ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Claron McFadden - Soprano
Amsterdam-based singer Claron McFadden sings many of the major oratorio works, but is perhaps best known for her readings of modern and contemporary music.

Why you should listen

Claron McFadden is a soprano who studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Her celebrated operatic roles are numerous and varied. She sings many of the major oratorio works, but is also in demand for her interpretation of modern and contemporary music.

Her many recordings include Birtwistle's Paul Cèlan Songs, Haydn's Orfeo and Handel's Alexander Balus with the King’s Consort. In August 2007 McFadden was awarded the Amsterdam Prize of the Arts, winning praise for her brilliant coloratura, her wide repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Bernstein and contemporary composers, and her vivid stage personality.

More profile about the speaker
Claron McFadden | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxAmsterdam

Claron McFadden: Singing the primal mystery

Claron McFadden: Cantando o mistério primevo.

Filmed:
450,509 views

"A voz humana: misteriosa, espontânea, primitiva." Com estas palavras, a soprano Claron McFadden nos convida a explorar os mistérios da respiração e do canto, à medida em que interpreta a desafiadora "Aria", de John Cage.
- Soprano
Amsterdam-based singer Claron McFadden sings many of the major oratorio works, but is perhaps best known for her readings of modern and contemporary music. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
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00:17
(Singing)
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(Cantando)
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02:26
Host: Folks, you've just met Claron McFadden.
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Apresentador: Meus amigos, vocês acabaram de conhecer Claron McFadden.
02:29
She is a world-class soprano singer
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Ela é uma soprano de primeira
02:32
who studied in Rochester, New York.
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que estudou em Rochester, Nova York.
02:34
Her celebrated operatic roles
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Seus aclamados papéis em óperas
02:36
are numerous and varied.
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são numerosos e variados.
02:38
In August 2007,
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Em agosto de 2007,
02:40
Claron was awarded the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts,
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Claron recebeu o Prêmio Amsterdam para as Artes,
02:43
winning praise for her brilliance,
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sendo celebrada por seu brilhantismo,
02:45
her amazing and extensively wide repertoire
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seu incrível e extenso repertório
02:48
and her vivid stage personality.
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e sua vívida presença de palco.
02:51
Please welcome Claron McFadden.
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Por favor, recebam Claron McFadden.
02:53
(Applause)
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03:04
Claron McFadden: The human voice:
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Claron McFadden: A voz humana:
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mysterious, spontaneous,
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misteriosa, espontânea,
03:10
primal.
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primeva.
03:12
For me, the human voice
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Para mim, a voz humana
03:14
is the vessel on which all emotions travel --
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é a embarcação na qual todas as emoções viajam --
03:17
except perhaps jealousy.
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com exceção do ciúme, talvez.
03:21
And the breath,
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E a respiração,
03:23
the breath is the captain of that vessel.
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a respiração é a capitã desta embarcação.
03:27
A child is born,
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Uma criança nasce,
03:30
takes its first breath --
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e respira pela primeira vez,
03:33
(Breathing)
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(Respirando)
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and we behold the wondrous beauty
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e observamos a impressionante beleza
03:44
of vocal expression --
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da expressão vocal,
03:47
mysterious, spontaneous
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misteriosa, espontânea
03:50
and primal.
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e primordial.
03:53
A few years ago, I did a meditation retreat in Thailand.
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Alguns anos atrás, eu fiz um retiro de meditação na Tailândia.
03:56
I wanted a place
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Eu queria um lugar
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that I would have total silence
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no qual eu teria o silêncio absoluto
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and total solitude.
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e total solidão.
04:03
I spent two weeks at this retreat
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Eu fiquei duas semanas nesse retiro
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in my own little hut --
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na minha própria cabana,
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no music, no nothing, sounds of nature --
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sem música, sem nada, sons da natureza --
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trying to find the essence
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tentando encontrar a essência
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of concentration,
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da concentação,
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being in the moment.
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vivendo o momento.
04:17
On my last day,
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No meu último dia,
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the woman who looked after the place,
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a mulher que cuidava do lugar
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she came and we spoke for a minute,
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veio (até mim) e conversamos um pouco,
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and then she said to me,
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e ela me disse,
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"Would you sing something for me?"
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"Você cantaria algo para mim?"
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And I thought, but this is a place of total quiet and silence.
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E eu pensei, mas este é um lugar de total tranqüilidade e silêncio;
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I can't make noise.
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Não posso fazer barulho.
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She said, "Please, sing for me."
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Ela disse, "Por favor, cante para mim."
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So I closed my eyes,
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Então, fechei meus olhos,
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I took breath
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tomei fôlego
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and the first thing that came up and out
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e a primeira coisa que veio e saiu
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was "Summertime," Porgy and Bess.
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foi "Summertime", Porgy e Bess.
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♫ Summertime and the living is easy ♫
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♫ Verão e a vida é fácil ♫
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♫ Fish are jumping and the cotton is high ♫
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♫ Peixes saltando e o algodão indo alto ♫
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♫ Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-looking ♫
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♫ Oh, seu pai é rico e sua mãe é linda ♫
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♫ So hush little baby ♫
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♫ Então, acalmem-se crianças♫
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♫ Don't you cry ♫
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♫ Não chorem ♫
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And I opened my eyes,
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E abri meus olhos,
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and I saw that she had her eyes closed.
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e vi que ela estava de olhos fechados.
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And after a moment, she opened her eyes
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E depois de algum tempo, ela abriu os olhos
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and she looked at me and she said,
