THE VOICES

It could be Paul McCartney, the boy from Liverpool, England, co-founder of the Beatles, singing “Yesterday,” or Enrico Caruso, the lad from Naples, Italy, belting out “Vesti la Giubba” from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci. Luciano Pavarotti, the lad from Modena, Italy, who bested Caruso, as did his singing partners, José Carreras and Placido Domingo, the three tenors, marvelous voices. And Sarah Brightman, from Berkharnsted, Hertfordshire, England, once married to music theater composer-genius Andrew Lloyd Webber, who whistled down the wind and wowed audiences in Phantom of the Opera. Other greats voices: Russell Watson, the self-styled “people’s tenor” from Salford, Lancashire, England; Jerry R. Curry of Haymarket, Virginia,, a marvelous baritone originally from Liberty, Pennsylvania; Christina Aguilera, pop singer extraordinaire born on Staten Island, New York; Stevie Wonder, born Steveland Hardaway Judkins from Saginaw, Michigan, blind, with a wonderful voice that soars; Frank Sinatra, Francis Albert, from  Hoboken, New Jersey, crooner without match, whose career started with the Jimmy Dorsey band; and Kiri te Kanawa, the marvelous New Zealand soprano, whose soaring voice rings bells and breaks china all at once. Where would we be without great voices? Lost. Ever since church choirs flourished after Norman invaders conquered England in 1066 through the life of famed  baroque organist  George Frederic Handel in the 16th century and onwards until today, it is the voices that elevate the human spirit, remind us of our troubles, yet give us hope for a better tomorrow.