Simply spectacular. Watch Florence + the Machine perform live with an orchestra
There are few voices in the business as unique as Florence Welch’s, and there are even fewer bands that sound this good with an orchestra.
Those of us who’ve had the pleasure of listening to Florence over the past decade know that her instrument is quite unlike any other.
Even the most hardened of critics has to concede that she has talent enough to fill an entire concert hall with a voice that commands an audience, not because it’s overbearing, but because it’s absolutely mesmerising.
What makes a top shelf vocalist?
Besides technical aspects like range, resonance, the ability to sustain notes without ‘wobble’, correct pitching, vocal flexibility in high velocity passages, timbre, etc., it often boils down to the emotion of the vocalist.
Great vocalists somehow manage to capture the essence of the music, and communicate something indefinable – perhaps called soul.
And it is soul that Florence has in abundance.
In the two selected songs she combines an almost exquisite sensitivity with a vocal power and emotional intensity that made this 2012 performance at the Royal Albert Hall one of the most acclaimed of the past decade.
There’s still a place for old sounds in a 21st century world
Some songs, as good as they are with modern instrumentation, are taken to the next level when you throw in a sizeable collection of instruments that have been around for centuries.
This is something to bear in mind when wondering if classical music has something to offer us in the 21st century.
Just how much does the orchestra add to the concert?
One might venture to say that her voice, the choir and the orchestra complement one another perfectly.
In the videos, we can see that the orchestra isn’t the size of those playing a Beethoven symphony, but the strings, percussion, brass section and keyboards come together to create sound variations and volume dynamics that add appreciable depth and contrast to the songs.
And the harp is the cherry on top.
A talented orchestra, with instruments that offer divergent and distinctive sounds, is capable of expressing subtleties within music whilst still being able to generate immense melodies and harmonies when called for.
“You’ve got the love”
“All this and heaven too”
Welch’s vulnerability and the force of her vocals have left audiences astonished (and awe-struck!) for many years now; but this performance may well go down in the books as her best ever.
