Muzings

My current music life

2011-04-06T18:29:00.001-04:00

Brahms. Brahms Brahms Brahms.
Britten, Kodaly.
Brahms!

Mozart is my friend

2010-05-13T13:13:00.002-04:00

I have a concert this weekend. We're performing Mozart's Coronation Mass.
I love Mozart's music. I am sure that I have said this before. There is something so satisfying about it. Perhaps the perfection of the meter and mathmaticism of the composition.

I have to say that the Coronation Mass is not my favorite of his pieces. It's very up - with few quieter bits. Obviously, a Coronation is meant to be a loud, joyous event, so this makes sense.

So in the words of Charles Emerson Winchester the third, "Please, Mozart."

Barrowman update

2010-03-26T13:01:00.004-04:00

I bought two imports. And yes, they make me happy.
I got Music, Music, Music, the 2009 release that has "What About Us?" on it, and At His Very Best, a 2-disc with a lot of Broadway tunes.
It's crooner music. It's showtunes. It's pop music that doesn't set feminism back twenty years or make me want to jam pencils in my ears. It's a talented tenor doing his thing. And I like that.

http://www.johnbarrowman.com/

Say Hey - I love this tune

2010-03-26T12:51:00.005-04:00

I have discovered the joys of Michael Franti & Spearhead.
I Blip Say Hey (I Love You) far more often than I should.
I have a Pandora station based on them. It plays reggae and upbeat reggae-ish music.
Happy music.

Also, it is March. Therefore, my listening to Celtic and Irish traditional music, plus Irish punk, has increased. Again, Pandora makes this possible in beautiful ways.
Have been introduced by my boss to Solas, Danu, Kila, Black 47.
I know, I am late to the party, as usual. I live in cave.

My Blip station: http://blip.fm/muzikanka

What about Barrowman?

2010-01-07T13:33:00.007-05:00

FINALLY got the DVDs for Torchwood: Children of Earth from the library (I know I should buy them, but that's money I don't have!). Watched eps one and two last night. This morning I have Barrowman's "What About Us?" in my head. Even a trip to blip.fm for a couple plays didn't settle the brain. Not that I'm complaining. I love listening to the man sing.

Like so many Americans, I learned about John Barrowman through Doctor Who and Torchwood. Love of Captain Jack Harkness led to information gathering (coughgooglesearchcough) and listening to his music. You can't go wrong with a man who records a Cole Porter album (which I discovered while going through a Cole Porter month recently). Barrowman has a classic Broadway voice, which I love. He can even pull off the crooner thing a bit. It's a clean, traditional voice that is just impossible to hate unless you think Megadeth is the only way to go.
Sometimes you need a little pop music. Sometimes you need some Broadway tunes. Barrowman brings both, which makes me love him.

Thinking that I'm going to have to break and order some import CDs of his. Finding any of his work, aside from Doctor Who and Torchwood, in the states is nearly impossible. He's gaining popularity via his tv work. Few people know about his singing, though. Mostly we find things through the great and powerful internets. All hail the Mighty Wubs!

Listening to Barrowman makes me want to break out my Sinatra CDs (ok, I never need a reason to listen to these) and listen to the old Harry Connick, Jr. ones. It also makes me wonder why I don't own any Sarah Brightman or Audra McDonald. Enter Pandora, and my Light Listening station, which has all of the above artists as the seeds, along with the names of some shows (Rent, Wicked).

Pandora has become a dream at work. We set it to our mood and play aloud, or I hide within under my headphones. I have my Broadway, my Dave Brubeck station, my Bush station (remember when Gavin was more than Mr. Gwen Stefani?), my Orgy station (gotta kick it up sometimes), my Rasputina station (goth fits still occur), and my Bach station (let's face it - Bach rock the socks like no other, and if you disagree you're deaf). It is too tempting to get a paid account. Really. I listen to great music all the time without buying more CDs than I have space for, and I know that it's not all pirated. Brilliant.

That's all for now. One of my resolution for 2010 is to write more, so hopefully there will be more posts. I am also attempting more thought-out well written entires, not merely brain sauce spilled on the page as I think.

Cheers for now! Keep listening!

