Jon alerted me to this performance by a man singing a duet with himself as a young boy soprano. The idea itself is moving, and the arrangement lovely, but both are eclipsed by the boy's incredibly beautiful treble voice.
Why do I post it, other than to share the pleasure? Because the song had barely begun when I knew that I knew that voice! Anyone who grew up in the 80's, or who had children at that time, has a good chance of recognizing it also.
Anyone accept my challenge? I have a couple more hints I can give, but I doubt you'll need them.
Warning: don't read the comments until after you've made your guess.
Comments
Well, I think you'll have to give a hint or two. Considering that I did grow up in the 80's and in your house, I obviously heard what you're referring to. The thing is, we had lots of recordings of boy choirs. I don't recognize his voice as one particular out of many, though the sound of a boy soprano is not unfamiliar.
Posted by
joyful
on Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I'll wait a bit on the hint till your sister has a crack at it -- she's the one I think most likely to know, if her auditory memory is anything like her visual. Uncle D, maybe, too.
Posted by
sursumcorda
on Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Hm, my reaction is very much like Heather's. I don't know. Let's have a hint.
Posted by
irishoboe
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 5:47 am
This is from S not D. I haven't the vaguest clue. Is he Irish? It seems like there is a bit of an accent, but maybe not. Go ahead and give the clue and I will try to make sure D doesn't look at the comments until after he has watched the video.
Posted by
dstb
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 7:36 am
Okay, He's Welsh, not Irish. Close. I guess I am the one giving clues. I have never heard of him. S
Posted by
dstb
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 7:42 am
Okay, some hints. S is right -- he's Welsh, but that probably won't help you. Although the song for which, as a child, he is most well known is from a film soundtrack, I've heard it recently on our local classical music station. That's probably why it struck me so immediately. That and the fact that I really, really like the song I'm talking about. :)
Posted by
sursumcorda
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 8:21 am
Well, from your hint, my guess was going to be The Snowman (I always thought that was a woman) and now that I read my email, I see that Janet has also guessed that.
Posted by
joyful
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 1:44 pm
I'm very certain I'm right now that Mom has given her hints. I think why I didn't hear it at first is because I was on Stephan's computer and he had the volume off, so by the time I figured out how to turn it on the song was in a full part. The beginning is very characteristic, though I'm not sure I would have guessed it if Mom hadn't said "I know that voice." BTW, I put the spoiler for what I think it is in my Re: Summer so soon? I hope it didn't mess anyone up.
Posted by
IrishOboe
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Congratulations, Heather and Janet! I, too, had originally thought it was a woman's voice singing "Walking Through the Air," but more careful listening coupled with having become more familiar with treble voices makes it more obvious now. I don't know why I like the song so much; it's certainly not for the profound lyrics. Something about the chord progressions, maybe....
Posted by
sursumcorda
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Yet as I do my research I find that the boy who sang on the film and the boy who sang on the release recording are different. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_in_the_Air So the questions is, which one do we know? The characteristic that stands out to me is how he approaches notes from underneath.
Posted by
IrishOboe
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Okay, once I listened to the mp3 sample from L I knew what song it was. I have heard it recently too, but on a CD my mom got me called Celtic Woman. They have been on PBS recently. I do like that song. D had no idea who the boy/man was and neither of us is familiar with the movie you are talking about. S
Posted by
dstb
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 6:49 pm
You should check out the film sometime. It's really cute. It's based on a book of the same name.
Posted by
sursumcorda
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I wondered about that, myself. I don't know if we saw the original (with Peter Auty) or the re-released version (with Aled Jones). I suspect it was Jones we heard on WMFE. I finally found an mp3 sample of the song -- but I don't know which of the singers it is.
Posted by
sursumcorda
on Sunday, May 05, 2019 at 11:27 pm
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