James Cromwell – “If I Had Words” from “Babe” (1995)

Audio Stream:

http://www.imeem.com/people/8O6×8Hy/music/aQeoAXar/james-cromwell-if-i-had-words/

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I know. Life sucks. We are all “born into the grave” so to speak. Humans. The plants. The animals. Everything.

13 years ago though I made a choice though. I wanted it to suck a little less… first for myself. I stopped eating meat starting with beef. I was tired of eating it because I had one too many bad hockey-puck hamburgers (sorry Mom).

It was at that time of my beef boycott I first saw the movie “Babe”. Immediately afterwards I decided I was not going to eat pork ever again. I was going to do my part in not making life suck for “Babe” and all pigs. I know it is like blowing into the wind, especially surrounded by so many meat eaters, but sometimes you have to stick to what you believe even if people think you are crazy or wrong.

I watched “Babe”, yet again, last night and felt reassured and affirmed in my decision. Watching the movie now is like a religious experience for me. I am not so unlike Farmer Hoggett. I believe I am generally quiet and patient in my disposition, and open minded to otherwise abstract, unusual and even bizarre possibilities, just as he is. Although I have never known a pig personally, I do believe them (and all mammals) to be too intelligent for me to consume ethically. I heard the song, “If I Had Words”, played throughout the movie and it was powerful for me. Silly? Perhaps. Do I expect anyone to understand? No. The movie changed my life though. From being annoyed by bad burgers, this movie pressed me to pursuing a new way of eating, and ultimately a new lifestyle that I still have over a decade later. This song represents a sort of theme song for my vegetarianism, and my wish to preserve life, not destroy it.

PS: I only just learned now that the words to this song, “If I Had Words”, were originally written by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley in 1977, with a reggae beat.

PPS: I learned last night that it is actually adapted from the classical piece, the “Maestoso” of Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Symphony No. 3 in C Minor”, written in 1886.

PPPS: Also, for those of you who want more, here is the version with the “mice” singing, which is actually just a sped up version of a recording of “If I Had Words” sung by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley. Crazy, right!? Who knew?!

PPPPS: Despite James Comwell’s rendition being made for film, and not for an album, and being very short, and being a cover of a cover so to speak, it still has a modest, humble and honest quality I appreciate greatly.

PPPPPS: PS (or more properly, P.S.) is Latin for “post scriptum”, which means “written after”, and thus PPPPPS is “post post post post post scriptum”, ridiculous for sure, but if you don’t like it, why don’t you go blog about it or eat one of my mom’s hamburgers?

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Harry Belafonte
• Lolita Ritmanis
• Yann Tiersen

I also suggest the music genre:

• Soundtrack

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Click here for more info on James Cromwell – Babe Soundtrack – “If I Had Words”.

The CD of the soundtrack to “Babe” may be purchased here:

Babe Soundtrack

Schubert – “Kyrie” from “Mass in G” (1815)

Audio Stream: http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Mass_in_G_1_Kyrie/11720

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November 1st is “All Saints’ Day” (in the Roman Catholic Church at least). “All Saints’ Day” is also known as “All Hallows”. “Halloween” is named because it is “All Hallows’ Even – e’en is a shortening of even, which is the origin of the words ‘evening’ and ‘eve’.” The day after “All Saints’ Day” is “All Soul’s Day”. The three combined make up the “Festival of the Dead“. I have always marked them and celebrated them for I like the darkness and indulgence of Halloween, followed by the solemnity of “All Saints’ Day” and “All Soul’s Day”. They are very much the end of what was (summer) and the beginning of what will be (winter). All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are also frequently a time when I pause to remember those I knew who have passed “All Saints’ Day” and “All Soul’s Day”.

This is as “religious” in the traditional sense as I get I suppose (though there is a certain magic to Christmas). Musically I generally avoid many of the newer religious songs played in church, and “Christian Rock”. So many of them seem so hokey and contrived, like some sort of bad folk rock concert every Sunday. Blech! Even when I was young I wondered why they didn’t play more of the great mass compositions by the classical composers. There is no shortage of them. I suppose it might have required a good organist or even a multi piece orchestra and choir (likely unavailable at the church I grew up going to), but still it would’ve made the experience all the better. For my song for today, “All Saints’ Day”, here is one of pieces I am refering to, the “Kyrie” from Franz Schubert’s “Mass in G” (AKA “Mass No. 2 in G Major”). Listen to the rest of it if you like this part! It is also a piece I myself have performed with my college choir and a nice contrast to the Halloween songs though I am somewhat sad my Halloween song list will grow no more (until next year… *evil laugh in the distance*).

Enjoy!

