Strauss - Four Last Songs
with Lucy Cox
This is a repeat of an advanced course held live with Lucy to learn the
FOUR LAST SONGS
by Richard Strauss
Often described as the “pinnacle in singing” these exquisite four songs carry a special place in the heart of many. They are the final completed works of Richard Strauss composed in 1948 when the composer was 84.
The songs are "Frühling" (Spring), "September", "Beim Schlafengehen" (When Falling Asleep) and "Im Abendrot" (At Sunset). The title Four Last Songs was provided posthumously by Strauss's friend Ernst Roth, who published the four songs as a single unit in 1950 after Strauss's death.
Voice Range
These songs were written for the Soprano voice yet can also be comfortably sung by Tenors. The range is as follows:
Frühling: highest note is a sustained top B natural, lowest is Middle C
September: highest note is a G natural, lowest is D above Middle C
Beim Schlafengehen: highest note is a top B flat, but only for a quaver (or eighth note), lowest is D flat, a semitone above Middle C
Im Abendrot: highest note is a G natural, lowest is D flat, a semitone above Middle C
Join us for
Four Last Songs
The course will be taken by Lucy Cox, who sings regularly with Chamber Choirs such as Sansara and Fieri Consort. She is accompanied by Tom Jesty on the piano. Lucy’s website is www.lucycoxsoprano.com
About Lucy
Lucy Cox read Music at the University of Oxford, where she was a Choral Scholar at St Peter's College. She later won a scholarship for postgraduate studies at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland, where she studied with Anthony Rooley and Evelyn Tubb. She currently studies in London with Gary Coward.
Early in 2020, Lucy sang the role of Felicitas in Cantata Dramatica's production of Nick Bicât's 'Perpetua', sang live on BBC Radio 3 with theorbo player David Miller, and performed as a soloist at LSO St Luke's, London, with the Monteverdi String Band. She also appeared with the Villiers String Quartet at St George's Bristol, and performed Vivaldi's motet for solo soprano and orchestra Nulla in mundo pax sincera with Ensemble Fasarinen.
Since the pandemic Lucy has taken part in several online projects with ensembles including Fieri Consort, Marian Consort and Sansara, including video performances, making guide tracks as learning aids for the singers of Choir of the Earth, and recording solos for Choir of the Earth’s performances of Mendelssohn's Elijah, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Mahler's 8th Symphony and Mozart's Requiem.
Lucy has performed all over the world with choirs and vocal ensembles, including tours to Singapore and Australia with the Sixteen, Switzerland with London Voices, Spain with the Marian Consort, and Israel, Spain, France and Germany with the Gabrieli Consort.
How it Will Work
Lucy will teach the songs in a mixture of LIVE sessions and pre-recorded Masterclasses. At the end of the course, you will be invited to record your own voice and submit this to us and we shall send you a version of you singing with accompanist Tom Jesty.
This will be edited by Conor, our Lead Sound Engineer for you to keep.
We shall provide you with 3 learning tracks for each song:
Lucy and Tom on the piano
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Lucy only
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Tom only, so that you can BE Lucy and sing as if you were in concert
Timings
You may start with the recorded video Masterclasses for each song when these are released on Monday 27th June 2022 with the Universal Link
We shall then come together as one online choir at 17:00 UK time on Monday 5th September 2022 when Lucy will go LIVE to teach the music and answer any questions you may have.
There is another 17:00 LIVE session on Monday 12th September with a final session on Monday 19th September 2022
After this, you may record your own voice if you wish.
We shall then send you your own recording along with our accompanist, Tom Jesty.
Course Fee
The Course fee is £50. This covers:
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Lucy’s Masterclasses
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Tom’s piano playing
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Mixing of all voices in the studio
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Individual editing of your own voice to Tom’s piano
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Score
If you need the scores, here is a recommended place to purchase them for £19.50:
https://www.prestomusic.com/sheet-music/products/7189182--strauss-r-four-last-songs-o-op-av-150
You may wish to purchase this from you local score provider. Unfortunately there is no online score available - a position we hope to change in the future!