Tra la la

2009-10-08T14:04:00.003-04:00

Singing has begun again. It's time that I don't necessarily have, but it's also structure and sanity I need. So we sing.
Working on Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna for a Carnegie gig in January w/ CF. It's difficult, but pretty. In truth, it sounds like other Lauridsen pieces. The man liked certain note progressions and is sticking to them, dash it! This makes it a bit easier, but also brings to mind three other of his works while singing the one. My brain goes through singers' schizophrenia. I am glad, however, to be able to sing at Carnegie Hall again. Last time was so much fun. It's the history of the place. Even if I'm singing w/ a sub-par choir.
Also working on Poulenc's Gloria for choir. Was thinking of skipping out on choir again this semester, but was guilted in to the Poulenc because we're short altos. I found us another one, though!

Listening has been scattered of late. Hip hop actually keeps me awake at work finding articles, and at the gym. Yesterday was home sick - put on some Tao Rodriguez-Seeger for a little upbeat sound. Listened to Que Vaya Bien. It's a happy album, and makes me dance around. Hoping to get to one of his grandfather's performances this weekend. The man is 90 and still playing, still fighting the good fight.

Musicals are still on the brain, as well. And Disney. Can;t help it. I think I'm just wired that way.

Sing me to Broadway

2009-07-14T13:15:00.002-04:00

Craving musicals.
May need to go home and blast Les Mis till I'm hoarse.
Listened to the Dr. Horrible Commentary! The Musical again last night. I need a little camp and jazz hands in my life these days.

Moods of folk abound, being festival season and all. And occasionally Billy Jean will get in my head. Subliminal with all the news on Jackson's death, I guess.

The Void

2009-06-11T12:20:00.003-04:00

Took a break from choir.
Sang only at a friend's memorial service. The music really helped, I think, in sending him off and healing our hearts. We sang a couple happy songs.
In a music void of late.
Not singing the big Bach thing.
Not listening to anything special.
Began playing around on Blip.fm - be a DJ. Really like listening to others' lists.
I think I'll play through some old 4am podcasts from Warren Ellis to get me back to a music zone.

Jazzing up church music

2009-01-15T13:44:00.002-05:00

Hmm, this is becoming more about singing, isn't it? I'm just not listening to anything particularly new or interesting right now.

For a benefit concert, my choir is performing a "jazz cantata." I was quite skeptical about it at first, and not just because I have doubts about my WASPy choir doing jazz justice. The composer, a local woman, managed to create a work that balances being a jazz piece with being a liturgical one. There are sections that are swing, and others that are gospel. I think that if we work hard it will sound quite nice.
I like that she's taken the traditional and messed with it. Choirs too often sing the same boring things because that's what has been written. There are folks out there who don't like their tradition messed with,who would think jazz music inappropriate for liturgical texts but who cares about them, anyway?

Folky

2008-10-15T08:12:00.001-04:00

In Cappella we're singing a beautiful song by Stephen Hatfield called Marguerite from Newfoundland. It tells the true story of Marguerite who was stranded on the Isle de Demons with her love, her child, and her serving maid. It's in that style of North American/ New England/ Canadian folk music that is just makes you want to weep, and makes the song stay with you. After rehearsing I was speaking to a couple tenors next to me about that style - that amazing lilting folk sound that rips the heart out of the chest. It's the reason why we sing Simple Gifts a million times and never tire of it, why we love sea chanteys.
Seems I am not the only one willing to sit around and sing folk songs - after a brief talk on Barrett's Privateers (the only person I've ever met who knows it as a Stan Rogers tune!), a fellow singer said his wife and him sing these all the time. Is it still a jam session if you're singing folk music??

feeling blue?

2008-09-16T13:49:00.003-04:00

I think I need to listen to more bluegrass again. Feels like musicals and hip-hop have had their run of my head for long enough. I have all those Chris Thile cds just sitting there! (although, I have heard the argument for him not being bluegrass, and they may be right!). Does Buffy Sainte-Marie count? Or is she country? Folk? Who cares. Feeling the need for some Hank Williams,too. Good thing I "borrowed" that greatest hits collection for dad...

