Reply
Thu 22 Dec, 2005 11:16 pm
Here, i'll give y'all something to tut-tut and cluck about . . .
I love Christmas music . . . here's why . . .
My favorite music is either true rock and roll, played with virtuosity, or what people refer to as "classical." Mostly, because rock on the radio sucks, i listen to orchestral and chamber music on the radio. I avoid malls like the black death, so i'm not exposed to the jingly crap that eventually grates on anyone's last nerve--no elevator "seasonal" music for me.
A "classical" station still plays its standard list of Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Neo-Classical and Modern orchestral and chamber music, and interspersed will be first-rate performances of Christmas music. I consider the human voice to be the finest of musical instruments, and when it comes to "classical" music, the art song puts all but the very best of pop performers to shame. I have lots of happy associations with this music from my days as a wide-eyed liddly, and the quality of the Christmas songs i hear is of the best.
Right now, i've got Oh Holy Night and Shubert's Ave Maria going through my head--i heard them both hours ago, but they have lingered. I don't mind at all--as i said, i avoid the places where they drive you crazy with this crap, and the religious crapola attached is something i can easily ignore. The rendition of Oh Holy Night was done by a tenor whose name i did not catch--but of the highest quality. The Shubert Ave Maria was sung by Luciano Pavarotti--and it doesn't get sung any better than that.
There are those who say they hate Christmas music . . . i pity the fool . . .
My friend recently sang Ave Maria to her mother as she passed away. This gal can sing and I mean sing,
It's just hard to get my arms around that.
Ave Maria? No thanks; just 'ad one.
You is just to hilarious fer words, EB . . .
Ave Maria is actually one of my top favorites.
It ain't exactly Christmas music, but it gets a lot of mileage at this time of year--specifically, the Franz Shubert cover . . . accept no substitutes ! ! !
Some of the most beautiful classical music is of the religious variety, not only Christmas works. Composers often poured their hearts out when they wrote religious music.
No bout adoubt it, Phoenix . . . two of Mozart's greatest works are Requiem and Maurer Trauermusik. (The latter means "Masonic Funeral Music," and although Masons may not be seen as religious--some even claim they're in league with Satan--the piece was nonetheless written for performance at a mass for the dead; i personally consider it the greatest piece of tragic music ever written, and highly recommend it.)
Setanta- I love Mahler's Symphony #2- The Resurrection.......It's power blows me away. Berlioz' Requiem is another one of my favorites. I remember when I got my first hi-fi with a subwoofer. Wow!
I must say, for whtever reason, Celine Dion has always made me nasueous. But she won me over with her version of O Holy Night.
My fave Mozart is Ein Kline Nachtmusic (sp?) A Little Night Music.
Not to be snotty, but simply informative, that's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik . . . personally, i'm allergic to Celine Dion--makes me break out in hives . . .
I've got a cd of E. Power Biggs whaling away on an organ somewhere in Italy with an orchestra and chorus. It's Gabrielli and it's wonderful...
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace
