IN her 2015 book Naked at the Albert Hall, Tracey Thorn, owner of one of the great English pop voices, was at pains to point out that “there’s more thinking in singing than you might think.”
The line came to mind while listening to Extraordinary Voices with Nora Fischer on Radio 3 last Saturday. The first of three programmes (the second airs tomorrow night at 11pm), Fischer was exploring the idea of vocal blend and decoration. A fine excuse to hear voice after glorious voice in an hour that took in everything from Bulgarian female choirs to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, and travelled from Monteverdi’s Vespers to the Flintstones theme tune as sung by Jacob Collier multi-tracking his voice (clever, though not necessarily enjoyable; but then I was always more of a Top Cat fan)
Fischer is a knowledgeable and articulate host. After listening to soprano Kathleen Battle performing Handel’s O had I Jubal's Lyre, she notes how much of a challenge such a piece can be. “Singing like this feels like you’re running a marathon.”
Her enthusiasm is catching. It helps that there’s no snobbery in her either. She’s gives equal attention Beyonce’s voice as Battle’s.
And she’s not stuck up about the use of technology either. She even endorses the use of Auto-Tune on James Blake’s Meet You in the Maze for the way it plays “with the boundaries between humans and robots.”
The result is joyous radio. And if you’re not feeling that Christmassy yet listen to it on BBC Sounds and jump to 17 minutes in to hear Thomas Tallis’ Spem in Alium for 40 Voices as sung by the Taverner Choir. The word celestial applies.
Listen Out For: Free Thinking, Radio 3, Thursday, 10pm. The ever-reliable Matthew Sweet assesses the legacy of Marlene Dietrich.
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