Broadway Baby

2008-08-21T13:49:00.004-04:00

I sought out Sweeney Todd things a couple weeks back. Decided that my not knowing this bit of Sondheim was a crime. The result? Many recordings and Burton's movie. And my having various songs from it in my head for two weeks - incl. a week where I din't listen to it.

Another result - musicals lust. And with my compybox on the fritz, barring me from my large collection, this is a problem. Solution? www.broadwayworld.com/radio.cfm All Broadway and off-Broadway tunes all the time. I'm addicted. They have original casts as well as revivals, and even solo albums of popular Broadway folks. There's a request option, but it hasn't worked for me.

Also seeking out musicals I don't know - the music and the books. If I can't watch a play, I'll read and listen.

Joss Whedon has also burned his Dr. Horrible music in to my brain. Enough with the damn freeze ray, already!

The bad silence

2008-07-24T13:51:00.002-04:00

I listen to music every day, but I feel like I'm in a musical doldrums. The radio, my MP3 player, they still amuse me each day, but it's the same old. The same playlist at the gym. The same music at work during that particularly dull project. I tried to mix it up - an industrial/goth netradio station instead of my local alt rock. But it all feels the SAME to me. Maybe because I've been focusing on other things in my life - my reading (Bibliorantics has been updated much more than this), my dieting and exercise (25 pounds!), and other aspects of my life. I need new music, or to rediscover some old gen just to keep my soul kicking.

A group I like should be coming out with their second album next month. It looks like I'll be missing their CD release, which sucks because I haven't seen them live since last summer. Looking forward to the new album, and to them playing nearby.

Need to maybe troll CDBaby for something interesting.

Dance Revolution

2008-06-17T13:04:00.005-04:00

I demand a dance revolution.
I demand that clubs NOT play stupid old songs, or just add dumb remixed beats to old dumb sings, and think they can get away with it just because it's loud and people are drunk.
I will never be drunk enough to want to listen to the song Humpty Hump at a club. Not in 2008. Please stop.

What can your clarinet do for you?

2008-04-24T16:17:00.004-04:00

I am a clarinet player, and though my practicing has been minimal in the past years I do still consider myself one. I love my clarinet and truly adore the tone of the instrument. I play primarily B-flat soprano but have also played B-flat bass and E-flat soprano.
The clarinet, to me, has this beautiful mellow voice that can be very soothing, yet is so versatile. It can sing heartache in a moving lyrical line for Mozart or wail for a Benny Goodman song. Mozart said that he felt it was the closest sound to the human voice. I can hear some of that, I think, if I listen for it. I know that I was glad to start playing it, even though I have never attained that glorious tone that I love. It can sound terrible at first, but even I was able to make it sing a little.

At the concert of the previous post there was a bass clarinet solo (refer to two posts prior). He improvised to some of the animal sound tracks from the Missa Gaia. He made his bass sound like a loon and a whale. He made it growl at the bottom range with the wolves, and shook the instrument even to get the sounds out. He stretched the range to the very top and I sometimes couldn't tell him apart from the loons in the recording. Needless to say, it was beautiful, and not just to a clarinetist and clarinet fan like myself.
Because I am an internet junkie I of course went home and promptly googled the young man's name. Living in the twenty-first century means that most musicians, no matter how professional or how small, have a website. There I was able to listen to more of his original compositions (he composed a very fun piece for our concert) and some performances by him. Then I clicked a link. And I was happy. Sometimes you click the links provided (like my wiki ones above) and nothing grand happens. Other times it leads you on a journey! Well this was a journey - a musical one!

The young man in question is part of a bass clarinet quartet called Edmund Welles who play, well, I'm not sure what to call what they play. They describe themselves as rock and avant-garde. I describe them as cool. They stretch the instrument to its limits and really play with the different kinds of sounds that it can make. Then they layer four basses on top of each other and create a very dense and rich sound. Their website says that they have played not only original compositions but cover rock songs as well. Yes, heavy metal bass clarinet. ^_^

From their site, they have this as an expected set list:
We play one and two-set shows.
Our song types break down roughly into 5 categories:
1) Originals that are hard rockers, often with extended forms: 3-6 minutes each.
2) Originals that are ballads: 2-4 minutes each.
3) Originals that are movements of larger works, these include minimalist/trance pieces and avant jazz works: movements are 4-9 minutes each.
4) Covers/arrangements that are rock or pop songs including songs by Black Sabbath, Sepultura, Spinal Tap, Primus, the Pixies, Duran Duran, the Residents, Nirvana, Sinead O'Connor, and Radiohead.
5) Covers/arrangements that are extremely varied from TV theme songs to Renaissance motets, boogie woogie piano, hard gospel and blues.

