As part of my recent work on TIP's production of The Diary of Anne Frank I recorded a version of Mahler's Wenn dein Mütterlein from Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children). Although I studied lieder it has been a long time since I attempted to sing in that style. I was aiming for a sound that was more choral than the operatic sounding versions of the song that are more common.
I had to work on the placement of the D5 in my head voice. So much of contemporary singing involves using the chest register and belting a D5 that to suddenly try to sing the note in a legit style did take work. I also had to work on my breathing, and I didn't quite get it to the place I wanted it to be. It takes quite a bit more air to sing in a classical style and the phrases were very long. I was happy enough with the recording. It still had flaws, as anything you record in one take is not going to be completely perfect, but I believe it worked in the production.
