Vivaldi Metal Project - Vita (symphonic power metal) - Live

Symphonic power metal with orchestra and choir live performance.
Music: Antonio Vivaldi & Koev
Arrangement: Koev
Lyrics: Douglas Docker
My favorite live version of the song featuring my favorite female vocalist‪@TsenaKoev‬

[@AmberJays]

For a public project this is really good. Yes it could be tighter and cleaner but if it's a public project then there may not have been many rehearsals (if any) so if this was a first run then it's a really good one. Agree with the other persons comment about the audio mix at the start, but to be honest until the sound tech physically has that feed into the mic it's impossible to pre-empt the resonance of a singer without tech rehearsal; there's a huge difference between the sounds produced between a mezzo-soprano and a coloratura soprano, for instance. The male vocal does drown out at parts on the mix, but for same reasons if there's not been many tech rehearsals then it is understandable. The male lead has quite a heavy baritone timbre which sounds great when he's in it, and while I appreciate what he's doing if I'm to be honest, the score is outside of his true modal range. He uses a lot of glissando to push up and reach some of these notes, and unless you can arrive at onset I don't think many would consider it as part of your range. But what he's doing is not naturally comfortable, and I appreciate he's really working for it; but unfortunately in this instance I think it's another case of that part of the score is designed for a tenor, one of those 'if-you-know-you-know' which I'm sure every baritone will understand lol. But if the person happens to ever read this, then please understand it in no way diminishes you, because like I said, when you're in your natural place it sounds great. 0:24 I haven't seen the score itself so I'm only going by what I hear and what I think is trying to be achieved, so I may be entirely wrong. I can't quite figure out whether the vocal in this bar is in style of tenuto (which is what I'm currently hearing) or if it was intended to be staccato (which is what I think would suit it better). If it was intended to be staccato then really tighten it so that the offset is just as impactful as the onset. I also wasn't seeing much movement of the thoracic skeletomuscle in the singers so that's where I'm a little confused. The composition is quite dramatic, and when I think of drama I don't think of tenuto but I do think of staccato style. It could also be just lack of rehearsal given it's a public project, too, so I don't say anything to be harsh or mean-spirited. But yes when it comes to staccato, if a singer has too much breath they're going in to come in sharp, and if they have too little they're going to come in flat; where it concerns vocals at least, staccato really punishes you if not executed properly lol. At 1:19 however, this was really good and much better, more in line with what I expected to hear the first time round. :) One of the most difficult things with choirs is finding unison among the singers' vibrato. For the most part they blend well, though at 2:08 for instance if you listen carefully you can hear that the vibrato between singers is not in unison, so just something to watch out for as generally when you're in a choir and there's use of vibrato you want to make sure you're blending in nicely with the others. That is something which takes rehearsal time though and practice in-person. 2:26 She has a beautiful tone, though I would personally remove that vocal rest/breath at 2:26 and maintain that entire transition from the modal through the passaggio into the head voice all on a single breath. And of course, no band is complete without its musicians. Very nice job. :)

[@KoevMusic]

Thank you for the in-depth analysis, Amber! This was the very first live performance of the project (September 2018). The musicians involved are from many different countries - Italy, Bulgaria, USA, Greece and Germany - and they had only 3 days to rehearse together prior to the show. So having this into consideration, they did a fantastic job! As the persong who wrote the song, I have the choir score right in front of me and I can clearly see that you were right to expect staccato on that part of the chorus. :) Oh, and btw the male signer is indeed a baritone, but he is also the vocalist who recorded the song for the album and he wrote most of the vocal line himself. It sounds fantastic in the album version. (It's on my channel, you should check it out!) If memory serves me he was having problem with his voice at the time but he still did a fantastic job all things considered.

[@AmberJays]

@@KoevMusic - I thought as much when you mentioned it was a public project, usually not much time spent in-person to go over it all. But for that few rehearsals between the singers and the musicians this was a really solid effort and everyone should be proud of it. The composition is great also, so kudos to you. I was thinking that was the case given the evident dramatic theme lol. Staccato on the vocal is easy to learn but difficult to master, takes years of practice to perfect the technique behind it. So while it might not sound impressive to the average listener [not-so-subtle dig at those leaving negative comments], there are others out there who can and will appreciate the skill required for it, especially as that is a staccato through descending notes where the singers don't have the advantage of merely locking in on their cords and solely focusing on the breath control. I get that, if a lot of people have travelled from different parts of the world to come together you don't really want to be the one who puts an end to it because you're not 100%, understandable. Yeah absolutely, credit to him for going up there because it knocks the stuffing out of you when pulling up that high, but a baritone is going to be much more limited in what they can do up there in contrast to a tenor, and some of those notes are definitely well and truly in tenor territory lol.

