Composers singing?

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Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 10:38am

what composer(s) do you think have the best singing voices? i personally think adam guettel has one of the most beautiful, sincere singing voices i have ever heard. anyone else?

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 1:30pm

jason robert brown is good...he sings the last line in(or one of the last lines) on the songs for a new world soundtrack.

"You won't fight without layers of armor Suit on up and come brace my sword You look back when the pieces are missing Hollowed out hope that no time can restore."

Guettel is, without a doubt, phenomenal. I enjoy his renditions of his own pieces as much as any other performer's take on them. I also find his performance of "Unexpressed" on John Buchino's "Grateful" album inspired.

Brown is alright. He can also be heard on Lauren Kennedy's "Songs of Jason Robert Brown" album performing "I'd Give It All For You" with her, and he is adequate, but out of his league with a performer of her caliber.

The bonus track of Tick, Tick, Boom! has Jonathan Larson performing his own Boho Days, and he sounds pretty good. I don't know that he would have made it as a full-time performer, but he certainly presents his own work well.

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 3:05pm

Paul McCartney.

(oh - you meant THEATRICAL composers?)

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re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 3:09pm

I like Stephen Schwartz singing "Fathers and Sons" from Working

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 3:45pm

Guettel has a beautiful voice.

Jason Robert Brown is not THAT strong vocally but he more than makes up for it with his performances and his sincerity.

Andrew Lippa has a very good voice.

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 6:19pm

i do enjoy jason robert brown as well. i must truly say when i first heard him sing Moving Too Fast on the L5Y website i found him to be sincere and gritty.

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 6:49pm

i looooooooooove adam guettel's voice..him singing "hero and leander" is just heavenly.

i also love JRB singing "someone like you" (i think that's the title...)...it was supposed to be in TL5Y in place of shiksa goddess i think. his voice isn't quite as good tone-wise as adam's (in my opinion), but since it's his music, you know it has exactly the emotion behind it that he wants. i love hearing composers sing their own music :)

"grace, you're stuffed in a box getting rid of ass plaque. let's face it, this evening is a bust."

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/11/05 at 6:53pm

Guettel is great, and Sondheim has a very nice voice on Sondheim Sings.

#10

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 2:06am

Bernstein was a great singer before he started smoking. Bass-Baritone. I believe he even had several roles in various operas.

#11

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 2:41am

Noel Coward?

#12

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:13am

Hehe...

I'm a composer, and I have an alright singing voice.

But as far as REAL composers go I remember Andrew Lippa having a pretty impressive voice. I would love to hear Adam Guettel's voice though. Anywhere I can look for clips or something?

Akiva

#13

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 2:36pm

He sings about a third of the Myths and Hymns album. You can also hear him singing "Love to Me" from Light in the Piazza here:

NPR clips of Light in the Piazza

#14

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:04pm

Alan Menken a nice voice, not the greatest but nice to listen to. He sings Proud of Your Boy on the Aladdin cd and some extra songs on the Little Shop of Horrors revival cd.

"Have a child for warmth and a baker for bread and a prince for... whatever!"

#15

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:06pm

stephen schwartz did a presentation at my university and sang the different songs that eventually turned into "the wizard and i"...he can definitley sing, but it's funny to think someone can create music that amazing and not be able to do it justice vocally.

#16

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:07pm

It's no surprise composers can sing with at least minimal skill- how else are they going to sell their songs?

Updated On: 5/12/05 at 03:07 PM

#17

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:10pm

Katecab99, singing and composing don't go hand in hand. The ability to write music doesn't give you the ability to sing well - plus, I'm sure many composers aren't trained in singing. I mean, you wouldn't expect a singer to be able to compose songs equal in quality to the ones they sing.

#18

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:15pm

I think most composers interestingly are actually barely passable singers, with the rare exception of people like Adam Guettel. But I don't think anybody would consider Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Strouse, Richard Rodgers or Frederick Loewe to have the voices anyone would want to listen to ad nauseum.

#19

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:16pm

Adam Guettel and Andrew Lippa are both quite excellent singers.

#20

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:16pm

Bill Finn! Why you ask? Listen to the joy!

#21

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/12/05 at 3:38pm

Well, Betty Comden and Adolph Green are (were) just IT!

#22

re: Composers singing?

Posted: 5/18/05 at 3:04pm

Danny Elfman also has a beautiful singing voice. I know he's not a Broadway composer but he has written some kick ass music for many films. He sings in Nightmare Before Christmas!

"Have a child for warmth and a baker for bread and a prince for... whatever!"

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