This Little Light of Mine

Kathleen Battle!  That's all I have to say about that.  Well, also that she is incredibly gracious.  The Boettcher Concert Hall, where I saw her perform, is circular, so that you can be positioned (like I was) so that you are slightly behind Kathleen Battle, although with a fair view of the conductor.  Her voice still carried, despite its "limpid" quality (program notes) and the orchestra, but during her encore she turned to sing to those of us on the towards the back. She wore curtain-like shawls, one light blue for her arias and bright pink for Gershwin and spirituals.  It's very difficult to describe, but her voice is so bell-like and agile that it sounds capable of doing anything.  This quality came out especially in "This Little Light of Mine" and other spirituals, where she had a lot of freedom to improvise.  In addition to her songs, the Colorado symphony also played the overture to William Tell by Rossini, which is so relaxing at the beginning before jumping into those themes which sound more like horse races.  But I really, really enjoyed it and want to hear it closely again.  Generally, I sometimes think that I feel more comfortable in an audience than anywhere else.