I'm not a huge fan of the Christmas jingle We Wish You A Merry Christmas. It just never quite did it for me like O Holy Night or Neil Diamond's rockin' version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It seemed so pedestrian and somewhat juvenile. The song always reminded me of grade school Christmas pageants and being yelled at by the music teacher to politely "wish" not "wishhhhhhh" or "wooosssshhhh" a Merry Christmas.
It takes a Finnish operatic singer to pump some juice into those notes and I actually kinda like the song. I dare you, play the YouTube clip and stick around long enough to hear the stratospheric notes of Karita Mattila that just climb ever higher. The arrangement is also beautifully orchestrated - it makes this song feel like a big deal, not just a cast-aside Christmas jingle.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Kate Baldwin or else!
SarahB threatened that I better see Kate Baldwin when she performed at the Kennedy Center or else! Then I found out she was performing on the Millenium Stage which meant it was free. Count me in! That was before Snowmageddon 2010 reared its ugly head.
It was day four of trudging back and forth through the snow between my house and my friend's to walk her dogs while she was out of town. It was 4:00 and the dogs needed their afternoon walk and the metro was not running up to par. I decided not to go. But then I thought about it. I needed to get off the Hill and venture out of the five block radius in which I had been contained. So I dashed over to Dustin's house to walk the pups and marched through the snow to the metro. The metro gods smiled upon me and I only waited five minutes for a train.
It was my normal 40-minute commute from doorstep to Kennedy Center and I even had enough time to run upstairs to catch the snowscape from the terrace. The Millenium Stage was going to be featuring a week-long series entitled "Broadway Today and Tomorrow." It was a very cabaret-ish setup with little round tables and chairs instead of the usual rows of folding chairs. I took a seat at an empty table at the front left. I was impressed with the turnout on such a miserable day. An older lady tried to sit at a table next to me where a woman sat alone. I think I heard the younger lady say "reserved" so I told the older lady to come sit next to me (even though there were several other empty chairs). She was very unkempt and I attributed it to the weather and hat hair. She was very chatty....but she kept falling asleep during the program. But I digress.
Our evening of "Broadway Today and Tomorrow" featured the works of Peter Mills with the lovely Kate Baldwin and Matt Cavenaugh singing. It was a mixture of solos and duets - some funny and others poignant and sincere. Cavanaugh had a pretty good voice, but it definitely had that Broadway sound to it. Which I guess is a good thing since he's singing Broadway tunes. Kate Baldwin just had a flat out great voice. It was like a ray of sunshine in a hopelessly dreary day. She was so upbeat and perky when the song called for it, yet so touching and heartfelt when needed. My favorite song she sang was from Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge. It was just stunning! And she managed to put a slight country twang to it without sounding hoakey. After several other songs Matt and Kate finished with a duet about a missed connection. On the surface it was pretty funny because he is talking about a bad connection on the phone. Yet it's a bit sad because she's discussing a bad connection in the relationship. I don't think it ends well..
When the show was over, I was about to leave. But I lingered long enough to see Kate and the others come out into the audience. I decided that I couldn't trudge all this way through snowbanks and slush puddles without telling Kate that Sarah sent me. So I said "Hello!" and thanked her for coming despite the weather. Kate was a super lovely person and very engaging. She asked how I met Sarah (the bloggosphere) and then said how she owed her career to Sarah's blog. I wished her safe travels back to New York and went on my way - a bit happier and a little less cabin feverished.
On the ride home, I sat next to this older gentleman who also atteneded the show and raved about Kate (he saw her in Finnian's Rainbow). He was a doctor who also sang in an opera chorus in Colorado. He had great stories to tell - one about how he gave a check-up to Marta Domingo and that Placido always recognized him as "The Doc" from there on out.
Despite the long commute home, it was great to get out of the house. I give major props to Kate, Matt and Peter for making the trek down to DC in the terrible weather. It certainly was a nice boost to take into the next snow storm we were about to get kicked with.
If you missed the Millenium Stage performance featuring Peter with Kate and Matt, then you can catch it here in its entirety. You better watch it. Or else I'll have SarahB hounding you!