The group is out of California and they do travel and play gigs elsewhere. Serious recommendation. They have become my current obsession. When the next pay check clears I may have to stop by CD Baby. If so, totally full review here in the future.

Website
MySpace
CDBaby

Old planet, new music

2008-04-23T07:59:00.002-04:00

Performed an Earth Day concert with the church choir. Everything we played was written in the last twenty years. Two pieces were written in the last year - one for this concert. A very modern concert, indeed.
It was an interesting juxtaposition of the church, a parish older than the country and a building over a hundred years old, and contemporary vocal and instrumental music. The acoustics are wonderful and the clashing chords soar in the high vaulted ceilings. You don't realize these things while you're singing (does one ever really notice much else besides the conductor waiving about???) but it hit me afterwards. It hit me, too, that three of the four composers performed were in the room, and two were singing with the choir. They ranged in age from 30s to possibly 70s. We may have performed one large work by a very famous composer, but it felt special to sing works by people who are not yet know for their talents, who may or may not become well known in the future. They definitely do it out of passion for music.

And this was Earth Day. Again we did Missa Gaia - Paul Winter and Jim Scott's Earth Mass. As my title says, we celebrated an old planet, and a little less than moderately old diety, with new music! And you know, somehow it seems that's exactly how it should be.

Music man

2008-04-23T07:56:00.002-04:00

It is a bad idea to crush on a guy just because he plays bass clarinet so damn beautifully, composes pretty songs, and has a beard.

Especially if he is unavailable and lives four thousand miles away.

Yes, bad idea to always fall for musicians.

Sing me a lullabye, a love song, a requiem

2008-03-27T14:06:00.005-04:00

Palm Sunday was just a couple weeks ago and again my choir prepared a Vespers service. Apparently last year's went over well, so this year our director chose Gabriel Faure's Requiem for the main work (last year it was John Rutter's).

I have written before about the love I have for this piece. Even though Faure chose not to do a full requiem mass, but chose parts that he liked, it still feels like a really 'classic' sounding work. It begins with a sombre almost whispering requiem aeternam donna eis domine and and builds to a more mournful sound et lux perpetua, really sounding like a mourner crying out to God for their lost loved one.
Other sections are penitent, grieving, loving, and even a little angry. In paradisum sounds like the dying at last being recieved among the angels. With a good group of sopranos it sounds like heaven enters the room.

As an alto my favorite portion is the Offeratory. It is a slow prayer to God sung a capella. I adore the alto line and have over the years committed most of it to memory. At one rehearsal there was only one tenor, and though he has a really lovely sounding voice (he doesn't always think so) he isn't the most powerful singer (he's convinced himself he can't hit the high notes). A couple of us went to tenor on the offertory, incl. myself. What is wrong with me that I'd be willing to relearn my favorite damn section! Thankfully there were more tenors the next week and we ended up having I think five or six. I sang alto, and was happy. ^_^

In addition to the requiem we did another Faure, Cantique de Jean Racine. It's in French. I hate singing in French. Mostly I am uncomfortable with the pronunciation and I think that I sound ridiculous. I can do the nasal vowels, though, thanks to my high school director.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross arranged by Gilbert Martin has a silly title (traditional hymn and all) but it's pretty. It goes from quiet to loud and all that.

The title of the entry is from a piece we sang last month, I think, that I thought was really pretty. I don't recall the title, though.

Young Dreams

2007-10-18T08:12:00.000-04:00

So, Neil Young's new album, "Chrome Dreams II" comes out soon. I know this because my radio station has been promoting it. I have heard a song from it every day this week. It's because they got the funding, or the two morning guys like Neil Young. It's an independent station, so there aren't the same pressures for them to play top 40, or certain artists. So, I have to assume that they're pushing this because they like it.

