04:47 PM

I'm facing losing my hearing: can no longer sing like I used to as rampant tinnitus cuts across what I can hear coming out of my mouth. Generally can't hear in tune most of the time, whereas before I had not quite, but near perfect pitch. Can still just about get by playing my instruments (piano and button accordion) as they are of fixed pitch and don't require re-tuning each time I play them, but my guitar, even with electronic tuner, hasn't seen the light of day for a good long while. What I play sound very peculiar to me, but hope I'm hitting the right keys/buttons and it sounds OK to others!

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: Mo the caller
Date: 10 Oct 19 - 05:55 AM

Yes, a piano accordion sounds very odd when the now very deaf player has his hand in the wrong place.

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: JHW
Date: 11 Oct 19 - 05:21 AM

As this is a folkies site I can recall more than once when the singer has already left us and his song is played at the crem. Remember BW singing The Bonny Hills of Kielder, many verses. I thought they'd clip it but we heard the whole song.

Subject: RE: swan song: singing goodbye
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 11 Oct 19 - 10:13 AM

Would that be ' The Kielder Hunt ' which has the chorus,

Hark away, hark away,
O'er the Binnie Hills of Kielder,
Hark away.

Dave H