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Bach
• Sarah Slean – “Pie Jesu”
• Vivaldi

I also suggest the music genre:

• Choral

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Click here for more info on Schubert – Mass in G – “Kyrie”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Schubert - Mass in G

Louis Victor Jules Vierne – “Toccata in B Flat Minor” from “Pièces de Fantasie” (1920s)

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Some music for all you trick-or-treaters out there. Oh wait… you’re out and about and not sitting at the computer looking for Halloween music. Damn. Well then this post is for next year! Let the preparations begin!

Organ music is frequently associated with Gothic music (what with organs being very popular in Gothic cathedrals). Even playing a “light” piece of music can result in the song coming across as very foreboding and heavy. In a cathedral the power of the organ helps convey that sense of an immense power all around you (AKA God). Very clever I think.

I listened to many organ pieces in search of the best one I could find for Halloween. This piece by French composer Louis Victor Jules Vierne and performed by Olivier Latry struck me as heavy, dark and perfect!

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Bolero from Moulin Rouge
• Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia
• O Fortuna from Carmina Burana

I also suggest the music genre:

• Halloween

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Click here for more info on Louis Victor Jules Vierne – “24 Pièces de Fantasie” – “Toccata in B Flat Minor”.

The CD may be purchased here:

Louis Victor Jules Vierne - 24 Pièces de Fantasie

Carl Orff – “O Fortuna” from “Carmina Burana” (1936)

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“O Fortuna” is the first part of the movement of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, though the bits of the rest of the “Carmina Burana” I have heard are hardly as intense. The lyrics are actually a medieval Latin poem and if you read the full translation to English, the song is actually quite profound in its review of “Fate”. Here is one part:

Fate
-monstrous and empty,
you whirling wheel,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing

With such weight and darkness I am adding it to my Halloween playlist.

Really the song is so powerful it is a pity it has been grossly overused and abused by commercial media and popular culture. Gatorade? Really? Boo! I say. Boo!!!

Now Carlton Draught beer … maybe I’ll cut you some slack. But only because the men are all in medieval style gowns in a giant valley, and it appears as though there might actually be a battle. However part of me is disappointed about the lyrics. It just cheapens the original, though I suppose it is funny. Ok, I forgive you, but only because I like beer!

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Bruno Coulais – “Coraline Soundtrack”
• Steve Sharples – “Bolero (Closing Credits to Moulin Rouge)”
• Leopold Stokowski – “Night on Bald Mountain”

I also suggest the music genre:

• Classical

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Click here for more info on Carl Orff – Carmina Burana – Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi – “O Fortuna”.

The MP3 (of the version by Leonard Slatkin with Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, which I believe is the same one as above) may be purchased here:

Carl Orff - Carmina Burana

Leopold Stokowski – “Night on Bald Mountain” (1940)

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Although this arrangement is loosely based on the original by Modest Mussorgsky, it is the one most people know from Disney’s Fantasia. It also frequently comes to my mind as an ideal Halloween song, though I might have been influenced by the animation when I was a wee lad.

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Dead Can Dance
• Serguéi Prokofiev
• Vivaldi

I also suggest the music genre:

• Classical

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Click here for more info on Leopold Stokowski – Walt Disney’s Fantasia Soundtrack – “Night on Bald Mountain”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Leopold Stokowski - Walt Disney's Fantasia Soundtrack

Yo-Yo Ma – Ástor Piazzolla’s “Libertango” (1997)

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My post for the song “Moorea” by the Gipsy Kings made me think of this song.

This is a cover of Ástor Piazzolla’s brilliant “Libertango”, which I think of more like a piece of classical music that will survive for generations. Yo-Yo Ma’s attention to Piazzolla by producing an entire album of “covers” adds validation to that claim (and why I am tagging this as classical). It also includes a number of other world class musicians on each instrument. Piazzolla originally wrote the piece in 1974 and I would’ve posted a performance by him, but they appear to be lacking on the Internet.

Ástor Piazzolla, by the way, is essentially the father of Nuevo Tango breathing new life into Tango music and Tango’s sub-genres after decades of stagnation. This song, among others, actually inspired me to take a tango dance class once, where I verified I sucked at dancing, and Tango dancing is not the place to start. I’ll stick with the music.

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Gipsy Kings
• Steve Sharples
• Yann Tiersen

I also suggest the music genre:

• Nuevo Tango

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Click here for more info on Yo-Yo Ma – Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla – “Libertango” and here for more information on the composer Ástor Piazzolla

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Yo-Yo Ma - Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla

Yann Tiersen – “La Noyée” (2001)

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Amélie” (or “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain” as I first knew it) has got to be one of my favorite movies of all time. (I have a huge poster in my office.) The music is suited to match, and this song is probably my favorite, with all the vigor and excitement one should feel when in love. I looked it up and “La Noyée” translated is “The Drowned” (in love presumably). I wonder what it is about the French that can make the accordion romantic (especially compared to these guys, not that those guys are trying)? Perhaps I am missing G for she is away.