HOWEVER, this means that I have sat through some terrible stuff this week. Now, I hear 'Neil Young has a new album' and this thought makes me happy. Then, I listen to it. Um, no. There is no reason that a man who has always pushed the envelope and been different should create an album that has nothing distinctive about it save for his craggy old voice.

Monday was "Dirty Old Man" which I almost turned off (I kept waiting for it to get better - I'm an optimist, and it's Neil). It was not only not a nice sounding song, but it was boring. It was every classic rock song ever made. In sum, it was disappointing.
I can't remember what they played Tuesday. Yep - it couldn't even stick in my head.
I think Wednesday was "Ordinary People" - it went on forever. The song is like 18 minutes long, so I'm not sure if they played part of it or not. This one was a bit better, but any long song should be more diverse, it should grown and change and morph. You can look to classical music for this, how one movement of a longer work can still be ten minutes long, but it goes through a life of it's own, returning home to the theme now and then while still taking the listening on a journey through other ideas and variations. Hmm...looking at Neil's website, I wonder if it was "Spirit Road" instead? Both titles sound familiar. Well, whichever - ti was slightly less grating than the other two.
Today they played "The Believer" and sadly, I didn't have the chance to hear the whole thing. This song is actually pretty good and didn't feel like every other song I've ever heard. Even his old voice sounded smoother on this track - whether it was the day he recorded it or the grace of the mixers, I don't know. Don't care, either. I was pleasantly surprised this morning on the way to work. It would have really sucked to write off the entire album.
Tomorrow is another day, and I expect, another song from "Chrome Dreams II." Thus far the trend has been horrible to better, with Neil being 1.5 for 4. Does this mean that tomorrow morning's song will be totally awesome? Let's hope. I've already told a friend that the album is crap, but I fell a bit anxious to revise that. I don't know that I'll buy it. I guess that really depends on tomorrow's preview. I may end up just buying a few tracks (ok, THIS is why things like iTunes are great; this is why we love the mp3) that I like, and forgetting the others.

So, I guess if I had to give a recommendation, then I'd say that people should give it a listen and try it for themselves. Maybe "Dirty Old Man" doesn't suck in your ears. To each his own, right? Plus, I suggest listening to a few songs if you can, not just one. One song, no matter which, is NOT a good measure of the album.
And while you're think Neil, I suggest giving his website a look. It's pretty neat. There are different versions, depending on what you like to look at. And, I think it's a good representation of him as a person.

http://www.neilyoung.com/

It's 4am, do you know where your music is?

2007-10-16T10:40:00.000-04:00

Warren Ellis, in his Red Bull driven wisdom, has decided to create a podcast. He's been asking for musicians to send him stuff and he's putting together what he likes.

The podcast is called The 4am and thus far (there have been three installments) he has been nothing but successful. It is all good music, often from artists and groups the rest of us would not otherwise hear. Warren has his little internet fingers all over the place in terms of music. His eclectic tastes and staunch unwillingness to put up with crap make him the perfect filter.

The 4am 3
The 4am 2
Inaugural 4am

Keep a watch on warrenellis.com anyway - the man uses to keep track of research and inevitably keeps posting the interesting and bizarre. And good music. In addition to The 4am he often links to pages of artists he's been listening to lately.

Set brain-list to randomize

2007-10-02T14:52:00.001-04:00

This morning, in my pre-second cup of coffee stupor, my brain decided, all on its own, to start playing songs. Random songs. Random songs that I have not listened to in some time. And how it decided to blend Johnny Cash's "Flesh and Blood" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" from South Pacific I'll never know

Rosin up your bow, and play that fiddle hard

2007-05-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

Music comes in waves sometimes. I get a new CD and I'll play it out for about a month before retiring it to a normal listening rotation. Sometimes I'll discover, or rediscover, a genre that will dominate my listening for weeks.

