Shara Worden

Would you drive 244 miles for 24 minutes and 34 seconds's worth of Shara Worden singing?  I did Friday night . . . with Jacqueline.  And it was totally worth it. 

Shara's first song was Franz Schubert's Die Winterreise No. 24, "The Organ-Grinder" ("Der Leiermann"), also known as Die Winterreise Op.89, D.911, XXIV. "Der Leiermann" ("The Hurdy-gurdy Man.")

This song was so sad that I felt like all the air had escaped from my soul by the time it ended. 

Unfortunately I couldn't see Shara at all while she sang, but my disappointment vanished as I focused on her voice and the song.  And then the lights came up and the orchestra revved up, and there was Shara at the front of the stage, twenty feet away (and four feet up), and I'm pretty sure (possibly wishful thinking, but what else is life for?) that she looked at me and smiled. (She knows me and we've spoken several times.)

And then she sang three songs form Unremembered, a song cycle by Sarah Kirkland Snider:  "The Guest," "The Swan," and "The Witch."  You can hear them on Bandcamp . . . where you can also buy these three tracks for $1 each, or the whole album for a mere $8 (downloads) . . . though I'm sorely tempted to go for the Limited Edition 12" WHITE Vinyl Double LP for $22.  I haven't listened to the whole album yet, though, so I want to do that and find out if Shara only sings on these three tracks before I drop the heavy notes.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Shara's voice, but I will say that tears ran down my face the whole time that she was singing.  

Jacqueline loved it, too, but I think she was a little disappointed: last time she saw Shara (which was Jacqueline's first concert ever) she got to (1) sit on stage, (2) dance with Shara, and (3) leave the stage holding hands and talking with Shara.  The bar was set pretty high.

ADDENDUM:
As for the other ten songs on the album, I definitely hear Shara's voice on (1) "Prelude," in the background vocals on (2) "The Estate,"  in the beginning and then in the background of (3) "The Barn,"  in the da da da das on (4) "The Girl," duet voice on (5) "The River," same on (6) "The Speakers," background vocals on (7) "The Orchard" (and is it just me, or does the male singer--Dm Stith--sound dead-up like Peter Gabriel at times?), up front on (8) "The Song," and back in the background and sometimes in the frontground, too, on (9) "The Past."  So unless my ear has tinned, the only song Shara doesn't sing on is "The Slaughterhouse." So you should probably just go ahead and buy the whole album if you're a Shara fan.