Chess in Concert - Pity the Child

Live performance of Pity the Child from Chess in concert, Tromsø august 2014.
Espen Grjotheim and The Arctic Philharmonic with Anders Eljas conducting.

[@WoodsToLiveBy]

Great singing, but what jumped out at me on this version was the phenomenal final guitar solo! Expertly played.

[@Krabadaque]

Yes! Over the chords to the Rutles' song Shangri-la!

[@dyllpickle8890]

if you'd asked me a year ago, id've told you that i was a tenor and i could sing this song. i knew nothing about singing. when i finally learned a bit, i realized i was a bass, and had been singing everything an octave down. im now dissapointed but ive gained a new appreceation for this song and the people who have to sing it.

[@elphbwckd212]

How did you not realize you were singing an octave down??

[@dyllpickle8890]

@@elphbwckd212 Back then I had no real ability to differentiate octaves from one another. if you showed me a C1 and a C8 I could tell the difference, but I went more based on how much effort it took the singer to sing rather than actual musical context. That and I believe I wrote that comment when I was 15. I only started proper singing a few months afterwards.

[@j4k_11]

i had the same octave problem too. but i then found out how low i was actually singing so i was kinda ok (still wish i could sing this tho)

[@skylarjohnson7779]

I like how this guy does it, he sounds like he's just been kicked out of a bar because he's too drunk and now he's ranting about his mother to some poor sod at the bus stop.

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

🤣

[@garywoolton1875]

a very good description.

[@nomnomfoodthief]

Anyone who can play this role is an absolute genius. I can do the emotion, but this song is so freaking high! I envy the talent of this guy (and Adam Pascal)

[@SparklingSilverCurls]

I've been listening to this musical for decades, this guy is incredible!!! I hope the Broadway producers of the revival cast him....just a powerhouse! Plus, his ears are out, so he can't even hear himself through the sound system! Ps, he needs to play Roger in Rent!!

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

He is great, and perfect for this kind of part for sure!

[@elphbwckd212]

He had his right in-ear in the whole time.

[@caiterosemusic2712]

"I didn't miss him he made it perfectly CLEAR!...." Pity the child " is a about a child's experience of a childhood spent alienated by parents, and how his experiences shaped his views. A father who disappears and a mother who moves on from one destructive relationship to another, the abandonment of her child desperately needing attention and the love he failed to ever know. The child sees everything, and as he develops into a young man he looks back and knows that it was all a lie. He knows the sad truth of things. Nobody gave a damn. If you listen to the words that are being sung, throughout not just this piece but others within Chess, you can interpret a deep and moving story. Wow! A truly heart-breaking, beautiful and strong performance, from a sadly underrated and powerful Movie/Musical "Chess (in Concert) " from an incredibly handsome and talented vocalist-even with his accent he managed to convey the lyrics with strength of emotion-wonderful! Well done! Fantastic music from a brilliant Orchestra and excellent guitar solo. I loved this! I really wish people stopped the comparison game-comparing his performance to the performances of others. I don't think that is right-he sings this with absolute passion, and in his own right he knocks this out of the park. Superb.

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Glad you liked it! When it comes to art and music, people are going to have different opinions and that’s how it should be :-)

[@caiterosemusic2712]

@@ArcticPhilharmonic I loved it, thank you. Most definitely-Art is one of those things that is highly personal.m and subjective. It is always open to interpretation. Thank you for the Music.

[@AdeBamforth]

Some songs earn their guitar solo.

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+The Bamforth , that's a good observation :-)

[@izraelburgess937]

And some take it !

[@oisindowling7904]

My opinion I think it’s that good it doesn’t need a guitar solo

[@barryfilter2364]

Holy shit......blown away, so much passion and emotion in the performance. Congratz on being able to show all this in a 6 minute long song.

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+Barry Filter also check out this from the same concert: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6Suhn99gK9_j5o

[@jacobehlers]

You should check out Anders Ekborgs version in swedish! So pure and emotional! 😍

[@KrazyWizard]

I freaking love this guy !! Phenomenal acting/singing

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+KrazyWizard thanks for watching! So glad you liked our video!

[@AlexandraWindsor-t9l]

such a beautiful song beautifully performed!

[@melaniestara3954]

Just wow! Blown away by his voice

[@nicolesing]

Omg!! Best voice!! Absolutely expressive and amazing! I would love to hear him sing more! And on stage in usa.. omg!

[@Jolie991]

amazing guitar solo and fantastic rendition of this song by a guy whose voice is a perfect fit for the character, very rock

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Glad you enjoyed it! 🙏

[@therealwummie]

That is the best version of the song, I've heard so far. Phenomenal!!!

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+Hans Wurst, thank you for commenting!

[@gabekillian2761]

I would listen to Adam Pascal from Chess in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London

[@SoulShines4U]

You've obviously never heard Colm Wilkinson or Adam Pascal sing this song. lol

[@TimeandMonotony]

Zubin Varla's is my favorite, but this guy is amazing. He NAILS that "I was only her son!" which a lot of singers struggle with (even Zubin, I must admit.)