Lately, that trend has been with bluegrass and American folk. Coming out of the normal post-ICON celtic mood, a swing into folk is not v. surprising. They are in a similar vein. In the past months my moods have wanted Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger (who turned 88 recently!) and JOhnny Cash. Then I listened to the band of someone I know - an old time bluegrass/folk group (The Powder Kegs. It'd been a long while since I'd listening to old bluegrass (as opposed to modern groups like Alison Kraus and Union Station) or Appalacian. These are genres I equate with my father, my family in Kentucky, and my childhood. And granted, too much drawl and banjo can get to me after a while. I have the same problem with rap and modern country music (forget some of the 70s country. Save for a few fav artists, or the kind that borders more folk/bluegrass than country, can't do it). But good bluegrass should make a body want to get up and dance. You shouldn't be able to sit still - the need to tap your toes or something should be overpowering. Ubeat grooves should make the endorphines flow. Ballads should make you feel like staring at the mood and crying. Is this alot to ask of a folk genre, one useually played by smaller groups and not main stream artists? Maybe. But music needs to be made with passion. Bluegrass without passion? I...don't even know what that could be, except terrible. At least pop music without passion still makes Billboard charts.

Music like this has a stigma, though, especially in today's political climate. It is associated with hicks, rednecks, neo-cons, conservtives, and crazy uber-patriotics who want to bomb things. I ahte steretypes, and this one really gets to me. Yes, traditional American folk music is listened to and performed mostly by older people with a sense of nostalgia nd 'the good old days.' Yes, this is predominately a Caucasian, middle America genre. But! There are no absolutes! The band I mentioned is a group of guys in their early twenties from the Northeast and New England. Not sure, but I think they might even be suburbanites (gasp!). And for the record, music preference does NOT equal political position. My father is a conservative Republican who listens to, and played the music of, Pete Seeger (he once told Pete to his face that he disliked his politics, probably calling his a dirty Commie). Left-wingers listen to country (hell, look at the Dixie Chicks!). Music brnigs people together, not the other way around. It touches the mind and soul in ways that transcend silly social, racial, political, and cultural lines. True, it is a powerful medium often used for political motives (see- Pete, The Dixie Chicks, most 1960s American folk, campaign songs, Civil War temperence movement - the list goes on), but sound knows no boundries.

Ok, so this started with bluegrass, and I had every intention of writing about the heartyness of the genre and why I love it. It got sidetracked. And into politics, no less! (I hate politics.) Such is life.

Sing me a tale

2007-03-29T14:32:00.000-04:00

A book that recently came accross my desk is Broadstreet Ballads: songs from the streets, taverns, theatres and countryside of 17th century England (Can't find any links to buy it at this time - still working on that). It's a really cute assortment of songs with comentary by the editor, who seems to have really done her homework on the histories. They include lyrics and either the tune for the song, another tune it was published with in the past, or an alternate tune when the original is not available.

I really love music from the 15th - 17th centuries in England. Am I one of those Renny people? Yep. The ballads of the times were often v. fun and lighthearted. Or, they acted as Variety, singing about gossip or events. They were v. ephemeral, as well. Some were written down, others not. Some were saved through the years, others forgotten just as quickly as they were composed. It was a part of the long bardic history, and a song becoming v. popular was like topping the Billboard charts.

I wonder if is the aural aestheic of the period that appeals to me? It's so lilting and light. I guess this is due to the neccessity of singing a capella or with a few carried instruments, but there is definately a plus to minimal accompianment and simple melodies. Maybe it's the instrumentation - lyres, harps, mandolins, wooden flutes - and the certain timbres they have. I think that's the most of it - the sound of the intstruments. Hmm, no the storytelling. Oh, Bugger. All of it - I love all of it!

Today I don't know that there is a real corelate in the music world. Country often has the storytelling aspect to it, but then so do some r&b songs. The American folk tradition, esp. from the 1960s definately has some trends like that - the current events, the lilting, bardic sound. Even before the sixties I think the folk music would be sort of similar. Alot of storytelling, history making, and all that.

Sounds like I 've rambled, but I'm feeling too terrible to clean it up. Take it as it is.

