Self-accompanying
What is this?
Sparked by a lifetime of playing piano for myself in at home and in practice, and occasionally accompanying others, I have begun a long-term project of performing and commissioning works for voice/piano - one performer. As part of this project, I conducted my doctoral research on one of the most substantial contemporary works for the medium - Roger Reynolds' Sketchbook for the Unbearable Lightness of Being.
How does this differ from works for Vocalizing Pianist?
In some regards, works for self-accompanying singer and vocalizing pianist are the same thing. Though all music-making requires multitasking, playing piano and vocalizing simultaneously place significant cognitive and physical demands on the performer. Where I make a distinction is in the level of technical skill required to perform the pianistic and the vocal tasks. Works in the vocalizing pianist realm generally assume a high technical proficiency at the keyboard, and require no notably special demands on the voice-line (other than perhaps rhythmic precision). Works for self-accompanying singer, in contrast, require all the skills of a learned vocalist - pitch precision, timbre control, sound projection (possibly), and breath control, while employing a slightly-less-virtuosic demand on the performer's keyboard skills.
Wait, aren't there a lot of people who do that?
Yes! There have always been performers who sing and play piano for themselves. It remains a commonly accepted form of music making in many musical playing-fields. Nina Simone, Diamanda Galas, Tom Waits, Alicia Keys, Tori Amos, Billy Joel - the list of such performers is endless. At one time, it was also common for "classical" singers to do this, too. Performer/scholar Robin Bier's dissertation on the history of virtuosic self-accompanying is an unbelievably thorough document - if you're interested, check it out here: The Ideal Orpheus.
How can I participate?
Do you play piano and sing for yourself? I'd love to know what you're performing, and if you've commissioned new works and don't mind having them listed here, PLEASE send me a message with title/composer/details as desired - epearse at gmail : )
Have you written pieces for self-accompanying, or that you think might work for this type of performance? Send me details at the above email address!
Are you interested in writing a self-accompanied work? Let me know!
Sparked by a lifetime of playing piano for myself in at home and in practice, and occasionally accompanying others, I have begun a long-term project of performing and commissioning works for voice/piano - one performer. As part of this project, I conducted my doctoral research on one of the most substantial contemporary works for the medium - Roger Reynolds' Sketchbook for the Unbearable Lightness of Being.
How does this differ from works for Vocalizing Pianist?
In some regards, works for self-accompanying singer and vocalizing pianist are the same thing. Though all music-making requires multitasking, playing piano and vocalizing simultaneously place significant cognitive and physical demands on the performer. Where I make a distinction is in the level of technical skill required to perform the pianistic and the vocal tasks. Works in the vocalizing pianist realm generally assume a high technical proficiency at the keyboard, and require no notably special demands on the voice-line (other than perhaps rhythmic precision). Works for self-accompanying singer, in contrast, require all the skills of a learned vocalist - pitch precision, timbre control, sound projection (possibly), and breath control, while employing a slightly-less-virtuosic demand on the performer's keyboard skills.
Wait, aren't there a lot of people who do that?
Yes! There have always been performers who sing and play piano for themselves. It remains a commonly accepted form of music making in many musical playing-fields. Nina Simone, Diamanda Galas, Tom Waits, Alicia Keys, Tori Amos, Billy Joel - the list of such performers is endless. At one time, it was also common for "classical" singers to do this, too. Performer/scholar Robin Bier's dissertation on the history of virtuosic self-accompanying is an unbelievably thorough document - if you're interested, check it out here: The Ideal Orpheus.
How can I participate?
Do you play piano and sing for yourself? I'd love to know what you're performing, and if you've commissioned new works and don't mind having them listed here, PLEASE send me a message with title/composer/details as desired - epearse at gmail : )
Have you written pieces for self-accompanying, or that you think might work for this type of performance? Send me details at the above email address!
Are you interested in writing a self-accompanied work? Let me know!
Recordings
I have grouped most of my self-accompanied recordings onto "Liz's Salon", linked above. During the Great Quarantine of 2020, I had a lot of free time at home, so some recordings with my home digital piano also appear there!
Contemporary repertoire (*denotes personal commission)
DeBoer Bartlett, A.
The Beautiful Question*
Belcher, J.
Eckart Cycle*
Unit of Measure*
Bornfield, J.
Yes
Burns, C.
Number opera*
Donofrio, A.
Canto III*
And so the penguin...*
Gifford, F.
The pros and cons of live food*
Jolas, B.
Mon ami
Pukinskis, K.
The Sea Cow*
Reinkemeyer, A.
The Diver*
Reynolds, R.
Sketchbook for the Unbearable Lightness of Being (dissertation topic)
Soper, K.
Voices from the Killing Jar - VI. Asta Sollilja
White, LJ.
Labor Day
Space
The Beautiful Question*
Belcher, J.
Eckart Cycle*
Unit of Measure*
Bornfield, J.
Yes
Burns, C.
Number opera*
Donofrio, A.
Canto III*
And so the penguin...*
Gifford, F.
The pros and cons of live food*
Jolas, B.
Mon ami
Pukinskis, K.
The Sea Cow*
Reinkemeyer, A.
The Diver*
Reynolds, R.
Sketchbook for the Unbearable Lightness of Being (dissertation topic)
Soper, K.
Voices from the Killing Jar - VI. Asta Sollilja
White, LJ.
Labor Day
Space
Older songs
Britten
"Nocturne" from On this Island
Eisler
An den kleinen Radioapparat
King, B.
Theology
Poulenc
Le bestiaire
Price
Night
Rachmaninov
The Lilacs
Schubert
Seligkeit
Lachen und Weinen
Der Doppelgänger
Ständchen
Schumann
Mondnacht
Die Lotosblume
Du bist wie eine Blume
Smyth
After Sunset
Still
Breath of a Rose
Strauss, R.
Die Nacht
Weill
Youkali
Complainte de la Seine
Nanna's Lied
Je ne t'aime pas
Wolf
Verschwiegene Liebe