I absolutely love this rendition. His baritone voice was the one that made me cry. He said in the BTS the piano was one half step flat and he had to play it against the soundtrack playback. That would be horrifying.
John Hagen (operatic tenor) of Texas Tenors, a trio, did a more traditional arrangement and the group did a fine a capella version closer to what I learned 60 years ago. (On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has also sung this one!) The best part of folks songs is the wide range of ways they are sung from lyrics, to tempo, to the notes themselves. Geoff's range is amazing and he does a great job with the higher ranges. Sometimes I think he really is 4 different people.
Had to relisten to Tennessee Ernie Ford's version of this. Geoff's pulled my heartstrings with this one. Made more than one of us older lady's cry today. My family has had all the shots including boosters and Flu. If they suggest more down the lane rest assured we will get them also.
LOL. The song Shenandoah is older than the movies, but yeah, it did become widely known because it was sung in a couple movies, including How The West Was Won and, of course, Shenandoah. Great reaction!! I knew you were gonna have a moment when he came in with that first note. Maggie Renee just dropped a reaction to Tim Storms, singing Lonesome Road. He’s supposedly the lowest bass, ever. I’d love to see you react to that!!
I can't speak for all of the US, but where I'm at (VIrginia), this song is frequently performed in choral groups. My daughter took chorus throughout middle and high school, and I've lost count of how many times her chorus sang this, either for school performances or district assessments. It's a lovely song, but Geoff (as usual) adds something extra special to it with his arrangement. The man is absolutely magical when it comes to transforming already great pieces into even better ones.
I would love to get the sheet music to this arrangement. Just absolutely beautiful! Geoff knocked it out of the park. Props to all the people involved in this production.
I learned this song in 3rd grade back in 1958. Its origin is uncertain; it appears to have originated with Canadian and American voyageurs (fur traders not voyeurs) in the early 1800s. As these guys were traveling down the Missouri River in canoes, they had time on their hands and decided there were few native tribes and animals to annoy so they sang. Most of them were illiterate so no one wrote down the lyrics, thus there are a number of versions. Many of the lyrics refer to an Oneida Iroquois pine tree chief named Shenandoah. He lived in the central New York state town of Oneida Castle. He had a lovely daughter apparently very appealing to wandering trappers and fur traders (you know what I mean). These guys were avid singers - we don’t know how good they were - and so, the second verse of begins, “Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter, Away you rolling river, For her I’d cross Your roaming waters …” She must have had a number of admirers because her charms were sung by many flatboatmen who plied the Missouri River in the early 19th century.
Hey guy. You’ve been off the radar for a bit and I’ve been anxiously waiting for you to react to their recent the Dragonborn comes from Skyrim. When you watch it make sure to wear a seatbelt it is a stunner!
I’ve heard that it’s an old folk song / military cadence from the civil war about the Shenandoah valley, which is in Virginia, the first state that succeeded from the union in 1861
Home free has a song you need to hear, Brothers In Arms. Tim Foust is a basso profoundo who is incredible too. You may also like to hear their version of Mayday.
Isn't it so awesome to be a bass and humbled by Geoff, lol. Opens with an A1 (my lowest non-fry note on-mic is a G1; and, even then, doesn't have his resonance).
I recently watched a live performance of him with Toxic someone or other performing "GraceKally" and at the end he reached a G#5. He did that. Incidentally I love your reactions. You're very cute. I'm allowed to say that at my age. :)
I used to hate this song. I still remember my fifth grade teacher making us sing this and the Red River vValley every single week for music class. It obviously made an impact on me because my son is Geoff’s age and I still remember that stupid teacher. The back of the book had a piano keyboard layout and we were supposed to pretend we were playing at the same time🤦🏼♀️. So when he announced that this was going to be his next number I was disappointed. But he has managed to redeem the song in my eyes and ears! This is absolutely beautiful and if I can figure out how to make it go on an endless loop it will be a wonderful thing play before bed because it is so soothing. A funny note: in the behind the scenes he tells how he piano was off key just a little bit. And then he showed a short clip of him listening to the playback and playing the piano at the same time. It is horrendous even to my uneducated ears. It was worth joining Patreon just to see that - the look on his face as he’s playing is priceless!
He did this same thing for me and Monster Mash. Can't tell you how many decades I spent disliking that song. But Geoff can transform anything, I'm pretty well convinced. Looking at others' reactions, I know it's not just my bias talking too.
I was a bass-baritone by the time I was 14 and got SO tired of singing this song in music class. In that situation, I was stuck to being background doubling and harmony. I enjoy hearing Geoff's version, though.
You only seem to have reacted to Geoff Castellucci of the big 3 American acapella basses. Tim Foust has an amazing range and Avi Kaplan is writing songs featuring bass-baritone since he left Pentatonix and younger basses are covering them as fast as he publishes them. The Bass Gang is something you should look into. Several young basses or bass singers from around the world. Peter Barber is an American opera singer, Bobbie Waters is another with a massive following. They did a duet cover of Avi Kaplan's "The Summit". Tomi P is another bass singer in that group. If you want heavy bass from Tim Foust try his collaboration with Peter Hollens on Misty Mountains. Avi doesn't use it just for dramatic effect anymore but if you want to hear backing low bass try his "Change On the Rise". It's all him. The best of Tim and Avi together is in Homefree's "Ring of Fire". 2 basses can be fun. 🙂
In that one line he dropped more than many singers can call their whole range. Yes, I know he has videos of how to sing like him... but we all know that a normal mortal will not achieve that. Stay safe and well.
Very nice channel, good videos. Fantastic music. I subscribe. Please react to Monica Naranjo - Make you rock. She's amazing, one of the best voices female in the world. An incredible music rock /pop. Greetings from Spain. Link 👇
Too many pauses for no apparent reason! How can you react to a song that you won't allow to play for more than a few seconds? It loses its continuity. It's not necessary to pause after every single low note. (All just my opinion.)