Reggetone

2007-03-21T17:12:00.000-04:00

I have found a new genre to adore. Reggetone. It's sort of a blend of hip-hop and Latin - v. good for dancing. Also, v. good for waking me up in the morning. Wandering about a quite library when one is sleepy is not good. Wandering around listening to something so upbeat helps the body wake up. Better than coffee. Sadly, I have two albums by two artists: Wisin & Vondel and Noriega. I think they're DJs, or one is a tribute. I don't know, I don't speak Spanish. I just listen. And groove.

2007-03-13T14:42:00.000-04:00

I was so hoping to see Emerald Rose at a convention in a week or so. But now I see that they aren't going to be there. Not only do I adore their music (celtic american folk rock), but I adore the band as well. They are the grooviest folk ever, v. friendly and fun. I know I've written about them in the earlier LiveJournal installments of Muzings.

This just makes me sad. I listen to their music all the time, but I have yet to really sit and watch a performance. I've always been so dern busy at the convention!! I guess this means that I must go to Georgia and stalk them properly.

Everyone should listen to them. Their music makes you happy. Seriously. Better than Prozac.

And She Will Be loved

2007-03-08T13:18:00.000-05:00

Sometimes an album just sticks with you. You can play it over and over, and no matter how many years or play-throughs go by, you love it just the same. I have a few like that, but today at work I listened to one in particular: Songs About Jane by Maroon 5.

I find this album great for taking walks or working around the library. You can turn it up ad listen to every lyric or keep in the background. It keeps me centered, makes me feel better when I'm upset or sad, and feels right when I'm already in a good mood. It's an all-the-time album. And I did say album, because the whole thing works. No reason to jump to favorite songs and skip the lesser ones. They are all single-quality. Songs About Jane is a staple.

Adam Levine's voice is partly to blame. It's not anything spectacular, like a pop star's might be. It's not particularly unique - no Bob Dylan here. But it still isn't generic; it still catches the ear. He sounds smooth and easy; there's a comfortableness to it.

Most of the songs bounce a lot - that's what makes it a great walking album and mood booster.

All this time, and I still return to Maroon 5, Adam Levine's awesome voice (yes I love the song w/ kanye West, too) and the confort of Songs About Jane.

Sing unto the Lord

2007-02-22T08:28:00.000-05:00

I'm not a v. religious person.
I'm not gah-gah for Jesus.
And yet.

And yet I find myself perpetually at church and singing Christian music.
Plus, I am LOVING it.

I sing in two groups - a community group and my church choir. Like many classical vocal groups, there are a lot of Masses and Latin text Christian works. It's not a Jesus thing. It's a music thing.

In the past, some of the most beautiful music ever written was commissioned by the church. Masses, Requiems, litanies, glorious praises to God. Perhaps there was devotion in the hearts of the composers, perhaps it was just the money. Or both. Just as I tend to ignore my own odd motivations for church-going, I really don't care about the motivations of these composers.

Gabriel Fauré's Requiem is one of my favorite pieces to sing, and listen to. It soars, and cries, and mourns. It carries you through all those emotions a mass for the dead should. Recordings by really top-notch performers have made my chest clench and brought me through physical reactions. It begins with a quiet, almost whispered dirge and swells like the tears of a loved one. The Agnus Dei is v. dark and mournful. The Sanctus soars like angles.

Two large works I am currently singing are John Rutter's Requiem and Missa Gaia/Earth Mass by Paul Winter. The Rutter is a modern take on the funeral mass. It is not a straight requiem like Fauré's is. He inserts psalms and other songs. His melodic structure is markedly modern, and turns something usually thought of as old-sounding into a v. contemporary song at times. But still it inspires and moves. It has a different flow of emotion, but an equally strong one.

The Earth Mass is just that - a mass, prayer, for Mother Earth. Winter combines psalms and liturgical music with things such as "Canticle for Brother Sun." There is a CD that accompanies the piece with wolf and whale sounds. It is odd, and not one for the strictly classical types. He takes the inspiration from the sounds of nature. He writes the entire Kyrie based on the notes of a howling wolf.

There is beautiful classical music out there. Most of it is religious - Christian and otherwise. It's just something you get used to as a performer.

2006-02-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

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I'm going to give blogger a go for a bit. May switch back - am a pushover for my icons - or may not. We'll see!