The music in our lives

[kristina]

Carmina Burana , Scenic cantata by Carl Orff
"The Wheel of Fortune" from the Codex Buranus
In 1934, the composer Karl Orff encountered in a second-hand bookshop the 1847 edition of the Carmina Burana by Johann Andreas Schmeller, the original text dating mostly from the 11th or 12th century, including some from the 13th century. Michel Hofmann, then a young law student and Latin and Greek enthusiast, assisted Karl Orff in the selection and organization of 24 of these poems into a libretto, mostly in Latin verse, with a small amount of Middle High German and Old Provençal.  This video shows the Dutch conductor and violinist André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu from Maastricht who is best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJC-_j3SnXk

... and here is an older version of the "Wheel of Fortune" with English translation :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdIpoE2LEps

O Fortune,
 like the moon
 you are changeable,
 ever waxing
 and waning;
 hateful life
 first oppresses
 and then soothes
 as fancy takes it;
 poverty
 and power
 it melts them like ice.
 
Fate – monstrous
 and empty,
 you whirling wheel,
 you are malevolent,
 well-being is vain
 and always fades to nothing,
 shadowed
 and veiled
 you plague me too;
 now through the game
 I bring my bare back
 to your villainy.
 
Fate is against me
 in health
 and virtue,
 driven on
 and weighted down,
 always enslaved.
 So at this hour
 without delay
 pluck the vibrating strings;
 since Fate
 strikes down the strong man,
 everyone weep with me.

[MooseMom]

Carmina Burana is one of my favourite pieces of music.  When I was in university, our concert choir travelled to Guadalajara two summers in a row to perform with the Guadalajara Symphony Orchestra.  The first summer we sang Bach's Mass in B Minor, and the second summer we performed Carmina Burana.  There are few things more exhilarating than singing in a big choir accompanied by a full orchestra!

[kristina]

Hello MooseMom,
that must have been an exhilarating experience to be part of a concert choir
and travel to Guadalajara (Mexico?) to sing Carmina Burana, accompanied by a full orchestra !
... When I first heard Carmina Burana, it almost sounded as if the roof of the Concert Hall would come down any minute
and at first I was not quite sure what to make of it...
... and I only "grew towards it" very slowly  ...

[MooseMom]

Carmina Burana takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you are a fan of Bach.  I was introduced to it by my then-boyfriend who was a lovely bass baritone, so I was familiar with it before we sang it.  I've since attended several performances of it and can still remember all of the words.  It is great fun to sing.

I admit, though, that it was Bach's Mass that I particularly enjoyed performing.  The venue was the ornate Cathedral on the main square in Guadalajara (yes, Mexico).  Since I'm short and a contralto, I stood right in the middle of that great musical pool that was the choir (100 strong) and the full orchestra.  The whole performance took almost 3 hours, and I remember there was a reception for us all afterwards.  I was desperate for water, found a glass and downed it straight away, only to discover that it was tequila.  There was tequila everywhere, but just plain water was so hard to find!

Gosh, that was so long ago.  I'd love to sing again, but I don't like the idea of making that sort of time commitment any more.  Hm...that's not a good way of thinking, is it!

[nightwalker]

Channel 14 on XM Radio, on the way to my son's BB game. "Howie Day, Collide" 

[MooseMom]

My husband is a real fan of The Voice, and while I watched with him, it made me think about vocalists.  There are songs and performers that we like, but who do you all think are truly talented vocalists that are popular today?  Apart from the obvious choices in the world of opera and musical theater, whose actual voices do you find to be particularly attractive?

Who would have thought that Lady Gaga, who garnered attention with provocative music videos and a meat dress, was actually an extraordinarily gifted singer?  I sometimes think that artists are pigeon holed by their manager or recording company, so we don't often get to hear someone really SING.

Off the top of my head, the vocalists that I think are particularly talented are all women.  I can't think of a man whose voice is particularly spectacular.

Who comes to mind for you?

