From George Rowe, for 15 Hymns. Which, the more I type it, starts to sound like an album title.
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photo by carf
I totally mean this as a compliment…George reminds me of Michael Jackson.
Fitting choice for today… June and I went to period instruments performace of the ‘Messiah’ today, and when they got to “For Unto Us” all I can hear is our little choir riffing on “WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR!…”
That recording session with that group (6 singers) was one of the most fun times I’ve had as a producer. It got a little less fun at 2 am, but you know what I mean.
We just got back from a Messiah Sing-along at Lake Ave. 100 voice choir, full orchestra, wonderful. I wonder how many pieces of music there are in the world that, 250 years after they were written, people still gather together in huge groups to sing?
Also, Stick, way to rub some funk on those B3 parts.
Actually, my partner at the time, Smidi, did that arrangement and played it. I recorded and mixed it.
And yeah, hearing the ‘Messiah’… the WHOLE thing (3 hrs with the intermission) in Handel’s 1743 (I think) version on instruments either from that time period or modeled on them (wind instruments don’t hold up like violins) was interesting. It’s definitely different than the often heard gigantorchestra belting out the Hallelujah Chorus. It’s still glorious, but with less bombast.
Oh, and it’s not at the end…
nope! It’s like the LOTR. Just when you think it can’t possible have any more endings … they add one more chorus.
True, but the ‘Amen’ Fugue at the actual end is pretty nice.
Apparently I’m not a purist because I missed the wall-o-sound that a “gigantorchestra” creates for the Messiah. Next year I hope to hear it all on non-period instruments. Sue me.
Does anyone else find this line from a google ad on this page amusing/disturbing? “Gregorian chant in stock and ready to ship.” It reminds me of seeing billboards in Calabasas a few years ago which advertised new home construction (”starting in the billions”) on a background of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.