I love how everything is red and green, and slightly saturated in the movie too. It is like eye candy. Highly recommended!

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Joe Dassin
• Iron & Wine
• Steve Sharples

I also suggest the music genre:

• Soundtrack

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Click here for more info on Yann Tiersen. More on Amélie here.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Yann Tiersen - Amélie Soundtrack

Serguéi Prokofiev – “Peter and the Wolf” (1936)

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

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I must point out at this point that all genres and all songs are fair game on this blog. There is music other than Rock and Pop after all!

I happened to watch the Disney rendition of “Peter and the Wolf” and I knew both the music and the narrative were severely modified. The videos above leave out the narrative, but I love the idea that this was a theme soundtrack with each character having their own theme. How brilliant that the music plays a critical role in the telling of the story. (Another excellent example is Star Wars. e.g. Luke’s theme. Check out its themes here.)

I found the rendition by Suzie Templeton made in 2006, in the videos above, to be much truer to the original story than the Disney version (e.g. the duck is eaten), but still with a few modifications (e.g. the balloon), and it omits the “spoken word” narrative so you can really focus on the music. You can read the narrative here from David Bowie’s rendition.

Also in Suzie Templeton’s rendition Peter is a bad ass. His expression when the wolf eats the duck is perfect. Definitely worth a watch & listen!

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Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Bach
• Steve Sharples
• Vivaldi

I also suggest the music genre:

• Classical

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Click here for more info on Serguéi Prokofiev and “Peter and the Wolf”.

The DVD for Suzie Templeton’s 2006 rendition of “Peter and the Wolf” may be purchased here:

Suzie Templeton's 2006 rendition of Serguéi Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf'

Vivaldi – “Cello Concerto In D Minor, RV 405″ (1700s)

First Movement – Allegro

Second Movement – Adagio

Third Movement – Allegro

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Vivaldi was a music machine. In his lifetime we produced well over 600 pieces (click here to see the list), many of which more than one movement. He produced music for all sorts of instruments, and groups of various size. He was primarily a music teacher at an orphanage and I’m guessing he found the available materials lacking. Most people only really know his “Four Seasons” which is a shame because I believe if you like one piece by Vivaldi you’ll probably like the rest. I guess he’s like “The Strokes” in that regard (or they are like him I should say). Even if you only like his “Allegro” music (AKA the fast stuff), you’ll probably like the rest of his “Allegro” music, of which there are at least 100.

I find Vivaldi to be very appealing in an almost mathematical way. His compositions show a great amount of musical symmetry and seem best played with precision and energy, without too much emotional interjection. It is excellent music for while you are working on a task that requires the same of you. If all you have heard is his “Four Seasons”, I implore you try out some more. If you haven’t even heard his “Four Seasons”, you at least must hear “Spring” and “Autumn” movements.

PS: I could be wrong, but I am quite certain the video above is cellist Ofra Harnoy with the Toronto Chamber Orchestra (Paul Robinson conducting), circa 1990, which also happens to be the CD I have, know and love.

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Click here for more info on Antonio Vivaldi.

The CD may be purchased here:

Vivaldi - Cello Concertos Vol 1. - Ofra Harnoy

Bach – Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 – Prelude (1717)

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I was not joking on my About MSotD page. Although I listen to mostly Alternative Rock, Indie and Electronic, I do love music in the classical, rap, country, and heavy metal. Don’t make me whip out my classical Chinese flute music to prove it! (It is wild stuff… I swear!) Moving on…

This is one of my two favorite Bach pieces of all time, the Prelude to Bach’s first Cello Suite. A single instrument, the cello, with its ability to span both high and low registers. So beautiful. Combined with this piece that can be so expressive. The perfect song for every high and low in life. Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Now I grew up enjoying a rendition performed by Anner Bylsma, an esteemed Dutch cellist. The only decent link I could find was a bit slow a tempo for my liking but you can hear the Cello Suite No. 1 prelude by Anner Bylsma here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZZKwE4Hf3Q.

The link I posted above is a Russian cellist, Mischa Maisky. I happened to find this version while search for one by Bylsma, and the tempo was more to my like, and the style still very expressive. Listen to both and hear the subtle differences. Both are excellent in my book.

Now for extra credit, listen to this rendition of Cello Suite No. 1 prelude by Yo-Yo Ma here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoZsrgKLHFg. I love Yo-Yo Ma, BUT this renditions of this song are more tradition baroque. That is to say the expression is turned down, and a steady tempo and style is emphasized. Even though this is probably more how it sounded in Bach’s time, I think something is lost. It has a flatter feeling.

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Wikipedia has more info on Anner Bylsma, Mischa Maisky, Yo-Yo Ma, Bach’s Cello Suites, and the genius composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

The MP3 of a Mischa Maisky version may be purchased here:

Mischa Maisky - Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 - Prelude