[kristina]

One male singer comes to mind and that is Ivan Rebroff (31 July 1931 – 27 February 2008), a singer, allegedly of Russian ancestry, with an extraordinary vocal range of four and a half octaves, ranging from the soprano to bass registers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JPUJFP_-EE
My husband and I discovered the voice of Ivan Rebroff by chance whilst we travelled from Prague back to London via Berlin, where we visited the Cathedral and whilst we studied the paintings and artistry etc. in the Cathedral we heard - all of a sudden - a most wonderful bariton singing and it was Ivan Rebroff, who tested to made sure about the sound etc. for his forthcoming concert the same evening at this Cathedral. After hearing his voice we decided to find out more and stay and so it came that we enjoyed a most inspiring concert...

... Another male singer with a fascinating voice that comes to mind is Jacques Romain Georges Brel (8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978), a Belgian singer, songwriter, actor and director who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7zgNye6HTE

and ... must not forget Gilbert Bécaud (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TilQ8BIHisw

... and then there is Salvatore Adamo (born 1 November 1943, Comiso, Sicily, Italy), a musician and singer known for ballads.
 Salvatore Adamo - Inch Allah.avi - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIkrsBOymAY‎

[kristina]

My favourite New Years Day piece of music is the Radetzky March, composed by Johann Strauss Senior  ...  it is so full of expectation, hope and joy :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAZbMjuM3dI

... and here is Herbert von Karajan's interpretation of the Radetzky March :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHFf7NIwOHQ

[Charlie B53]

Setting in my truck with the radio on Christmas Eve I heard a Cheap Trick number I never heard before.

Done to the tune of 'I Want You to Want Me'

Redone as 'I Want You for Christmas'

I finally looked it up on YouTube.  This is a shorter version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xc2NcULOfk

[willowtreewren]

We went to see "La La Land" last week and loved it. We purchased the album and I'm hooked on it right now. Can't get the music out of my head.

I, too, am a fan of Orff's Carmina Burana, though.

Aleta

[kristina]

On the first and the second of January I often listen to some of the Strauss Waltzes, especially The Blue Danube,
as it is such a beautiful way to look forward to a New Year ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDaJ7rFg66A

[PrimeTimer]

When I was younger, my friends once made me get dressed up as "punk" and go with them to a very expensive bar. We were temporarily in Portland and they wanted to experience something different. Well, it was different alright. It was there that I danced with Mr. Idol. Guess you could say he wasn't dancing with himself that nite. Was fun but a crowd formed so was embarrassing. I did not give him my phone number tho...my friends were mad at me for that. I felt it (he) was no big deal. Liked his music but he was not my type. 

https://youtu.be/FG1NrQYXjLU


Love this woman's voice. Sort of reminds me of Janice Joplin.

https://youtu.be/6NXnxTNIWkc

[kristina]

One of my favourite compositions in music is by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (some authorities use the spelling Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer) (c. 1656 – 27 August 1746), a German Baroque composer. Johann Nikolaus Forkel ranked Fischer as one of the best composers for keyboard of his day, however, partly due to the rarity of surviving copies of his music, his music is rarely heard today.
Here is Fischer's Chaconne in F major played by Jörn Boysen ... and I do hope one day I shall play it as well as this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfuknkoLh3w

[MooseMom]

One of my favourite compositions in music is by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (some authorities use the spelling Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer) (c. 1656 – 27 August 1746), a German Baroque composer. Johann Nikolaus Forkel ranked Fischer as one of the best composers for keyboard of his day, however, partly due to the rarity of surviving copies of his music, his music is rarely heard today.
Here is Fischer's Chaconne in F major played by Jörn Boysen ... and I do hope one day I shall play it as well as this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfuknkoLh3w

How can a piece of music be both exhilarating and calming at the same time?  Thank you so much for posting this.  It really made my morning!

[Blake nighsonger]

Full drippings of deep bravado. Teaming translucently over areas i dare note alone. Civility at it's finest. Thank you for sharing .

