31. If God's On Your Side. Danny Michel

I first heard this on Weekender, and recently I heard it again on faux-Weekender. It's kind of a cool message.

32. A Song for All Seasons. Oliver Schroer

I once met a person who, after I told her I was doing PhD and that one of my favorite possessions was a Mickey Mouse hat, said "You are a very complex woman." Exactly. That is how I, Dr. S, can be a fan of ABBA and Oliver Schroer at the same time.

Unfortunately, I didn't cotton on to Oliver Schroer, an amazing violinist from Toronto, until it was too late. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007 and died about a year later. This tune is from an album he created in the last year of his life.

It's sad and elegiac, but hopeful and transcendant at the end. A song for all seasons.

33. 'Round Midnight. Marlene Shaw

This was on one of my dad's mixed CDs. I'd never heard this version of the song before and at first I was a bit taken aback; it sounded kind of "modern" for my dad's tastes. I really like the way she sings it, though, and I guess he did too.

34. Freedom Trilogy From Paul Halley's Missa Gaia

Fun to sing, and talk about layering! It starts off with a children's choir singing a Kyrie, then the choir comes in with Haleluya! Pelo tsa rona (Hallelujah! We sing your praises, in Shona), then the hymn Siyahamba (the anti-apartheid hymn We Are Marching in the Light of God, in Zulu), and finally the soloist sings Amazing Grace over the whole thing. When we were singing it, I didn't realize that the children's choir was singing the Kyrie at the same time we were singing other stuff - everything was so loud I didn't hear them until I listened to the recording later.

35. A-Tisket, A-Tasket. Ella Fitzgerald

I think this was Ella Fitzgerald's first big hit. I like the big band in the background.

36. The Things We Said Today. Mary McCaslin

This is a Beatles song from A Hard Day's Night. I heard this version on NPR's Folk Show (I love the internet radio!).

37. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson was one of my dad's favourite singers, period. I think one reason was that my dad himself had a really deep bass singing voice. We heard a lot of Robeson's spirituals around the house.

38. Anitra's Dance. Edvard Grieg

We had this ancient album of the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, with Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 by Grieg, Valse Triste by Sibelius, Swedish Rhapsody by Alfven and Finlandia. You can tell how ancient the album was; this statement appears on the back cover: "This Columbia STEREO FIDELITY recording is designed for use on 33 1/3 RPM stereophonic reproducers." I used to listen to side one all the time (Peer Gynt and Valse Triste) but I grew to appreciate side two in later years. I wish I could find a CD of this album but so far I've had no luck. Anyway, Anitra's Dance is just one pretty part of Peer Gynt Suite No. 1. More familiar are Morning Mood (kind of a Scandinavian Oh What a Beautiful Morning sans words) and In the Hall of the Mountain King.

39. Marie's Wedding. Van Morrison and The Chieftains

This album was a staple in the hellish McMaster days; lots of scotch was imbibed to it. I like the traditional instruments used by The Chieftains, especially the uilleann pipes (sort of like little bagpipes) and the bodhran (the drum). It's incredible how many collaborations The Chieftains have done. One good collaborative album is Tears of Stone, which features a bunch of different female artists, including a deep-voiced Joni Mitchell singing The Magdalene Laundries. They've also done collaborations with bluegrass and country artists, Down the Old Plank Road and Further Down the Old Plank Road, which feature such diverse people as Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, and Lyle Lovett.

40. Anchorage. Michelle Shocked

Dr S reporting for duty. We first heard Michelle Shocked when we moved to Onatrio for grad school. I think it's safe to say that she's a very up and down talent. Anchorage, her first big hit, and the album on which it's found, Short Sharp Shocked, are among her best work. We saw Michelle Shocked in concert once, and she said that the song, if a little exaggerated, is rooted in truth.

I wonder if I liked this song so much at that time because it was the story of someone revisiting her youth and concluding that those days were truly gone and that a new future beckoned. That was what I was discovering too. (Of course, things hadn't gone so well for Michelle's pal. Here's hoping my old friends are happier.)

But it is also good music and a story well-told. I love the part where she sings the text of the letter from her friend, "Leroy says send a picture. Leroy says hello. Leroy says .... oh, keep on rockin' girl. Keep on rockin'."

41. I've Got a Crush on You. Lee Wiley

Lee Wiley was a favourite of my dad's. She does a great version of I'm Coming, Virginia, too. This is another great Gershwin song.

42. Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77, 3rd movement. Brahms

One of my all-time favourite pieces. I had heard this many times but when I saw it performed live it made a big impression on me. I love this movement; a lot of it sounds very self-important, but I think it also sounds happy. Just before the 6-minute mark the violin has histrionics, and then you get four bars of low strings going "duddle-ump, duddle-ump, duddle-ump, duddle-ump" (which sort of sounds to me like a bunch of elephants tip-toeing in), and then the main theme comes back, only in triplets, so it sounds faster and kind of funny, as if Brahms is making fun of himself. Thanks to golden-haired C, a real conductor, who suggested that I look at the score so I could figure out what was going on.

43. Free Nelson Mandela. The Specials

This is not a good recording. It's an mp3 copy of an approximately 25-year-old cassette recording of some other recording. The cassette was a mixed tape that friend MEH made us, and this is one of the best songs on it. Now I guess this song is very historical. Strange to think that it's almost 20 years since Nelson Mandela was freed.


P.S. That mixed tape also included an excellent, extremely laid-back version of Jump by Aztec Camera; I recommend it.
P.P.S. Imagine my surprise upon learning that MEH actually follows this blog! Hello, MEH! Perhaps you will leave a note sometime...

44. Libera Me. Yaron Herman

One weekend morning I was brushing my teeth while listening to the radio and did a double-take as I thought I heard a jazz piano version of Libera Me from Faure's Requiem. I thought it was brilliant. I sang this in the MUN Festival Choir in 1982 or 1983 and I loved it; some of the harmonies reminded me of stuff like the Beatles' Sun King. The words to Libera Me are:
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda quando coeli
movendi sunt et terra, dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.
Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death, on that fearful day when the heavens
are moved and the earth when thou shalt come to judge the world through fire.
Faure's setting is mellow; this is even mellower. The end of it is like a heartbeat slowing down and then stopping.

45. Sister Goldenhair. America

Back in high school the now-successful-musician Keith and my friend L and I formed a sort of trio called M.I.T. We sang a lot of Beatles songs and we also sang Sister Goldenhair. I vaguely remember going to the Janeway children's hospital and singing it there, probably as something to do with the YMCA leaders' corps, of which we were members. The photo is of another wonderful friend with golden hair.

46. Love is Here to Stay

One of my favourite George Gershwin songs. This is a fun version.

47. I Don't Know What It Is

I can't remember for sure but I think the first Rufus Wainwright song I heard was Oh, What a World, and I liked how he gradually layered the music, incorporating Bolero towards the end. I like this song for the same reason; he adds layers and the sound builds. What the heck is it about? I don't know, but it's got a line from Three's Company. And I like the line "give me heaven or hell, Calais or Dover." This kind of reminds me of The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. I like the quality of his voice, too: it sounds kind of lazy but it has a richness.

48. Lobe den Herren, BWV 137. J.S. Bach

Our choir sang this one in 2006. In this recording, they start with the chorale (the last verse of the piece), and then go into the chorus. I love the trumpets; the altos, tenors and basses pick up their line while the sopranos sing the chorale over the top. I couldn't find a very good translation of it but I've included something I found on the internet which seems pretty close to the original German.

Lobe den Herren; was in mir ist, lobe den Namen.
Alles was Odem hat, lobe mit Abrahams Samen.
Er ist dein Licht; Seele, vergiß es ja nicht;
Lob ihn und schließe mit Amen!

Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren!
Meine geliebte Seele, das ist mein Begehren.
Kommet zu Hauf! Psalter und Harfe, wacht auf!
Lasset den Lobgesang hören!

Praise the Lord; what is in me, praise his name.
All that hath breath, praise with Abraham's seed.
He is thine light; soul, do not forget it!
Praise him into eternity. Amen!

Praise the Lord, the mighty king of honour,
My dear soul, this is my desire.
Come in droves, psalter and harp awake,
Let the song of praise be heard!

Technical difficulties

Apologies: our computer is not working, so I may not be able to post for a few days, or the posts may be kind of spotty.

49. Blue and Lonesome. Alison Krauss and Union Station

It's cool how Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski do this duet and stick together on all the curlicues. They do a nice train whistle sound, which seems to be a pretty dominant theme in bluegrass singing. (The chugging sound of a train is prevalent too, but this song doesn't have it.) Also cool is how in bluegrass, the melody line is not the top line; there's harmony going on above it. I noticed this on my own at some point but then my observation was verified in a book by my friend L's father, who is an internationally renowned bluegrass expert. Boy, did I feel intelligent. (On listening to this song again, however, I'm not sure which line is supposed to be the melody, Alison's or Dan's. Comes from being an alto, I guess; the alto line often sounds more like the melody to me than the soprano line does.)