[@debbabe2254]

I actually really like the OBC version by Philip Casnoff. So much pain, rage & rock.

[@HarringtonTribal]

EXCELLENT guitar solo!!

[@garywoolton1875]

This and Anthem are the highlights of the show.

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Thanks for watching, Gary! For me, Bangkok is also a favourite: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6Suhn99gK9_j5o

[@markushenzel1978]

Pure emotion........Amazing song!!!

[@josefinasimonsen2969]

Good singer and good looking. Best version of this sung

[@nellacj6249]

Espen, thank you !

[@adelaidedupont9017]

And when he does ... "Closer together"'. And you start to feel for the mother ... if only "Freddie" wasn't singing too fast. "Same way as before". And "I took the road of least resistance / I had my debt to pay" and the bit about "hunger skill and no such weapons" and "always a step behind". "I couldn't tell her what I'd done / I was only her son" - that is a particularly heartbreaking phase and moment.

[@SuperJayden02]

best effort ever,and I've listened since the start,felt it

[@Disneylover2023]

he would be a fantastic Jesus!

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+christin smith I think he has done that rolle once actually, so I guess someone agreed with you :-) Thank you for watching!

[@Disneylover2023]

Oh wonderful! do you know this guys name ?

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

christin smith , he is Espen Grjotheim (norwegian).

[@GrabbaGrippa]

This guy and the orchestra are amazing. Espen captures the painful narrative and the complex dynamics of this song. His "rock" version of this song just gives this interpretation more angst. Bravo! And yes, Christin, he would be an amazing Jesus Christ (Superstar).

[@baileydevereux4980]

I’d even say Judas, that’s where the rockier tones are most needed! Love jcs tho!

[@Miatpi]

”Just in case she said... WHAAAAA!!!!!”

[@Whobilly]

LMAO

[@shinyapples67]

Hahahaha!

[@kyraandrea3986]

i was like, it can't be that bad! but it was haha

[@ctbozzzz]

Try singing the word ‘who’ on a high C in chest voice! I would have said WHAAA!!! too! 🤣

[@ladythalia227]

He might be singing "hvem" = who in Norwegian. He's a Norwegian singer, probably performing for a Norwegian audience.

[@edwinfickinger8151]

Good version. Fantastic throat.

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+edwin fickinger thanks for watching, glad you liked it!

[@kmetzz1]

He is amazing

[@anthonyhenrysmith]

best version I

[@WickedFlyGirl]

Amazing...

[@janettaylor2444]

Just Brilliant, Loved it !

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Glad you liked it! And thanks for watching!

[@adelaidedupont9017]

And then it goes all quiet with "Pity the child" again". "he could get all he wanted if he's willing to pay". And then "Pity instead the callous mother" - that is such a good contrast and so true! "Just in case he said WHO or NO".

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+Adelaide Dupont thanks for watching and commenting!

[@jenniferbloomfield3656]

No

[@michaeljavert4635]

Odd that I hate rock and roll but I like when orchestras play rock and roll music, and I love to hear rock bands play classical music.

[@jonathanfurzeland4740]

Always loved this song. Lyrics and tune is amazing. Lovely performance! Who is this guy?

[@djpittymendoza9047]

Gracias me siento feliz y orgulloso a que me canten mi tema yo el facha dj pitty Mendoza soy yo pitty El Niño

[@ilvabien]

Who is he? Such an amaizing and powefurl voice matches by a fabulous orchestra! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@screamtoasigh9984]

This reminds me of a school performance. He's over emoting. I saw it during the brief NY Run in the early 90s... This just can't compete...

[@jasonmerrin4505]

YAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@frankly-he1kf]

WOW...

[@schnitzel_linski]

I think the end in the Chemnitzer (Germany) Version is much better! (Arm ist das Kind-Chris Murray)

[@sanksankrist1285]

OMG.... amazing!!! Please listen russian version your song by Evgeniy Egorov!!!!

[@davidpersson7835]

Don't you just hate it when you call your mother and she asks "HHUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

[@elisabethsvanemsli938]

Fy flate!! Helt rått!!!! 😀

[@karlpalsson7772]

Very nice version! Only fault it the last word. Not the note because it was awesome but lyric wise you have to able understand the word WHO. Otherwise that powerful sentence doesn't reach it's climax.

[@JayJasperLondon]

Karl Pálsson Yeah it sounds like he's singing NO instead of WHO doesn't it 🤔

[@FABIANROBLESTenor]

Totally agree

[@ctbozzzz]

That’s a tough vowel to sing on a high C! I would have said WHAAA!! too! Lol

[@ladythalia227]

It's possibly "hvem" = who in Norwegian. Makes sense since he is Norwegian

[@carlocruz3192]

Other singers don't even say No, they say wahhhhaaaaahookwooooo like Adam Pascal hahah

[@derweasel]

H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T My stomach is in my throat.

[@FABIANROBLESTenor]

Awesome version but Colm Wilkinson’s is the best I’ve heard so far, unrivalled!

