Duet For The Ages
Of all the remedies in the world, music can often be considered one that can heal without any side effects. The beauty encapsulated by each sound is enough to drift your woes away and inspire you to be lifted as you soar with every pleasant melody your body absorbs. That was the gift that father and daughter have shared to the world with a truly marvellous performance of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, “All I Ask from You” from the motion picture, “The Phantom of the Opera”.
The setting is dimly lit with a single upright lamp in the background giving the room a warm cosy feel. The lighting from the ceiling also gives a beautiful touch by painting the ambience in a very inviting way. The stunning duet begins with both performers sitting face-side towards the camera and adjacent to each other. Let’s also take a moment to admire both performer’s sense of fashion here. A very clean, neutral brown woollen sports sweater is worn by the father while his daughter compliments him with a very light, almost beige looking linen sweater.
The pleasant sound of the piano trickles through the airwaves as the song begins to take form slowly through a trance-like ballad. Then suddenly, the father on the right begins to sing with a voice so soothing and smooth that it can only be described as mesmerizing.
As he picks up the pace, we can see his daughter on the left smiling in sheer delight as her father’s voice fills the room with vibrant energy you cannot help but to keep listening more and more. As his voice comes to a halt, his daughter begins and my what a stunning entrance. I was amazed the ceiling stayed put as her voice penetrated in such pure elegance that one could mistake it for an angel. Her high registry wonderfully complimented her father’s deeper, more grounded frequency.
She continues to invoke her magical voice throughout her solo; never missing a beat as she flawlessly executes almost every note to perfection. Her father gleefully looks overwhelmed with happiness and emotion as his daughter shines through with brilliance. At about the halfway point of the video, the piano crescendos and the duet takes off. Both singers now take their voices to new octaves and lighten the room up even more so.
The endearing spectacle culminates in both singers syncing together and delivering the grandest moments of the performance. Everything is displayed in full motion and the pure satisfaction from both performer’s smiles indicate the satisfaction in their delivery.
A Message We All Need
Let’s not disregard the beautiful words shared in the lyrics of this song. In a time of quarantine and panic, “no more talk of darkness” resonates with each of us as we face each day with bravery and courage. The loving message these two give with their voice has so much to offer especially now in these times.
“Let me be your shelter, let me be your light, you’re safe, no one will find you, your fears are far behind you,” are eloquently preached and more resounding now more than ever. Finally, the duet wraps up their harmonization with, “Then say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime Let me lead you from solitude. Say you need me with you, here beside you anywhere you go, let me go too”. As the piano wines down and finishes, we’re left with the silence of our breaths that have been taken away from such a wonderful spectacle.
If you’d like to check out their other videos, it seems both Mat(father) and Savanna(daughter) Shaw have a channel on Youtube that includes many more beautiful duet performances. Let us know what you think!
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