Singers:
Sam C. Chan
with
The Cuppasklonen Choir
Accompaniment Adaptation: Sam C. Chan
English Lyrics Translation: Sam C. Chan
Lyrics: Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft St.
Georg (DPSG)
Melody: Scottish Traditional
(Auld Lang Syne)
Audio Engineering: Sam C. Chan
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This is my fast-track production: only 2 weeks from conception to
release, with accompaniment sourcing, adaptation and production,
linguistic
learning, etc. all cramped in.
For a 1-man part-time production team, that's truly breakneck pace, versus my normal 6- to 7-week cycle. Considering that I'm an
absolutely amateur performer, and a
beginner learner of
spoken German, it's really quite a feat.
DEC 23, 2011
In retrospect, my original release was premature. Part of it is
just awful! Apologies to early listeners. Now with improved
pronunciation & singing.
DEC 31
Further refinement in
pronunciation. Added my
own
bass backing vocals for first 3 refrains. Completely re-recorded
final chorus with proper production.
see old releases below
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My rendition
is expressive, sentimental and slow. Singing style is
plain and light (but not airy), with particular
emphasis on enunciation—I might come
across as "trying too
hard."
Recording style is intimate,
crisp, warm and low dynamic range. |
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Yet another addition to my already ambitious
Vocal Répertoire for an absolute amateur.
Inspired by, and produced as a part of
Project: 2011 Calendar—Finale
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Sing mit mir
ein kleines
Lied, dass
die Welt in
Frieden lebt. |
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The end of 2011 is upon us.
It's been an eventful year
on so many fronts.
I produced this piece
to mark the occasion,
as I bid it farewell. |
see also
Current Feature:
Manchmal kommt die Liebe einfach so
my best-performed, best-produced piece
now in  |
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Goodbye 2011! Ade!
Adieu! Ciao! Tschüssie!
Tschüs mit ü! |
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Nehmt Abschied Brüder,
ungewiss ist alle Wiederkehr,
Die Zukunft liegt in Finsternis
und macht das Herz uns schwer.
Der Himmel wölbt sich übers Land,
ade, auf Wiedersehen. Wir ruhen all in Gottes Hand,
lebt wohl, auf Wiedersehen.
Die Sonne sinkt, es steigt die Nacht,
vergangen ist der Tag.
Die Welt schläft ein und leis
erwacht der Nachtigallen Schlag.
So ist in jedem Anbeginn
das Ende nicht mehr weit.
Wir kommen her und gehen hin
und mit uns geht die Zeit.
Nehmt Abschied Brüder, schliesst
den Kreis, das Leben ist ein Spiel.
Nur wer es recht zu leben weiss,
gelangt ans große Ziel.
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Take farewell brothers,
all reunion is un-assured,
The future lies in darkness,
and makes our hearts heavy.
The sky arches over the land.
Farewell. Goodbye.
We all rest within God's hand.
Farewell. Goodbye.
The sun sinks. It raises the night.
Gone is the day.
The world falls asleep and softly
awakens the nightingales' jug.
Right from every beginning
is the end already not far off.
We come here and go back,
and the time goes with us.
Take leave brothers.
Close the circle. Life is a game.
Only those who know how to live right,
will reach the ultimate goal. |
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Previous Versions, Q&A, Notes &
Commentaries |
Ich mag den Part, in
dem mehrere Sams singen. =) Hast du diese Stelle wirklich mehrmals
gesungen oder hast du den einen Text einfach mehrfach abspielen lassen?
Wie bitte?? Weißt du nicht... es ist eine
große Familie von Samsklonen hier? Hab' ich dir schon gesagt, dass meine
Lebensmittelgeschäft Rechnung sehr teuer ist?! :D mhm...
Du glaubst mir nicht, oder? OK...
Here's how I've done it:
I mixed the final refrain with the 3x
previous refrains that I have sung. I
then duplicated that with a slight
delay, effectively yielding a total of 8 voices :) If I just use a
single track over and over, it’d sound mechanical and echo-like, not
natural chorus
effect.
Pronunciation
Accuracy & Accent Reduction:
the saga continues... |
Many down, a few more to go...
At my 3rd
release, I'm basically pleased with the current level of
pronunciation and accent in this piece. However, there's
certainly room for improvement, and tackling those
remaining weaknesses is well within my abilities. I shall slowly
but surely chip them away. With any luck, it'd be refined to
near perfection, before I'm aged to perfection!
Words
corrected/improved: nehmt,
Zukunft, steigt,
Nacht
vergangen,
jedem,
Zeit,
wer, große,
Ziel. To be
refined: Himmel, recht, wir, all,
ungewiss, schwer,
Zukunft,
schläft,
erwacht
Note:
I have no plans to devote further efforts
to improve this piece on the singing side, even though there are still
spots plagued by faltering voice. The overall production
is now polished enough to be presentable. I will now focus on
the remaining linguistic flaws and endeavor to minimize them. |
It all started as a challenge
in
early 2011... |
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The practice tracks are here
not to torture you, but for mentors and fellow learners, to provide critiques,
and for insight and experience sharing
purposes.
Day 12
practice session
Day 8
practice session
Day 1
learning
ARCHIVE: My
original release
on December 16, 2011
2nd release
on Dec. 23, 2011 *
A
cappella track
Final chorus (quite nicely done.
musically & technically)
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CURRENT FEATURE
my
best-performed,
best-produced piece |
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Re-recorded version released:
Dec 25, 2011 |
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Ich bin Cuppa,
das Singen Ausländer.
Komm aus Rochester,
am Ontariosee.
Zuerst lag ich in
Stummwelt, dann sing sang songi...
ich bin nicht mehr stumm!
Sing sang songi -
Cuppachino singt!
Sing sang songi -
Cuppachino singt... |
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