[okarol]

One of my favourite compositions in music is by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (some authorities use the spelling Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer) (c. 1656 – 27 August 1746), a German Baroque composer. Johann Nikolaus Forkel ranked Fischer as one of the best composers for keyboard of his day, however, partly due to the rarity of surviving copies of his music, his music is rarely heard today.
Here is Fischer's Chaconne in F major played by Jörn Boysen ... and I do hope one day I shall play it as well as this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfuknkoLh3w

That's beautiful

[kristina]

Many thanks for your kind thoughts, MooseMom, Blake nighsonger and okarol. It makes me very happy that you enjoy Fischer's Chaconne in F major played by Jörn Boysen ... and I do hope you also enjoy "The lark ascending" by Ralph Vaughan Williams (12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958). "The lark ascending" is one of those very calming compositions to listen to on a stressful day...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbFi85piaEg

[MooseMom]

That's very nice and all, Kristina, but on this particular stressful day, I'll have a whisky with that tune.  LOL!

[kristina]

That's very nice and all, Kristina, but on this particular stressful day, I'll have a whisky with that tune.  LOL!

Thank you MooseMom for your kind thoughts.
... I must admit I don't know anything about whisky and have never tried it ... yet ...
... Perhaps one day (after THE event) - we could meet, celebrate and you give a little introduction ?
Best wishes from Kristina.

[kristina]

The composer Ludovici Einaudi, born 23 November 1955 (age 61 years) in Turin, Italy whose genre is minimal music...
... And I have tried to  acquaint myself with his music, but it seems to repeat itself ad infinitum (again and again in the same way forever)...
... What do you think? Here is an example called "Divenire" (=become)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1DRDcGlSsE

P.S. I have just noticed that clicking the above comes up blank without music, BUT the good news is that next to it on the right side
it is possible to "listen into" Ludovici Einaudi's other "compositions" i.e. una mattina (=a morning) nuvole bianche (=white clouds) etc.
(not showing off with my very rusty Italian language, but Mr. Google has been very helpful  ...)   

 

[MooseMom]

I'm reading "A History of Singing" by some Cambridge bods; I've always been interested in "ancient" music and how vocal music has evolved, particularly that in the Western Tradition.

I have sung several masses in my day, and in my reading, I came across examinations of masses composed by the fifteenth century composer Johannes Ockenghem, particularly his Dona Nobis.  I know this is not to most people's liking, but I know how hard it is to sing this kind of music, so I was intrigued.  So, here's something of a sort of music most have not ever heard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oErsLtu-lg

As most of you know, especially if you are Catholic, a mass has several sections.  The above link is for the Agnus Dei, but if you want to listen to other parts like the Kryie or the Gloria, you can find them easily on YouTube.  But if you're not into this kind of music, Beyoncé is pregnant with twins!!!

[PrimeTimer]

I love anything Neil Diamond. Takes me back to a time when a friends mother had an entire collection of eight-tracks of Diamond. She'd let us listen to them but never allowed to leave the house with them. Oh geez...eight tracks...did I just date myself or what? 

https://youtu.be/QQLWF_ItzYs?list=RD8g1vRCHa8Vg

[Riki]

Channel 14 on XM Radio, on the way to my son's BB game. "Howie Day, Collide" 

I'll have to look and see what channel 14 is now.. *G*

Janis Ian is a bit of a favorite of mine.  She writes incredible lyrics.  I told her on facebook once that I wished I could write like that, because I find her use of words to be quite an art.  She told me that it took a lot of practice and just to keep at it

My last album bought, however, was Ed Sheeran's new one, Divide. There's a couple of "dance around the kitchen while making coffee" songs on it..

[kristina]

 ...  Most unusual performance of Ode an die Freude ( Ode to Joy ) by Ludwig van Beethoven  ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbJcQYVtZMo

[MooseMom]

 ...  Most unusual performance of Ode an die Freude ( Ode to Joy ) by Ludwig van Beethoven  ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbJcQYVtZMo

Oh, my!  This made me cry.  My spine actually tingled!

The choir was a big surprise!  I didn't see that coming.

Thanks so much for posting this, Kristina.  I will make it a habit to watch it any time I feel like the world is coming to an end, which is pretty much every day these days.