Somewhere between the avuncular Trenet’s La Mer & Brel’s hyper-emotive Ne me quitte pas, I decided to pre-empt the two-faced Janus & end, rather than begin, the year with something that I have enjoyed in the past & will undoubtedly continue to enjoy in the future. A quick round-up of the usual suspects, a selection made. & so, below, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major played by the Orchestra Mozart conducted by Claudio Abbado.
Lots of strings attached — three violins, three violas, three cellos, a contrabass &, as Denise Levertov wrote, “don’t forget the crablike / hands, slithering / among the keys.”
1 comment:
Thanks for the opening-day music, Mark, which has been the best part of my year so far. I am reminded that there is a reason pieces of music become warhorses.
For "Ne me quitte pas," I try to avoid Brel, even though it's his signature piece, because it's so over the top emotionally, almost strident.
I go for Nina Simone, as I usually do. Her French accent is at best execrable, but that makes the song all the more real, and her emotion rings true as well. There is a depth of tone to both her voice and her emotion, to her singing as a whole, that works better with that song.
Or look up the YouTubed version of her "If You Knew," which I think is the most honestly poignant singing I've ever heard.
Cheers, and welcome to 2008.
Geof
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