English Diction - It seems so easy!

Besides the clarity of Mr. Raitt's diction, what is most noticeable (and impressive) about his performance is his acting.  He is able to convey the emotions behind every word he sings, and every section of the song has it's own motivation.  When singing about the prospect of having a son named Bill, his posture is erect.  He talks about how tough and strapping his son will be. When he talks about the "flat footed" adversaries, or a potential "snooty" daughter in-law, he even adds a bit of a snarl to his words, which conveys how distasteful both of these scenarios are.  In contract, when he speaks of having a daughter, his tone is more tender, the way a father would approach raising his daughter.  He stays in character throughout the entire performance!

In the second clip, I noticed that despite having fairly exhaustive runs in the Purcell piece, Mr. Daniels is able to maintain a pure vowel throughout.  He essentially keeps his mouth in the same position until the end of the word, so that it is easy to understand what is being sung.  Many young singers would have a more audible [h] when singing these, which would muddle the ability to follow the word being sung from beginning to end.  In addition, he uses wonderful phrasing.

English Diction - "O Mistress Mine"

As noted, in the first clip, the young singer David gives equal weighting to every syllable he sings.  The result is that the song seems almost as though he is plodding through a march, rather than singing a song to his mistress.  He has a nice voice, however, the song becomes boring because none of the words stand out, and the audience therefore does not pay attention to what is being said.

In contrast, Anthony Rolfe-Johson sings out the stressed syllables, and makes the speech pattern more natural and closer to spoken English so that the words are more clearly heard.  However, beyond that, what makes him sound professional is the phrasing he uses.  In the first line, "O mistress mine," there is a crescendo, as well as a bit of a build up in tempo leading into the word mine.  Hence, the word mine is emphasized, and the romantic tone behind the words is conveyed.  He does this consistently and effectively throughout the song.  The effect is that the listener hears the song as if it is being sung for the first time by the singer.  It makes the message more compelling, and the listener is therefore drawn in.  Whereas the younger singer sounded very deliberate, as though he has sung this song a thousand times.  There is nothing spontaneous in his delivery.