Audition Recordings – September 3, 2010 – Laurie Rogers accompanying:
Silver Aria – Moore – The Ballad of Baby Doe
Durch Zaertlichkeit – Mozart – Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail
Grossmaechtige Prinzessin… – R. Strauss – Ariadne auf Naxos
Well, it’s about time. I finally made the time to record some new audition tracks. Seeing as they’re brand new and I don’t have much perspective on them yet, I’ll merely invite you to enjoy and say that, as ever, the superlative Laurie Rogers is an ideal partner at the piano.
Peabody Opera – March 2008 – Peabody Symphony Orchestra, Teri Murai conducting:
Jessica Lennick – O Zittre Nicht
O Zittre Nicht – Die Zauberflöte – Mozart
Possibly the all-around best recording I’ve ever put down–the coloratura is clean, the orchestra sounds lovely, and the acoustic is forgiving but true. This take was live on closing night. I’d done a disappointing job that Thursday and was absolutely furious about it. Sometimes anger is the best motivator! I’ve moved away from purely coloratura/heavier coloratura rep, but this is a nice reminder of what my voice is capable of.
Godly Noises – Christopher Shiley, trumpet; Michele Scanlon, piano:
Jessica Lennick – Let the Bright Seraphim
Let the Bright Seraphim – Samson – Handel – February 2009
Jessica Lennick – Jauchzet Gott
Jauchzet Gott – BWV 51 – Bach – January 2010
Jessica Lennick – Hochster
Höchster – BWV 51 – Bach – January 2010
I’m particularly proud of these tracks. The last two are from performances of a concert tour I organized and produced, while the first track was recorded at the amazing Christopher Shiley’s Peabody degree recital. I recorded the same rep three times over the course of the year and listened to each recording multiple times after they were made. That listening led to a technical breakthrough which you’ll hear in newer tracks when they become available. I think many musicians forget that their ears are their greatest teacher–they sure are mine! These are also some of my favorite recordings for the simple fact that I am completely in love with Bach.
Exploritas Recital – September 2009 – Ta-Wei Tsai, piano:
Jessica Lennick – Batti, batti
Ma se colpa io non ho… Batti, batti – Don Giovanni – Mozart
Jessica Lennick – Ach, ich fuhl’s
Ach, ich fühl’s – Die Zauberflöte – Mozart
These two tracks are from a last-minute recital I pulled together with the help of the wonderful Mr. Tsai. Originally a duet recital, the baritone backed out at the last minute and we had to completely re-organize the program. Hence “Ach, ich fühl’s”, which is completely inappropriate rep under normal circumstances. These are both live takes from the concert–which we’d already run full-out earlier that day! Interestingly, I used to sing “Ach” all the time–back when I thought this instrument was lyric–but had put it away for a long time. You can hear it in the completely over-indulgent appoggiaturas where I actually change the note value entirely! Still, these tracks are a great representation of what I sound like.
Exploritas Recital – July 2009 – Richard Strauss – Excerpts from Opus 48 – Ta-Wei Tsai, piano:
Jessica Lennick – Freundliche Vision
Again I have the privilege of the superlative Ta-Wei tickling the ivories in these recordings. I wanted to do an all-Strauss Lied recital, so I teamed up with my friends, the amazing soprano Abigail Seaman and the aforementioned Ta-Wei Tsai. The concert happened during the summer, when I had no coaching available, and part of the purpose of the recital was to do more German rep, because it is the language I sing in with which I am least familiar. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you can tell. However, these tracks are an excellent document of a young instrument coming into a warmer lower register (Winterweihe) and of an ever-prettier sound (Freundliche). They’re also an excellent example of transparent, flexible, beautiful collaborative Strauss work on the part of Mr. Tsai.
Excerpts from life at Peabody – Phyllis Bryn-Julson, piano:
Jessica Lennick – Durch Zartlichkeit
Durch Zärtlichkeit – Die Entführung aus dem Serail – Mozart – September 2008
Jessica Lennick – Quel guardo… so anch’io
Quel guardo il cavaliere… So anch’io… – Don Pasquale – Donizetti – September 2008
Jessica Lennick – Willow Song
Willow Song – The Ballad of Baby Doe – Moore – February 2009
These are all old audition tracks. I’ve changed a lot of this technique, but I’d love for this page to serve as an archive of how my voice changes. The inimitable PBJ is at the piano for each of these tracks. She is an amazing teacher, musician, and all-around human being. It’s worth it to keep these tracks up just for her!
A blast from the past!
Senior Recital – June 2007 – Handel – Richard Gangwisch, piano:
Jessica Lennick – Ch’io mai vi possa
I love including these tracks, because I always find the evolution of voices to be fascinating! I’ll be putting up more tracks from even earlier in my undergraduate work to put alongside more recent recordings so you can see just how far I’ve come! For now, you’ll have to be content with this snapshot of my voice as it was over three years ago.
Die Entführung aus dem Serail – Mozart – Chesapeake Chamber Opera – June 2010 –
A few minutes into this video is a clip of me singing “Durch Zärtlichkeit” from the Chesapeake Chamber Opera production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail. I cannot say enough good about this company. They truly stand by their mission statement of providing an amazing environment for young artists to premiere roles and to bring amazing voices to the public. Check out the incredible cast they assembled! In this video are Jennifer Moore as Konstanze, Jeffrey Tarr as Osmin, Joseph Haughton as Belmonte, Jacob Feldman as Pedrillo, and Douglas Peters as the Pasha. Each of them is an amazing colleague, and each singer better than the last!
The quartet from Die Entführung aus dem Serail. There is a reason why Mozart is, and always will remain, my favorite. In my opinion, there is no ensemble like a Mozart ensemble.