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Come To Your Senses

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:04:43 +1400

Almost two months ago, I saw the NIDA production of Jonathan Larson's "tick, tick...BOOM!" and was thoroughly impressed. It really felt like watching RENT all over again.

I've spent a lot of this past year on a bit of a roller coaster, first up in the clouds before crashing back down to reality and not being very happy about it. And so much has happened this year, it feels like the world has gone a little crazy.

I think we could all use a bit of coming to our senses...Listen to the piano instrumental:

Watch "Come To Your Senses" as performed by Amy Spanger from the original cast:

Watch "Come To Your Senses" as performed by Kelly Carey in the 2006 Actors' Theatre production of tick, tick...BOOM!

Summertime

Sun, 5 Dec 2010 00:56:57 +1400

It's now early December and true to character, I've let myself be carried away by the frantic pace of life. I promise I haven't abandoned this site! And to prove the point, I want to welcome the coming summer with none other than the classic Summertime from Porgy and Bess.I love this song because it has that feeling of lazy summer days. When you hear it, you can imagine lying on a grassy hill near a river slowly winding its way across the land. The air is thick with sunshine and blankets the earth in warmth. Occasionally, a gentle breeze stirs, causing the leaves to rustle while the world drifts in and out of slumber. I love summer.

Listen to the instrumental track:

Watch Ella Fitzgerald sing Summertime:

Journey To The Past

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:11:18 +1400

Since finishing my CA exam at the beginning of June, I've been in the process of packing, moving house, unpacking and trying my best to declutter. In amongst the clutter, I came across an old CD I had produced in my early high school years, with a track from my favourite animated feature at the time, Anastasia. This song has a very special meaning to me, as I'm standing today at a road junction of my own, making the first few tentative steps towards my own St Petersburg.

Written by the talented duo of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Journey To The Past is the second song in the film, sung by the eighteen-year-old orphan Anya, as she sets out to find her fortunes in the world. Along the way, she questions her direction, being haunted by her inability to remember her past and longing for a sense of home, love and family. Pausing at a fork in the road, with one path leading to a position at a fish factory in a small nearby town and the other leading to St Petersburg, Anya waits for a sign. An adorable puppy appears, tugging at her scarf and leading her down the road to the big city. Dubbing her travelling companion Pooka, Anya sets off to discover her past.

Listen to the instrumental track:

Watch Liz Callaway sing Journey To The Past in the original 1997 animation of Anastasia:

Will I?

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 21:45:14 +1400

Given my love for Rent and adoration of Jonathan Larson, it was only a matter of time before I posted this. I love this song because it has a beautiful, haunting melody which stands well on its own but when combined in counterpoint with itself, it weaves a wonderful tapestry of harmony that is soul-touching.

Will I? is a four-part round, sung by the members of the Life Support group as they contemplate how being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS has affected them and wonder what will happen in the uncertain (short) time they have left to live. This version is transposed down from the original key of G flat major to E flat major.Listen to the piano instrumental:

Watch "Will I?" as performed by the Broadway Cast from the DVD "RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway", followed by "Santa Fe":

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A Whole New World

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 21:16:58 +1400

This is probably one of the most well-known and popular love duets ever written. Everybody loves the story of Aladdin and is probably guilty of caterwauling this at the top of their lungs at karaoke at least once.

A Whole New World is sung by Aladdin (in his guise as Prince Ali) and Princess Jasmine when they fall in love on a magic carpet ride all around the world.Listen to the piano instrumental:

Go on the magic carpet ride with Aladdin and Princess Jasmine in the Disney version of Aladdin:

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:45:59 +1400

Talk about going MIA. Sorry all, I have been completely horrible with keeping up to date (I figure one post every eight months is a pretty poor showing any way you look at it). But anyway, since I've posted stuff from Wicked, I thought it only fair that I post something from the original musical that inspired the book that inspired the new musical.

Everybody remembers Judy Garland singing this in The Wizard of Oz. This is one of the first songs we were taught to sing in primary school and I have fond memories of it to this day. And of course, not to mention the first ten notes of this theme are in another very, very powerful song that I will post later on...

This is the opening song to The Wizard of Oz, right when Dorothy is wishing to fly away over the rainbow to a happier place than with Aunty Em in Kanzas. This version is transposed in C major.Listen to the piano instrumental:

Watch Judy Garland in the original 1939 movie of The Wizard of Oz:

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I'm Not That Girl

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:43:00 +1400

After a three-and-a-half month hiatus due to a hectic schedule and a lack of a decent microphone, I've bought a digital piano and I'm back to posting some more piano instrumental tracks! Since one of my favorite musicals ever, Wicked, is due to open in Sydney, Australia, I decided it was do one of Stephen Schwartz's brilliant pieces.

"I'm Not That Girl" is a song of unrequited love sung by the protagonist, Elphaba (who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West). Her feelings are revealed when she casts an attack spell to save a lion cub which affects everyone but Fiyero (the most popular boy in school and the target of Galinda's - Elphaba's best friend, who will grow up to be Glinda the Good - affections). Together, Elphaba and Fiyero set the lion cub free and share an intimate, charged moment as Fiyero wonders why he was the only one not affected by Elphaba's spell. Embarrassed, he leaves and Elphaba is left to regretfully acknowledge Fiyero is the perfect boy, but Galinda - and not Elphaba - is the perfect girl.Listen to the piano instrumental:

Watch Idina Menzel, who won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her origination of the role of Elphaba in the original Broadway production:

Anthem

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:40:18 +1400

This is one of my favourite songs for the male voice. There's something incredibly bittersweet and poignant in this song that makes it so powerful and uplifting. This is sung by the Russian chess player at the end of Act I to explain his defection to the West after being crowned the World Chess Champion.Listen to the piano instrumental:

Watch David Carroll (the original Russian in the Broadway production) perform "Anthem":

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Castle on a Cloud

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:45:00 +1400

Another short, sad song. This is sung by Young Cosette as she reflects on the daily misery she has known all her life working for the money-grubbing Th�nardier family. Her father abandoned her mother, Fantine, when he found out she was pregnant. Being a very sweet and pretty girl who had absolutely no job skills whatsoever, Fantine was forced to leave baby Cosette while she tried to earn enough money to support them both. Fantine left Cosetto with the Th�nardiers after she saw how well-dressed their daughters were, unaware that they would use Cosette as an unpaid servant.Listen to the piano instrumental:

Watch the 10th anniversary performance of Les Miserables:

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Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:43:00 +1400

This is a beautifully sad song, sung by the character Christine Daa� from "The Phantom of the Opera". Christine has been persuaded by her fiance, Raoul, to sing in the Phantom's opera as bait in Raoul's plan to stop the Phantom for once and for all. As much as Christine loves Raoul, she has seen the Phantom's torment and does not want him to die, yet she is afraid of his dark intentions for her. She goes to visit her father's grave and sings this song as she wishes for his guidance.Listen to the piano instrumental track:

Watch the original Christine, Sarah Brightman:

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Emmy Rossum as Christine, in the 2004 film:

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