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e olhou para mim e disse,
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"It's like meditation."
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"É como a meditação."
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And in that moment I understood
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E naquele momento eu entendi
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that everything I had gone to Thailand to look for,
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que tudo aquilo que fui procurar na Tailândia,
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to search for,
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que fui buscar,
05:30
I had it already in my singing --
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eu já tinha no meu cantar --
05:34
the calm, but alertness,
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a calma, mas precaução,
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the focus, but awareness,
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o foco, mas a consciência,
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and being totally in the moment.
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e a total imersão no momento.
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When you're totally in the moment,
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Quando se está imerso no momento,
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when I'm totally in the moment,
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quando estou imersa no momento,
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the vessel of expression is open.
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a veia da expressão está aberta.
05:51
The emotions can flow
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As emoções podem fluir
05:53
from me to you
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de mim para você
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and back.
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e retornar.
05:57
Extremely profound experience.
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Uma experiência extremamente profunda.
06:01
There's a piece by a composer,
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Há uma peça de um compositor,
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an American composer called John Cage.
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um compositor (norte)americano chamado John Cage.
06:06
It's called "Aria."
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Esta peça chama-se “Aria”.
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It was written for an amazing singer
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Ela foi escrita para uma incrível cantora
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called Cathy Berberian.
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chamada Cathy Berberian.
06:13
And the thing about this piece that's so special --
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E o que faz essa canção tão especial --
06:16
if you see it behind me --
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se vocês olharem atrás de mim --
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it's not notated in any way.
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ela não está escrita do modo usual.
06:22
No notes, no flats, no sharps.
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Nada de notas, nada bemols, nada de sustenidos.
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But it's a kind of structure,
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Mas é um tipo de estrutura,
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and the singer within this structure
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na qual o cantor, dentro dela,
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has total freedom
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tem total liberdade
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to be creative, spontaneous.
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para ser criativo, espontâneo.
06:35
For example,
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Por exemplo,
06:37
there are different colors
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há cores diferentes
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and each color gets a different type of singing --
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e cada cor tem um tipo diferente de canto --
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pop, country and western, opera, jazz --
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pop, sertanejo, ópera, jazz --
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and you just have to be consistent with that color.
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e você só precisa ser consistente com aquela cor.
06:51
You see there are different lines:
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Vejam que há linhas diferentes:
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you choose in your own tempo in your own way
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você escolhe, no seu próprio ritmo, na sua própria maneira,
06:55
to follow the line,
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seguir a linha,
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but you must respect it, more or less.
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mas você tem que respeitá-la, mais ou menos.
07:01
And these little dots,
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E estes pontinhos,
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these represent
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eles representam
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a sort of sound
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um tipo de som
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that's not a vocal, not a lyrical way
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que não é vocal, não é uma forma lírica
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of expressing the voice.
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de expressar a voz.
07:13
Using the body -- it could be sneezing, it could be coughing,
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Usando o corpo -- pode ser espirrando, pode ser tossindo,
07:16
it could be animals -- (cough) exactly --
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podem ser animais -- (tosse) exatamente --
07:19
clapping, whatever.
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palmas, o que quer que seja.
07:22
And there's different text.
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E há diferentes idiomas.
07:24
There's Armenian, Russian,
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Há armênio, russo,
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French, English, Italian.
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francês, inglês, italiano.
07:29
So within this structure one is free.
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Então dentro dessa estrutura, a pessoa tem liberdade.
07:32
To me, this piece is an ode to the voice
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Para mim, esta peça é uma ode à voz
07:36
because it's mysterious -- as we can see --
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pois é misteriosa -- como podemos ver --
07:41
it's quite spontaneous,
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é bem espontânea,
07:44
and it's primal.
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e é primitiva.
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So I would like to share this piece with you.
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Pois bem, eu gostaria de compartilhá-la com vocês.
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It's "Aria" of John Cage.
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Eis a “Aria” de John Cage.
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(Singing)
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(Cantando)
08:38
♫ No other way ♫
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♫ Sem outro jeito ♫
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♫ Dans l'espace, so help ♫
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♫ No espaço, então, ajude ♫
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(Singing)
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(Cantando)
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♫ To have the fruits ♫
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♫ Para ter os frutos ♫
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(Singing)
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(Cantando)
10:32
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Fers Gruendling
Reviewed by Paulo Melillo

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Claron McFadden - Soprano
Amsterdam-based singer Claron McFadden sings many of the major oratorio works, but is perhaps best known for her readings of modern and contemporary music.

Why you should listen

Claron McFadden is a soprano who studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Her celebrated operatic roles are numerous and varied. She sings many of the major oratorio works, but is also in demand for her interpretation of modern and contemporary music.

Her many recordings include Birtwistle's Paul Cèlan Songs, Haydn's Orfeo and Handel's Alexander Balus with the King’s Consort. In August 2007 McFadden was awarded the Amsterdam Prize of the Arts, winning praise for her brilliant coloratura, her wide repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Bernstein and contemporary composers, and her vivid stage personality.

More profile about the speaker
Claron McFadden | Speaker | TED.com