Solo in Portrait of Charlie Chaplin - breathing

[RickF]

Are there any YouTube clips? - I'd imagine a (tenor?) vocalist will have had to address the same problems.

Yes, Nat King Cole sang this beautifully and breathed often - maybe every two measures. But the style is different with him singing behind the beat. Mr. Cole happens to be my all-time favorite male vocalist.

Smile - Nat King Cole

[John Morgan]

Just an update on our band and this piece. Thanks to help from Rick Floyd, we got the piece ordered and have had it in our folders for a while. We are preparing it for several upcoming concerts. It really is a great piece and arranged so well. The Japanese arranger has a knack of making it sound just like it should and the ending note of the piece is really nice if done well (it ends very softly). I love playing the euphonium solo, you can do so much with it, and it lays in a perfectly singing range for the euphonium. And trying to play it in one breath, to me, is not important, there are several places in the solo that lend themselves to taking a quick breath without destroying the singing line. Nice trumpet spots as well. Just a great piece and I am sure an audience pleaser.

[MichaelSchott]

Friends:
When all else fails, consider the lyrics:
Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you.

Very well put. I don't like the interpretation on the clip above. The player did not think about the lyrics. And I don't know the metronome marking of this section but it seems fast to me for this melody.