#216 The Smell of Larkiness

The piano is like raindrops, drumming on the rooftops–but somehow lonely: a raindrop here, another one there. The song is sophisticated, enamored, and hopeless.

Royal balances the two: love and despair. It's a wish that cannot be fulfilled; she knows it, and yet she can be larky about it.

Composer: Hugo Wolf
Work: O wär dein Haus
Recording: Kate Royal, Malcolm Martineau

#40 The Smell of Homesick

What else to listen to, in a hotel room in an unknown city, unknown (i.e. east) coast? The song shoves you into its thrill, the verses are building upon each other, and each is so different. It takes you so high and then, there are just tears and memories...

The symbioses of voice and piano is perfect. They're waiting for each other, communicating. It's like one person singing and playing in the same time.

Composer: Leoš Janáček
Work: Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs, Muzikanti
Recording: Magdalena Kožená, Malcolm Martineau