[@KoevMusic]

@@AmberJays Thank you for the kind words about the composision. Yeah, I agree about the baritone's limitations in comparison with tenors. Are you a singer yourself or a vocal coach by any chance? You possess profound knowledge on the subject of vocal performance.

[@TsenaKoev]

It was fun and inspiring to be part of this global project. Thanks to Koev and Vivaldi for the brutal composition!

[@KoevMusic]

Brutal? I've heard people calling it pop music.

[@TsenaKoev]

@@KoevMusic 🤣😜😀 You can't please everyone's taste!

[@KoevMusic]

@@TsenaKoev True that. To be honest those guys were fans of Cannibal Corpse. 🤷‍♂

[@TanjaJunge21]

❤ perfect..thx for this music

[@PittDaddy]

Being a listener of Epica, Nightwish, et al., I found this very entertaining. As someone else mentioned, you need to watch the mix with such a large group.

[@KoevMusic]

You've got a great taste for music - you just listed two of my all-time favourite bands! Do check out the project I am currently involved with, for example this song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoS4nWaEptqZabM. I'm sure you'll appreciate it.

[@jedimitak]

Loved this classic lineup! \m/

[@KoevMusic]

My favourite VMP line up!

[@ruibahia2468]

I loved this Great performance

[@KoevMusic]

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[@Ethersis]

Wow, that was awesome! Wish I was there.

[@KoevMusic]

Thanks! Well, hopefully next time you will be! :D

[@drewcifers8thcircleofheck307]

Awesome stuff. My two favorite genres of music are metal and classical, so anytime there's a good fusion of the two I'm thrilled. You had some constructive criticism of the mixing, but that's to be expected in live recordings a lot of the time. Sound guy needs more work than the performers did, they were excellent. Also I disagree with the anti violin comments. More strings, full orchestra. Sometimes heavy metal includes weighty brass. The trick, of course, is mixing it so nothing is overpowering and nothing gets lost in the mix.

[@KoevMusic]

Great advice! Thanks. Of course the album version features a full orchestra (and choir for that matter) but the live performances had to adhere to a budget.

[@MrValonievs]

Criticism: 1. One of the soprano singers at the start is way too high in the mix and it sounds a bit weird, but seems the sound guy figured it out quickly and it mellowed out. 2. the lead vocalist seems to be able to hit the high notes, but all the small sounds he does in-between notes make it sound like he's having a shit, basically I'm assuming he's a natural baritone and the lead vocal is clearly for a tenor. All power to him for reaching the notes but should work on reducing all the hurling noises in-between notes (which I know is difficult to avoid when you have to blast your baritone diaphragm to reach those high notes without going full falsetto). other than that, great stuff, can't hear a single misplaced note.

[@KoevMusic]

Thanks for the in-depth constructive criticism! I agree on both accounts. The male singer is indeed a baritone who has learned to reach very high notes. He is actually the original singer who recorded the songs and came up with the lead part himself. Check out the studio version of the song performed by him - it's also on my channel. He had problems with his voice on this day and we were worried because his parts are really tough to sing but he still came through!

[@RTPJu]

cafona pra kralho

[@KoevMusic]

Glad you like it!

[@MatthewHolmes-qk6tg]

That is godawful.

[@KoevMusic]

Care to elaborate?

[@RebornThroughHate]

@@KoevMusic Too much mixing of metal with other styles. If anything, do something inspirational like Rhapsody... they've done an excellent job over the years. But just too much of this pseudo-classical singing in metal these days.

[@KoevMusic]

@@RebornThroughHate I love Rhapsody! Especially the first three albums.

[@RebornThroughHate]

Pretentious crap. I'd rather listen to actual classical music.

[@KoevMusic]

I agree that classical music is in many ways superior to modern music. Thanks for taking the time to check out my "pretentious crap".

[@RebornThroughHate]

@@KoevMusic sorry if that's harsh, but metal is meant to be exciting. all this singing here, trying to be emotional, yet annoying me instead. what makes this metal? the long hair by a couple guys? i'd drop all the girls but one. i'd drop the violin player... this isn't unlucky morpheus, but look how exciting a band they are!!, and make heavier music, focusing on music. music first, any vocal melodies later and not to be overdone with all this moaning and the heart-pulling.

[@KoevMusic]

"Metal is meant to be exciting" - I love that! Words of wisdom indeed. I wrote this song about 10 years ago. I still haven't published my newer stuff on this channel, but interestingly enough I did drop all the girls but one and the violin!

[@RebornThroughHate]

@@KoevMusic wow, 10 years. i'll sub to the channel and check from time to time for newer material. good luck.

[@KoevMusic]

@@RebornThroughHate Thanks! I'd love to hear your opinion on the newer stuff. It's rare to get constructive criticism that offers ideas and suggestions and I really appreciate it.