Tributes

It struck me the other day that some of the artists that I most treasure, died prematurely. Before my time of course (I was four when he died), I have wondered open-mouthed at the indescribable beauty of the singing of Fritz Wunderlich and have always been sad both at his early death and at my inability to hear him live. The fairly recent documentary Fritz Wunderlich, Life and Legend, apart from some cheesy reenactments, captures his story interestingly. It also contains some wonderful live footage, which captures his very special art. Very worth seeing.

I talked about the wonderful Lorraine Hunt Lieberson a few days ago. I listened to the Neruda Songs recently. I don't have words to adequately describe the effect they had on me. I think I'll need time to divorce my objective reaction to the music from the sense of loss at losing her so early.

Terry Teachout, who helped introduce me to Nancy LaMott, writes movingly about her Live at Tavern on the Green album. I missed that last run, but saw her live enough times (once at Tavern on the Green) to appreciate his reactions. She was a dynamic stage performer, part commedienne, part tragedienne, all moving. Her voice throbbed with emotion and she brought just about every song that I heard her sing to life in a way that I despair of hearing again. She was a complete performer and one who seemed to let us into the depth of her soul, even if it was just an hour.