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Friday Fun: Carmina Burana for Sleep-Deprived Parents (Carl Orff / Matthew Hodge)

This one’s a bit silly, I must admit, but when it showed up on one of my feeds a couple of days ago, I couldn’t resist.  It’s Carmina Burana, toddler style.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz0dvPZhaTU?rel=0]I think my favourite line is “Why do you look so happy?”, though “Where are your pants?” comes a close second.  I’m not a parent myself, but I’ve definitely heard conversations along these lines when visiting friends with small children…

(it’s very well-sung, too.  Kudos to the Sydney Philharmonia Choir, who are not *really* local, but still pleasingly Australian!)

Of course, one can’t possibly show this clip without acknowledging the spectacular beer ad which inspired it…

Happy Friday!

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Monday Music: El Vito (Joaquín Nin y Castellanos) sung by Patricia Petibon

Really, how gorgeous is Patricia Petibon?  I mean, first there is that impeccable, light coloratura voice, full of personality, and then there is her amazing, almost outrageously expressive face.  I wish there were more videos of her singing live, because I could watch and listen to her for hours.

Actually, I kind of have been.  But I’m saving some of those other posts for later.  And swooning a little.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLtfYXY7Tno&hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0]Anyway, here she is, singing El Vito, a Spanish folk song that was, if I understand correctly (I do not have her Melancolia CD – yet! – so I can’t tell you based on the notes) set by Joaquín Nin y Castellanos.  The lyrics are a little concerning, translating to “An old woman is worth a silver coin and a young girl two copper coins, but as I am so poor I go for the cheapest. On with the dancing, on with the dancing, ole! Stop your teasing, sir, else I’ll blush!”

But I don’t really care about dodgy lyrics, because Petibon is just so utterly gorgeous when she sings them. I’m sorry, I know I keep saying that.  One of the other things I really love about Petibon’s work is her choice of repertoire – her CDs tend to be a combination of baroque arias with the sort of folk songs that are halfway to being dances – full of lively percussion. To me, that’s the perfect mix… or perhaps it’s just the way Petibon sings?

Because I am now officially a Petibon addict, I’m going to leave you with a couple more of her songs.  Here’s her version of the Doll Song from Les Contes d’Hoffmann, complete with strange doll-like noises, broken creaks, and random attacks of Queen of the Night.  And for contrast, here she is, singing ‘Lascia ch’io pianga‘ (let me weep), from Handel’s opera, Rinaldo.

Can I be her when I grow up?

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Friday Fun: Let all the People Praise Thee, O God (William Mathias)

Today’s post is a bit late, mostly because I’ve been on leave and got engrossed in another project until very late last night… and then woke up late and headachey moving in slow motion this morning. Since part of this project has involved trolling through ten years of online journal posts, and I did turn up one or two amusing posts about music during my travels, and since I’m still feeling a bit under the weather today, I’m departing from my usual interpretation of the Friday theme, and posting something I wrote about six years ago about a piece of music we sang in choir which, shall we say, did not entirely meet with my approval.  I hope you find it amusing.

…So, we are singing an anthem that we like to call The Mathias. Its actual name is “Let all the people praise you, O God”, and it was written for the wedding of Charles and Diana, back in 1981.

Frankly, I think this piece of alleged music explains a lot about what went wrong in that marriage.   Don’t let the harmonious part at the beginning fool you. It’s all downhill from there.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h47GMYnd_Cw&w=420&h=315] Continue reading →

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Monday Music: Assisa a pie d’un salice (Rossini)

Now that Easter is over, we are reverting to my other current musical obsession, which would be Shakespeare operas!  I told my teacher a few weeks ago that I wanted to have an Elizabethan / Shakespeare theme for my exam, only I had way too much repertoire, and she responded by suggesting a few more operas to look at… This was not entirely helpful.

One of the ones she suggested, however, was Rossini’s Otello, and specifically Desdemona’s Willow Tree aria.  I’d been looking at this one, but couldn’t quite justify it in my (already excessively long program), but of course now I had to look at it again, and quickly realised that I am constitutionally incapable of resisting Rossini (it’s all those tiny little hemi-demi-semiquavers that do it for me.  I have no self-control when it comes to teeny tiny notes…).

Judge for yourself whether you could resist this.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUC6bLj94rQ&hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0]

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Easter Sunday: Now the Green Blade Riseth

I thought I should finish my Easter sequence of music with my favourite Easter Carol.  There’s something about this one that has always spoken to me, even in my pagan / agnostic days.  The harmonies are beautiful and haunting, the melody has a lovely simplicity to it, and the words are just gorgeous.  And maybe a trifle pagan in a Corn God sort of way (looking at you, James Fraser), though I rather think that’s a deliberate subversion of the pagan imagery on the part of the poet.

