In the rain, you rush to the fourth choral class, feeling excited as it were the first class. You have been singing "Can you hear me?" for the past week, imagining you are the child loss of hearing, sitting on the park bench, on a sunny day. You walk into the classroom. The young and petite accompanying pianist Yi-hwa is there. You feel fully charged to sing "Can you here me?" in front of Ron and Kuo-hwa without reading the music notes.
At 7 o'clock, the fourth choral class began. Only nine chorus members showed up this evening. Luckily Conductor Hung invited six female vocals from another chorus group to support us. As usual, we had a warm-up vocal practice for ten minutes. Then we rehearsed "Aka Tombo", "Fireflies", and "Can you hear me?" one after another intensively.
Soprano: Kate Hsu, Linda Tseng, Green Chen
Alto: Marian Hsiao, Sherry Li
Tenor: Ron Chen, Kuo-hwa Yeh
Bass: George Yen, Bill Wan
It was another evening full of tension, a lot of melodies, a lot of lyrics, a lot of foreign languages, plus a lot of emotions to interpret the choral songs. And yet, our concert is still in the air. So many unknowns are yet to be unveiled in the coming week. I can't think, I can't plan, I can't expect. All I can do is to sing to the best of my ability with my fellow Toastmasters members.
This evening, we were given a 20 minutes intermission to mingle with six invited female vocals. Four of our precious male singers were extremely quiet this evening, perhaps they were overwhelmed by the female power in the studio. At a quarter to nine, we attempted the fourth choral song, 'O Sole Mio by Enrico Caruso, the most admired Italian operatic tenor of the early 20th century.
I thought of Federica Giusto immediately. Federica and I were exchange students of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto in 2000. She and I were immediate neighbors at the International House. Everyday we enjoyed freshly made cappuccino after school. My life in Kyoto was very Italian. I fell in love with Italy ever since. In 2006, Federica invited me to visit her in Naples for a few days. Naples offers the best pizza in the world. Upon my request, Federica burned the midnight oil to translate 'O Sole Mio into English.
'O Sole Mio is a popular song in Taiwan, everybody knows the melody, but singing in Italian is another story. When Conductor taught us how to pronounce the lyrics of 'O Sole Mio word by word, I saw Enrico Caruso singing 'O Sole Mio on the ancient cobble alley in Naples. Oh, how I missed the sun in Naples!
The 4th choral class ended at a quarter past nine. Every chorus member looked a little bit lost, except those invited female vocals. I'm not worried at all. Pianist Yi-hwa agrees to give me a private piano lesson once a week from tomorrow afternoon. I feel thrilled to acquire a new hobby. If not now, when? Who knows, maybe I can start a rock'n roll band? Now, I have a piano keyboard of music, in addition to my desktop keyboard of letters. I'm busy playing....the role of a good housewife.
'O Sole Mio Enrico Caruso
Che bella cosa 'na jurnata 'e sole
n'aria serena doppo 'na tempesta
pe'll'aria fresca pare gia 'na festa
che bella cosa 'na jurnata 'e sole.
Ma n'atu sole cchiu' bello, oi ne'
'O sole mio sta nfronte a te!
'O sole o sole mio
sta nfronte a te ... sta nfronte a te.
Luceno'e llastre d'a fenesta toia;
'na lavannara canta e se ne vanta
e pe'tramente torce, spanne e canta
luceno'e llastre d'a fenesta toia.
Ma n'atu sole cchiu' bello, oi ne'
'o sole mio sta nfronte a te!
'o sole o sole mio
sta nfronte a te ... sta nfronte a te.
Quanno fa notte e'sole se ne scenne
me vene quase'na malincunia;
soto a fenesta toi restarria
quando fa notte e'o sole se ne scenne.
Ma n'atu sole cchiu' bello, oi ne'
'o sole mio sta nfronte a te!
'o sole o sole mio
sta nfronte a te ... sta nfronte a te.
MY SUN
(translated by Federica Giusto on October 14th, 2009)
Such a beautiful thing is a sunny day
chilly air after the tempest
Fresh air …looks like a feast
Such a beautiful thing is a sunny day
There is any sun more beautiful than you
My sun …it's in front of you (on your forehead)
My sun, my sun
It's in front of you
Light came up from your window
A washerwoman is singing and proud of that
She is hanging out, sewing and singing
Light came up from your window
There is any sun more beautiful than you
My sun …it's in front of you (on your forehead)
My sun, my sun
It's in front of you
When the night arrives and the sun sets
I'm feeling a sense of melancholy
I would like to stay under your window
When the night arrives and the sun sets
There is any sun more beautiful than you
My sun …it's in front of you (on your forehead)
My sun, my sun
It's in front of you
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