It was day four of trudging back and forth through the snow between my house and my friend's to walk her dogs while she was out of town. It was 4:00 and the dogs needed their afternoon walk and the metro was not running up to par. I decided not to go. But then I thought about it. I needed to get off the Hill and venture out of the five block radius in which I had been contained. So I dashed over to Dustin's house to walk the pups and marched through the snow to the metro. The metro gods smiled upon me and I only waited five minutes for a train.
It was my normal 40-minute commute from doorstep to Kennedy Center and I even had enough time to run upstairs to catch the snowscape from the terrace. The Millenium Stage was going to be featuring a week-long series entitled "Broadway Today and Tomorrow." It was a very cabaret-ish setup with little round tables and chairs instead of the usual rows of folding chairs. I took a seat at an empty table at the front left. I was impressed with the turnout on such a miserable day. An older lady tried to sit at a table next to me where a woman sat alone. I think I heard the younger lady say "reserved" so I told the older lady to come sit next to me (even though there were several other empty chairs). She was very unkempt and I attributed it to the weather and hat hair. She was very chatty....but she kept falling asleep during the program. But I digress.
Our evening of "Broadway Today and Tomorrow" featured the works of Peter Mills with the lovely Kate Baldwin and Matt Cavenaugh singing. It was a mixture of solos and duets - some funny and others poignant and sincere. Cavanaugh had a pretty good voice, but it definitely had that Broadway sound to it. Which I guess is a good thing since he's singing Broadway tunes. Kate Baldwin just had a flat out great voice. It was like a ray of sunshine in a hopelessly dreary day. She was so upbeat and perky when the song called for it, yet so touching and heartfelt when needed. My favorite song she sang was from Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge. It was just stunning! And she managed to put a slight country twang to it without sounding hoakey. After several other songs Matt and Kate finished with a duet about a missed connection. On the surface it was pretty funny because he is talking about a bad connection on the phone. Yet it's a bit sad because she's discussing a bad connection in the relationship. I don't think it ends well..
When the show was over, I was about to leave. But I lingered long enough to see Kate and the others come out into the audience. I decided that I couldn't trudge all this way through snowbanks and slush puddles without telling Kate that Sarah sent me. So I said "Hello!" and thanked her for coming despite the weather. Kate was a super lovely person and very engaging. She asked how I met Sarah (the bloggosphere) and then said how she owed her career to Sarah's blog. I wished her safe travels back to New York and went on my way - a bit happier and a little less cabin feverished.
On the ride home, I sat next to this older gentleman who also atteneded the show and raved about Kate (he saw her in Finnian's Rainbow). He was a doctor who also sang in an opera chorus in Colorado. He had great stories to tell - one about how he gave a check-up to Marta Domingo and that Placido always recognized him as "The Doc" from there on out.
Despite the long commute home, it was great to get out of the house. I give major props to Kate, Matt and Peter for making the trek down to DC in the terrible weather. It certainly was a nice boost to take into the next snow storm we were about to get kicked with.
If you missed the Millenium Stage performance featuring Peter with Kate and Matt, then you can catch it here in its entirety. You better watch it. Or else I'll have SarahB hounding you!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
MUSIC TO MY EARS!!!
I broke my thirty-hour music fast with Dancing Queen in the middle of a not very crowded yet slightly noisy Busboys and Poets. But it was the trio from der Rosenkavalier that put me back into my happy spot. After dinner, I ran upstairs and stood in the middle of my room and let the gloriousness of these three beautiful voices pour over me.
Just listen...
...do you hear that? It's like the heavens opened up and rained down this glorious awesomeness of pure rapturous ecstasy that sweeps you up ever higher with each progressing note. The three voices dance and intertwine and by the very end I have found myself on the tips of my toes. I almost shed a tear.
That's the beauty of music, and that is why I listen. And that's why giving up music for thirty hours was a challenge. I suppose that sometimes I listen to the point of distraction and the reason for the fast was to let the absence channel my thoughts to the Almighty. In some instances that happened. It also allowed me to be more aware of my surroundings and the natural music in the world around me - the birds chirping, the rustling of the leaves, the car sirens at one in the morning... And for a few hours this afternoon I was alone in the silence. It almost made me nervous to be alone with my thoughts - mulling over all of the grown-up things that are staring me down and give me unease.
