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Old 03-16-2010, 03:33 PM   #263
Estelyn Telcontar
Princess of Skwerlz
 
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
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Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!
In Music in Middle-earth, Paul Smith (himself a counter-tenor) writes of Galadriel's song:
Quote:
...it is interesting that this solo is assigned to a counter-tenor rather than a contralto; perhaps, since the music plays in the background of the narration, an evocation of other-worldliness associated with the male alto voice was considered to be more important.
Smith also assumes that the counter-tenor voice is used for Gwaihir
Quote:
...to evoke the otherness of the Eagle.
and goes on to say:
Quote:
Dramaturgically, the short episodes of the aria move the action forward by framing the discovery of the sapling on Mindolluin and the acclamation of Aragorn as Elessar.
That is interesting - normally, it is the recitative in an opera, not the aria, which moves the story forward!
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