Free Stand Up Straight and Sing! by Jessye Norman

them. After decades of experience, with a few minutes of deep breathing I find that I am able to move forward in my warm-up routine no matter the circumstances prior to my entering the dressing room.
    Often I find that preparation is simply allowing my breath to flow naturally so that singing happens naturally. And when it is right, when it is sweet, singing, for me, is a physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual expression of my breath that allows me to connect with myself and with an audience in ways that I would find difficult without the aid of music. Some of the texts I sing were written by people with a deep, broad intelligence and understanding of mankind. I revel in being able to sing the words of a Virgil, a Racine, a Goethe, and other such masters of words.
    Nothing pleased me more than when, after singing a recital in London recently—quite a few years after I had first stood in front of that candle with Professor Grant—some friends of mine told me they overheard an audience member say, “Isn’t this amazing? That woman’s breath control?” After singing for four decades, I found this comment, coming from someone in the audience, to be special indeed. I said silently to Professor Grant, whom we lost years ago, Thank you for insisting that I should learn and appreciate the very basis of this craft.
     
    Isolde’s Liebestod , Tristan und Isolde • R ICHARD W AGNER  • Isolde’s Love-Death and Transfiguration
    ***
Mild und leise wie er lächelt,
Gently and quietly he smiles
Wie das Auge hold er öffnet—
How the eyes open so tenderly
Seht ihr’s, Freunde? Seth ihr’s nicht?
Do you see this, my friends? You see this not?
Immer lichter wie er leuchtet,
His spirit shines with still brighter light
Stern-umstrahlet hoch sich hebt?
The stars illuminate his being
Seht ihr’s nicht?
Do you not see this?
Wie das Herz ihm mutig schwillt,
How his heart throbs so strongly
Voll und hehr im Busen ihm quillt?
Completely and boldly in his breast
Wie den Lippen, wonnig mild,
How his lips so gently release
Süsser Atem sanft entweht—
the sweetest of breath
Freunde! Seht!
My friends; look at this.
Fühlt und seht ihr’s nicht?
Do you not feel and see all of this?
Hör ich nur diese Weise,
Is it only I who hears this melody
Die so wundervoll und leise,
so magnificent and quiet
Wonne klagend, alles sagend,
Cries of delight which tell all
Mild versöhnend aus ihm tönend,
Gently calling forth the sound of him
In mich dringet, auf sich schwinget,
Which enraptures me, carrying me upwards
Hold er hallend um mich klinget?
His resonance surrounds me gently
Heller schallend, mich unwallend—
Clearly resounding and embracing me
Sind es Wellen sanfter Lüfte?
Are these billowing waves the softness of air?
 
 
Sind es Wogen wonniger Düfte?
Are these the fragrant vapors of pleasure?
Wie sie schwellen, mich umrauschen,
How they invade my senses and capture me
Soll ich atmen, soll ich lauschen?
Should I breathe, should I listen?
Soll ich schlürfen, untertauchen?
Should I drink my fill
Süss in Düften mich verhauchen?
And succumb to the sweetness
In dem wogenden Schwall,
of this essence
In dem tönenden Schall,
In this storm, in this resounding of him
In des Welt-Atems wehendem All—
In the eternal breath of all that there is
Ertrinken, versinken—
Overcome, engulfed completely
Unbewusst, höchste Lust!
Overtaken, the highest of pleasure.

4
    Church, Spirituals, and Spirit
    “THERE IS A BALM IN GILEAD”
     
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole,
There is a balm in Gilead, to heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work’s in vain,
But then, the Holy Spirit revives my soul again.
If you cannot sing like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
Go and tell the love of Jesus,
And say, He died for all.
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole,
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.
     
    My faith informs my life. I consider myself to be religious, as I