I was going to do something light and funny for Friday, but it’s been a very long week and I’m tired and headachey and in the mood for something soothing.

Hence, we have this rather unusual interpretation by the Ensemble Planeta of an aria from Telemann’s German Magnificat.  They’ve slowed it right down, given the tenor solo to a soprano, and transformed the bouncy string accompaniment into a trippy, drifting vocal one – it’s the Magnificat, Telemann, but not as we know it, not as we know it, not as we know it…  And just to make it more gorgeous, someone has added a collection of medieval illuminations to the music.  It’s possibly the prettiest thing you will see on YouTube this year.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbjixX93pcw&w=560&h=315] Continue reading →