The Raven - Joanna

[Boris]

one of my favorite things about MacIdol is the hunormous and seemingly endless well of diverse music and sounds and such available. artists willing to tackle music of unfamiliar genres or obscure nature with sheer, unbridled confidence... and for the love of doing it!

Boston native, Edgar Allen Poe, would likely be wearing a smilish sneer at hearing our beloved Joanna's newest offering, The Raven. i know i did when i listened.

admittedly, i've heard this piece many, many times, but this is the first time hearing it presented by a woman. my favorite is still Orson Welles' version, but this piece captured the nature of the piece extremely well. maintaining the mood and elegance of the structure, and lifting and drawing in breathed timing to keep the suspense in gear.

musically, this piece didn't need it. your voice, joanna, would have been perfectly sufficient in delivering such a piece. but the well-held sounds and atmosphere hang just enough in the distance as to be a wonderful backdrop which never once challenges or distracts from the reading.

i'm no critic, but this is one of those pieces that, for me, was totally refreshing to come across unexpectedly. it makes me chuckle that when a celebrated recording artist does a piece like this, the media hypes it for weeks and they need to take out adverts to sell it, charging top dollar for folks to enjoy it. at MacIdol, it's all about presenting friends with delectable ear candy, free for everyone to consume and revel in.

thank you, Joanna. this one goes right into the Halloween playlist! great to hear your voice again!! i hope we get to hear more sooner than later!

[Fosco]

One word: Bravo!
One suggestion: Lower the music a tad...

The Raven

[slumbering]

The Raven! I mean, The Raven!

Joanna sez: "I don't actually know how to play the keyboard, but I decided to fake it. "

You did a good job of it, then, sounds like you know how to get harmony on the keyboard and make the music fit the words. You have a great reading voice, too. Glad you decided to post this up.

(This is so strange for me, in my little world. I have been reading Edgar Allan Poe the past few days, because of music that's been in my head, and I am really in that place. Neat to find this here today.)

[Fosco]

Weird to me too I've been listen to Alan Parson's "Tales of Mystery and Imagination." A LOT LATELY! Thus quote the Raven - Nevermore

[Joanna]

Wow, thank you, Boris! You know, I don't think I've had a thread started by someone else about one of my pieces since I first arrived at Macjams. It gave me the same kind of thrill I felt way back then. And as I said in my write-up, I debated posting it here primarily because I wasn't sure how well a spoken word piece would be received. In the end, I decided that 'reception' didn't matter. This is MacIdol, my musical home, and if even one person listened and enjoyed it, that would be enough.

Boris: I know this poem has been recorded a lot, but oddly, I've never heard any of those recordings. In a way, it's probably good, because I had an uncluttered palate from which to draw my interpretation. What ended up happening was that I got so deeply into the poem while reading it that I messed up a few of the lines. I was going to go back and fix them, but decided to leave it as is. It's a case of performance winning over technical precision, as any dropped in, re-read lines wouldn't match the performance of the moment. The result is flawed, but genuine; it's a form of living in the poem, in the instant, and experiencing the narrator's slow descent into madness and pain.

In short, dang, but I had fun.

Fosco: I tried several mixes with different volumes, and although the music probably could drop a little lower, I couldn't seem to find that sweet spot between where it is now and it virtually disappearing. On my speakers, the sound is quite low and well in the background. Through the headphones, the music is a bit loud. Eventually, I used the current settings as my compromise.

Slumbering: My piano education is minimal to non-existant, so I tend to find a key, and then play with chords, hoping it all works out. I noodled around to a prior reading of the poem and found the melody that I eventually used about halfway through. Deciding that it fit the poem better than the other idea I'd had, I replayed the theme, matching the reading. It was all improvised, playing off of two basic chords with an intertwining of violin and cello voices, recorded separately. Then, deciding that I didn't like that first reading, I reread the poem, only this time, I was following the music with the read as opposed to vice versa. A strange turnabout, but an interesting exercise.

Again, I thank you all for your kind words. I've been away for quite awhile, working like crazy. I'm hoping to have a little time now to play with GarageBand again. I missed it so.

-- Joanna

[Fosco]

I tend to trust my Bose headphones over the 400 watt Logiteh souround sound... It's loud, but it's not as clear... The Bose headphones sounded like the music was kinda loud to the point where it interfered with the message...

That's a tough one to call, Your keyboarding sounds great... Hmmm, You figure it out

[davajonah]

It's impressive alright! Your voice and diction do this excellent poem proud. The backing music is just right imo - gives the whole thing a great atmosphere. Well done is what I say.

[Now - how about doing The Ancient Mariner next? Or my favourite poem - Macavity The Mystery Cat? I just love reading that one to my class.]

[madduane]

Dave! I think I would like to hear your reading of your favorite poem to read out loud. Consider it a request.

[davajonah]

Dave! I think I would like to hear your reading of your favorite poem to read out loud. Consider it a request.

What! In a Scouse accent? It would sound like this:

Macaviteees a mistry cat, 'ees called de 'idden paw -
For 'ees de masta crim'nil, 'oo can defy de law.
Ee's de baffilmint of Scotland Yaaard, de Flyin' Squad's dispair,
For when dey reach de scene o' crime - Macaviteees not der!

My class all have accents like mine - so they don't notice that it's not perhaps delivered quite as T.S.Eliot envisaged.

Think I'll leave the voice overs to Joanna, Matt, thanks!

[madduane]

Beg to differ, but I think that would sound (you should pardon the expression) bloody awesome.

But it is your choice, and I will say no more...

[davajonah]

Maybe I will do it then and see what it sounds like! I could get some of the kids involved too - it is a kid's poem really!

I'm not promising though - Joanna's version of The Raven would be a hard act to follow.

[Flag4]

Bravo Joanna,
I enjoyed the experience, like watching a classic old movie . . .






<A HREF= "http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/bands/2459/music.php"> Frankie A.</A>

[Joanna]

Dava, you should absolutely record the story! It would be wonderful to hear. I may record some others myself at some point. I've read dozens and dozens of novels onto tape (at one point, I started my own business of recording audio books for authors who weren't published. The business thrived but I was driven almost out of my mind by some of the bad writing). A part of me misses my old voice actress days, so this is a fun way to get a little drama out of my system.

Flag, thank you! And what a kind thing to say!

-- Joanna

[cStu]

I could get some of the kids involved too - it is a kid's poem really!

I'm <snip> promising though - Joanna's version of The Raven would be a hard act to follow.

Think of it as a different stage, Dave

I'll have to get this from the internet caff, Joanna, but I'm looking forward to hearing it

[Boris]

i vote for Dava doing The Tell Tale Heart.

now that would be something!