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+Fabian Robles , glad you liked our version as well!

[@FABIANROBLESTenor]

Arctic Philharmonic Congrats, the whole production is just epic! Bravo!

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+Fabian Robles thank you, we had a great time doing this, a pity we can’t share the whole thing with you, but we have a little gem here: itunes.apple.com/no/album/hes-a-man-hes-a-child-chess-in-concert-live-single/1051657644?l=nb

[@SoulShines4U]

Colm Wilkinson owns this song for sure. ❤️

[@Leadoff10]

Is the anything Colm couldn’t do better than everyone else when he was in his prime?

[@kayla.h2530]

This is amazing! Is there any way to buy the DVD?

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Kayla.H sorry, not as far as we know.

[@kayla.h2530]

@@ArcticPhilharmonic What a pity, but thank you for sharing these clips! This production looks amazing, hopefully one day we'll be able to see the rest of it :)

[@kathrynjaneway5346]

Where can we buy or stream the entire show??

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Sorry, we are not permitted by the copyright holders to make the whole show available.

[@21kaloma]

nothing like the original guitar solo ..

[@joeypacheco]

hurray!

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+Joey Pacheco Thanks for watching! Here are more clips from this production of Chess: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpu4lnyIrK-Am5o

[@scottiefarrow]

Can anyone tell me what key this is in? Is it just down a semitone?

[@iwonttell4958]

I don't like singers who can't hold a tone and use vibrato to conceal it. Still though, lovely voice! Great guitars at the end, love a propper "tapping". :-)

[@BennieDuck]

Anyone know where I can get an instrumental to the song in this key?

[@annebeatetrety8343]

Wow! Rett og slett!

[@maraveni3rd]

Good performance. He should have sang it in the original key though.

[@SHATTERGATESTUDIOS]

the original key goes up to a C#, this would be to risky without a click track, which could be seen by some people as cheating.

[@nicholaskristiansson8118]

ive done this once... can you please help me figure out what kinda notes i hit?

[@HarringtonTribal]

I was looking through the comments to see if anyone else noticed it. Admiral effort by the guy - but I don't think the 1/2 step would have killed him.

[@giannis_tar]

There should be absolutely no pressure for singers to sing songs in their original key. It's like forcing someone to wear shoes that don't fit them. Also, he could have proabably sung it in the original key, which is a semitone higher, but he would have had to use a a lighter coordination that doesn't fit the powerful overdrive style that he was going for. And that's totally fine, because I personally loved his rendition.

[@tggold]

Giannis VclScore I disagree when it comes to musicals....there’s usually a musical form to the whole work, the key isn’t arbitrary. Out of the context of the work though, sure, change what you need.

[@jaimhaas5170]

Dad was right though!

[@HealthyPollutionDk]

That shirt should be illegal

[@paulpallister4384]

Is the full concert available?

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

We have the recordings, but we don’t have the publishing rights for the whole show, sorry..

[@paulpallister4384]

@@ArcticPhilharmonic Thanks for letting me know. It's a shame, as the performances which are available are stunning. Perhaps the copyright holders will have a change of heart at some point.

[@paolobene889]

Who is the singer ?

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Norwegian Espen Grjotheim

[@SethSundman]

What key is this in? Bb?

[@xxkewldudexx]

SethSweGamer A, actually.

[@nanb7149]

He sounds fantastic except he breaths way too much. It's got to be hard, the band is also amazing.

[@SoulShines4U]

Not bad, not bad. I don't mind the guitar solo at the end however that last note/word that guy sang was a complete mess. Obviously English is not his first language but the word should be "Who" and it sounded like this guy screamed out "Nooo" or "Whaaa". It made me laugh pretty hard. 😆

[@ladythalia227]

LYacky1 I have a suspicion he's singing "hvem" - the Norwegian translation of "who". Espen is a Norwegian singer and the audience might be Norwegian as well.

[@giannis_tar]

the U vowel in "who" cannot be belted, so he probably just changed the word to "no" to make it sound more interesting.

[@joshuabattisti8887]

Ya know if you wanna scream it you can I mean your choice id be more impressed if it was more clean

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

+joshua battisti OK, that is a matter of taste. Thanks for watching!

[@sirrykr1679]

I like the original better.

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Fair enough.

[@WolfhandsYouTube]

Guy is over singing 😢

[@zenak1973]

Great vocals, but NO, Murray Head!!

[@maxxmuffin4708]

He lowered the pitch 😡😡😡

[@caiterosemusic2712]

So what?

[@giannis_tar]

oh no, the horror

[@MarkDangerMetivier]

meh

[@Urfinchannel]

Not the best one, Love ? They changed the last word , , Who ,,is impossible to sing for him ,he has not the range

[@ArcticPhilharmonic]

Thanks for watching and giving your opinion 👍

[@ClaireAndConnor]

Whaaa? Rock song? Not liking it. Note getting it. Shows a lack of understanding of character.

[@screamtoasigh9984]

Its over acted.