Well that's deep enough for one night. I try and keep it light-hearted around here. So for know the music is back...and the beat goes on!
Just listen...
...do you hear that? It's like the heavens opened up and rained down this glorious awesomeness of pure rapturous ecstasy that sweeps you up ever higher with each progressing note. The three voices dance and intertwine and by the very end I have found myself on the tips of my toes. I almost shed a tear.
That's the beauty of music, and that is why I listen. And that's why giving up music for thirty hours was a challenge. I suppose that sometimes I listen to the point of distraction and the reason for the fast was to let the absence channel my thoughts to the Almighty. In some instances that happened. It also allowed me to be more aware of my surroundings and the natural music in the world around me - the birds chirping, the rustling of the leaves, the car sirens at one in the morning... And for a few hours this afternoon I was alone in the silence. It almost made me nervous to be alone with my thoughts - mulling over all of the grown-up things that are staring me down and give me unease.
Well that's deep enough for one night. I try and keep it light-hearted around here. So for know the music is back...and the beat goes on!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The Day the Music Died
My bible study has decided to participate in a church-wide fast that lasts from this evening until church service tomorrow. The gals in my group decided to give up food, which would be totally doable. They'll eat dinner on Saturday, give up breakfast and lunch on Sunday and break the fast at 6:00pm at dinner.
I decided to go a different route, mostly because I had scheduled a brunch with a friend weeks ago. So instead of parting with my planned crepe and peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I will be fasting the Tunes starting at noon on Saturday until 6:00pm Sunday. No music. Period. No opera, country or anything in between via the Zune. No Saturday matinee broadcast from the Met. No Youtube or opera dvd's. Just silence. Unrhythmic, deafening silence. "No big deal," is what you're thinking. Oh, but how wrong you are! I have music playing ALL THE TIME. I sleep with it on (this started when we had mouse issues), I listen while I'm drying my hair, eating, surfing the web, talking on the phone. If I'm home, the music is on. But now it's not. And it's freakishly quiet in here.
I took a walk to the Lincoln memorial today minus the music. I could hear a lot of clatter and chatter, but mostly the squeak squeak of my orthotics with E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.L.E. S.T.E.P. I. T.O.O.K. Even though my own walking was annoying myself, it's pretty funny to listen in on what others around you are saying. Especially in and around the Mall area where tourists abound. They say the darndest things!
This time of fasting is meant for reflection and conversing with the Almighty. But I find myself singing a lot of Dwight Yokam and Celine Dion to myself instead. Random selection, I know. We'll see how the night goes when it's REALLY quiet. Torture, I tell you. You don't know how bad I want to push play on my Zune right now. I miss Renee...
I decided to go a different route, mostly because I had scheduled a brunch with a friend weeks ago. So instead of parting with my planned crepe and peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I will be fasting the Tunes starting at noon on Saturday until 6:00pm Sunday. No music. Period. No opera, country or anything in between via the Zune. No Saturday matinee broadcast from the Met. No Youtube or opera dvd's. Just silence. Unrhythmic, deafening silence. "No big deal," is what you're thinking. Oh, but how wrong you are! I have music playing ALL THE TIME. I sleep with it on (this started when we had mouse issues), I listen while I'm drying my hair, eating, surfing the web, talking on the phone. If I'm home, the music is on. But now it's not. And it's freakishly quiet in here.
I took a walk to the Lincoln memorial today minus the music. I could hear a lot of clatter and chatter, but mostly the squeak squeak of my orthotics with E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.L.E. S.T.E.P. I. T.O.O.K. Even though my own walking was annoying myself, it's pretty funny to listen in on what others around you are saying. Especially in and around the Mall area where tourists abound. They say the darndest things!
This time of fasting is meant for reflection and conversing with the Almighty. But I find myself singing a lot of Dwight Yokam and Celine Dion to myself instead. Random selection, I know. We'll see how the night goes when it's REALLY quiet. Torture, I tell you. You don't know how bad I want to push play on my Zune right now. I miss Renee...
Photo courtesy: www.passportnewsletterblog.com
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