(Much like the way the early Church subverted large chunks of existing pagan festivals into their holy day celebrations.  There’s this fabulous letter from one of the early Popes that basically tells missionaries that if the people are used to having a feast on this day, you should let them have the feast, and dedicate it to a saint, and if they are used to worshiping in this place, you should dedicate the place, and call it a church.  He doesn’t *quite* say that they’ll never notice the difference, but there is definitely the implication that if you let them keep all their other habits, you’ll be able to quietly slip in the Christianity without anyone getting upset…)

But I digress…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27p98aLPZPI&w=420&h=315] Continue reading →

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Good Friday: He Was Despised and Rejected (Handel)

I actually sang Erbarme Dich, Mein Gott at this morning’s Good Friday service, and had every intention of posting it here.  But as I was sitting at my desk, writing about last night’s Maundy Thursday service in more detail, Mayhem, who shall henceforth be surnamed The Liturgy Cat, walked across my keyboard and somehow managed to switch on Handel’s Messiah.  This is impressive on two counts; first, I have no idea how she managed to start something playing in iTunes without, apparently, leaving the Firefox browser window, and second, I had no idea I even had a recording of The Messiah on my computer…

Anyway, The Liturgy Cat has spoken, so the Messiah we must have.  And for Good Friday, there can be only one choice.  Actually, that’s not true – there’s quite a bit of Good Friday stuff in The Messiah, but ever since I heard Bejun Mehta sing He Was Despised and Rejected, no other version can ever compete.  I’m afraid it’s spread across two videos, but it’s absolutely worth it to click on video number two, which is where Mehta demonstrates ornamentation so perfect that I and my alto friends can only swoon in envy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chel8xQGVek&w=560&h=315] Continue reading →

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Maundy Thursday: Ubi Caritas et Amor (Mariano Garau)

We had the Maundy Thursday service this evening at Christ Church Brunswick.  It’s a truly stunning piece of liturgy, particularly when the priests and servers stripped the altar and its surrounds of all decoration – first putting out the candles, then removing the candles and candlesticks themselves, then removing the altar cloths and all other accoutrements, and changing their decorated golden vestments for plain ones, while we spoke Psalm 22 (O God, my God – why have you forsaken me).

Priests and choir then exited silently through the side door, rather than processing, leaving the alter bare and empty, and the congregation were invited to hold silent vigil at the side chapel for a few minutes or until midnight if they chose.  Next year, I may do the full vigil.

Anyway, after all that, I really couldn’t go and write up a post for Friday Fun this week.  So instead, you get one of the pieces we sang this evening during the foot-washing part of proceedings.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMhIHfJU2pQ&w=420&h=315]I love how archaic this sounds.  I don’t think it is a medieval arrangement, but it does have that sort of feel to it.  All those parallel 5ths and octaves. We sang it more slowly and softly, which I think suited it better for this occasion.

The lyrics are in Latin and are traditional for Maundy Thursday.  The English translation is:

Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.

Where charity and love are, God is there.
As we are gathered into one body,
Beware, lest we be divided in mind.
Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease,
And may Christ our God be in our midst.

Where charity and love are, God is there.
And may we with the saints also,
See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God:
The joy that is immense and good,
Unto the ages through infinite ages. Amen.

 

I’ll be singing these lyrics again tomorrow, as a Taizé chant for the Way of the Cross.  Not such beautiful music, but still a good sentiment, and perhaps one that holds more meaning when sung by a large, ecumenical congregation rather than a small choir.  Trying to fund the Garau version on YouTube, I realised I’ve also sung the Duruflé version at some point.  It’s much lusher, and very gorgeous, but I think the simplicity of the Garau suits this service better.

And, while we’re on Maundy Thursday music, here’s the final hymn for today, Pange Lingua Gloriosi, or Of the Glorious Body Telling (we sang it in English, but the lyrics I know kicked in at about verse 5, and start Therefore We Before him Bending) (also this recording claims to be by Benedictine Nuns, but I have my doubts.  Most nuns I’ve met don’t have those bass notes…).  This is another text that keeps getting set in beautiful arrangements (some texts just seem to consistently inspire magnificent music), but the Gregorian chant – which we sang – is still, to my mind, the most beautiful.

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Monday Music: Litany (William Walton)

I had all these lovely plans about a little festival of Lenten music for Holy Week, but in all honesty, between work and the fact that I’ve got choir rehearsals, music lessons, and Easter themed singing every day this week, I don’t think it’s feasible.  Actually, what I really need to do is figure out what we will be eating on all those days when I don’t get home until silly-o-clock.

Anyway, this Litany, by William Walton, is one we sang for Palm Sunday this year, and I kind of love it and hate it at the same time.  I really love the effect of all those harmonic changes and how sad and spooky and gorgeous it all sounds, but, with the exception of a few glorious bars towards the end, I actively dislike singing it.  Which is rather a pity, and also pretty unusual, but my relationship with 20th century music is vexed in general, so perhaps I should just accept that and move on.  It’s beautiful music, either way.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPZQXg1U4GA&hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0]

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Friday Fun: Les Mis in 6 minutes (Natalie Weiss / Daniel Rein)

Yeah, I seem to be going though a bit of a Natalie Weiss phase, but this one had me in hysterical laughter when I listened to it. Also, we have to celebrate our freedom from grant applications – this is the music of a people who can finally get back into the lab and do some real science!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fd_QaNdQv4&version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0] 

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