Sing Lullaby

I first heard "Sing Lullaby" by Herbert Howells on a radio broadcast of Nine Lessons and Carols a few years ago. It's still one of the most beautiful and poignant pieces of Christmas music I've ever heard. Enjoy!

Hear My Prayer

It has been a while since I've shared any music, but today our Internet connection is actually working well enough that I can get on YouTube! ;-) Here is a very moving, short piece by Henry Purcell based on Psalm 102:1 -- "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee." In the video it is performed by the choir of Clare College, Cambridge.

Haydn

Douglas is visiting and brought a small fraction of his piano library. His dry comment: "Little did Haydn know that one of his worst piano sonatas would be memorialized in such a beautiful photo."

Spem in alium

I heard this piece by Thomas Tallis on the radio and was transfixed. I asked my dad if he'd heard it before and he hadn't, so I tried to find a recording at the library to play for him. Well, the 1969 recording they had (on a scratchy record, at that) did nothing for the piece, so where else to turn but YouTube?

This Joyful Eastertide

This joyful Eastertide,
Away with sin and sorrow!
My Love, the Crucified,
Hath sprung to life this morrow.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Ne'er burst his three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain:
But now is Christ arisen,
arisen,
arisen,
ARISEN!

Death's flood hath lost his chill,
Since Jesus crossed the river;
Lover of souls, from ill
My passing soul deliver.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
ne'er burst his three-day prison,
our faith had been in vain;
but now is Christ arisen,
arisen,
arisen,
ARISEN!

My flesh in hope shall rest,
And for a season slumber;
Till trump from east to west
Shall wake the dead in number.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Ne'er burst his three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain;
But now is Christ arisen,
arisen,
arisen,
ARISEN!

--G. R. Woodward, 1894

Caroling

The New Oxford Book of Carols is a book I like to check out from the library every Christmas. If you are seeking for carols beyond the most famous and traditional, this book offers an amazing amount of lesser known carols for your perusal. It includes musical settings and historical notes, too.

Every Christmas I seem to "discover" a new, lovely carol and this year it's "The Angel Gabriel Came Down," a traditional Basque carol. It is featured on my Aled Jones Christmas CD (a beautiful rendition, by the way), but I never really stopped to listen to the lyrics before. I think this is an appropriate carol for this year since I had previously decided to memorize the Magnificat this month.

The angel Gabriel from Heaven came,
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
“All hail,” said he, “thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady,” Gloria!

“For know a blessèd mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee,
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
Most highly favored lady,” Gloria!

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
“To me be as it pleaseth God,” she said,
“My soul shall laud and magnify His holy Name.”
Most highly favored lady, Gloria!

Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say—
“Most highly favored lady,” Gloria!

Fezziwig Ball: music and dances

The CD we have purchased for use at our Fezziwig Ball is actually called "The Pride and Prejudice Collection: Volume II" by the Pemberley Players, which I ordered from the Country Dance and Song Society. I didn't know what to expect, but the music is a lovely and soothing blend of flute, violin, piano, and cello. Perfect!

I am an English Country Dance novice, but with the help of online videos and instructions, I've managed to acquaint myself with some of the dances. For those of you who might know what I'm talking about, I think we'll teach "Hole in the Wall" (simple), "Juice of Barley" (lively), and "Mr. Beveridge's Maggot" (elegant). I'll try to learn one or two more dances yet, but I don't think we'll get through more than three or four during the course of the evening since we'll be instructing as well as dancing!

Christmas music

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can listen to my Christmas music with impunity! If I had to choose one favorite Christmas CD, without a doubt it would be Maggie Sansone's Sounds of the Season. There are no vocals on this CD -- just beautiful arrangements of old hymns and carols, with some old English and Scottish country dance tunes thrown in for good measure. Sansone plays the hammered dulcimer and is accompanied by a range of other instruments (recorder, mandolin, viola de gamba, etc.). Sansone's music evokes a very historical feel, and as far as I know, all the tunes are centuries old. Hearing these beautiful old hymns helps me to meditate on the birth of Christ, and to ponder the history of Christmas throughout the ages.

Try it -- you'll love it! (And I defy you to listen to track #8's "Christmas Eve Reel" without getting the urge to dance!) ;)

The Messiah begins!

The first rehearsal for Handel's Messiah took place tonight, which Dad and I eagerly attended. Dad decided to sing as a bass since he's somewhere in between the tenor and the bass sections. I'm in with the altos. We went over some familiar parts ("For Unto Us a Child is Born," "Glory to God," etc.) and some that are not-so-familiar to me. (Somehow it had escaped me that "Worthy is the Lamb" has about a zillion "amen"s at the end! It's so easy to get lost!) Our choir director is hilarious -- he not only causes laughter every three seconds, but also imparts bits of baroque musical trivia along the way. He does a great job of correcting and guiding us.

Only five more rehearsals until the performance! December will soon be upon us! :)

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

--Anonymous, from the collection of Joshua Smith, New Hampshire, 1784


(For a most beautiful rendition of this hymn, check out the CD Faire is the Heaven, which also features magnificent works by Herbert Howells, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, and the like!)

The Scottish fiddle

On Sunday evening, I went with a few friends to a concert featuring Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, playing the fiddle and cello, respectively. The venue was small and intimate, and the music ranged from a mournful dirge to foot-stomping reels and strathspeys. I was hoping that they would play a dance tune to finish us off at the end -- and they did, but unfortunately the room wasn't large enough to have any proper dancing.

Now I'm longing for a ceilidh!

Messiah

Dad and I are on board to be a part of the community choir's performance of Handel's Messiah this coming December! Our local college performs it triennially, in conjunction with the town symphony orchestra and any members of the community who want to throw in their hats. That is the great thing about living in a small town -- beggars can't be choosers, and in this case, I can be a part of this performance, despite my musical ineptitude. (I figure I can't do too much damage hidden away in the choir.)

So, what is your favorite piece from Messiah? (And you cannot cite the "Hallelujah Chorus," because we all like it.) My two favorites are the recitative, "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth," and the air that immediately follows it, "The people that walked in darkness." Gotta love that bass!!

New music

Yesterday noon, Dad and I ordered some new music CDs from Amazon, which we are looking forward to receiving in the mail!

Your Favorite Hymns by the Liverpool Cathedral Choir. (This link will take you to a page on Amazon with sample music clips, but rest assured we did not pay anywhere close to $81 for our copy of this CD.) Some of my personal favorites are Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer, Jerusalem, and For All the Saints.

Early One Morning by Edward Higginbottom and the Oxford Choir of New College. This recording first came to my attention through the lovely website, Lanier's Books. I've long wanted a recording of the folk lyrics to 'Greensleeves,' instead of the Christmas-y ones. :)

Beethoven

Lately I've been in love with this movement from Beethoven's 7th symphony. And, better than providing a link to a short clip on Amazon, I've found the entire thing on Sonific! Take the time to listen -- it is so beautiful.

Mahler

Last night my dad took me to the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra's performance of Mahler's second symphony ("Resurrection"). It was splendid! Attending a live performance really enhances the music, not only because of the better sound quality but because of all the motion and liveliness of the orchestra. You couldn't have asked for a more animated and entertaining conductor, either. The soprano, seated nearby, was obviously concerned she was going to get whacked in the head with his baton!

The piano

Prokofiev

Click here to listen to the song sample of "No. 37" (on disc two), which is the music that has been waltzing through my head for the past couple of days.