50. O Man Greatly Beloved from Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem

I featured another part of the Dona Nobis Pacem as #95. This is at the end. It's preceded by words from a speech by John Bright in the British House of Commons during the Crimean War:
The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land; you may almost hear the beating of his wings. There is no one as of old . . . to sprinkle with blood the lintel and the two side-posts of our doors, that he may spare and pass on.

... and by a passage from the book of Jeremiah (8:15-22):
We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones;
for they are come, and have devoured the land, and those that dwell therein.
. . .
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved...
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?
Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Dona Nobis Pacem ends (almost) on a joyous and hopeful note with O Man Greatly Beloved (taken from various parts of scripture):

O man, greatly beloved, fear not, peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former, and in this place will I give peace.
Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall there be war any more.
And none shall make them afraid, neither shall the sword go through the land.
Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will go into them.
Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled; and let them hear, and say, it is the truth.
And it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see my glory.
And I will set a sign among them, and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
For as the new heavens, and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, so shall your seed and your name remain for ever.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men.

Isn't that a beautiful line: "righteousness and peace have kissed each
other." The piece ends with a haunting "dona nobis pacem."

51. Ten Cents a Dance. Ruth Etting

I knew nothing about Ruth Etting before my dad put this on one of his CDs, although I had heard the song before. Born in Nebraska in 1897, Etting got a job in a Chicago night club and caught the attention of a mobster, Moe Snyder (aka The Gimp), who married her in 1922. Ten Cents a Dance was a big hit for her in 1930. Doris Day and James Cagney starred in a 1955 movie about her life, Love Me or Leave Me. I like how this recording has that really old sound (a kind of muted quality). And you can understand all the words!

52. Under Attack. ABBA

I don't think that this was ever a big hit. I grew to love it while listening to Dr S's extensive ABBA collection. The chorus is fantastic even though I can't understand all the words. About the photo: this is Dr S's grandmother and two cousins. When I first saw it, I thought how creepy it looks with this woman standing menacingly behind two sweet, unsuspecting children. (Apologies to cousins E and R, but don't you kind of agree?)

53. Big Noise from Winnetka. Bob Haggart and Ray Bauduc

Another piece from my dad's library. This one is cool because all it is is Bob Haggart whistling and playing bass, with Ray Bauduc on drums. (They were members of the Bob Crosby Orchestra.) Dr S and I have just agreed that we never really realized that it was only those three things until I looked it up on the internet to find out a little about the background. It kind of reminds me of Golden Wedding by Woody Herman and his orchestra, which opens with just drums and clarinet (but then the rest of the band comes in). The drums are great. Big band music made good use of the cow bell. You don't hear enough cow bell anymore.

54. Grand Central Station. Mary Chapin Carpenter

Dr S reporting for duty!

Mary Chapin Carpenter is one of my favorite artists -- she's kind of an intellectual country singer, and sings a wide variety of stuff. Zydeco. Traditional sentimental country duets like Not Too Much to Ask (with Joe Diffie). Good old fashioned folk. Pissed-off anthems like He Thinks He'll Keep Her and its flipside, The Hard Way. An entire album, Time*Sex*Love, that is flecked through with Beatles influences and includes a song featuring the "mind the gap" announcement from the London underground.

I think this is one of her best songs. Simple, deliberate guitar that gradually gives way to more orchestration and then back again. Slightly shaky voice. And the simple first person story of a worker from the World Trade Center "pile" who stops at Grand Central Station every night as he leaves work to let the dust on his clothes --all that's left of those who were killed-- float off his clothes onto the platforms and trains heading home.

Got my work clothes on, full of sweat and dirt
All this holy dust upon my face and shirt
Heading uptown now, just as the shifts are changing
To Grand Central Station
I got my lunch box, got my hard hat in my hand
I ain't no hero, mister, just a working man
And all these voices keep on asking me to take them,
To Grand Central Station
Grand Central Station

In the care of most other people it would be completely maudlin. But with her, it's just heartbreaking.

55. Sun King. The Beatles

The Beatles are my favourite group ever. I started listening to them at an early age and gradually collected all their albums. I'm pretty sure I like singing harmony because of them. Abbey Road is one of my favourite Beatles albums, especially side 2 (which I guess doesn't exist since the advent of CDs). I got my Abbey Road album in the summer of 1977 at Jack's in Jacksonville, Illinois while visiting my grandmother. I played it over and over on her stereo, which was one of those old-fashioned ones in a walnut (or some fancy wood) cabinet, while thinking about Luke Skywalker (we had gone to see Star Wars in Montreal on our way to Grammie's). (Later I realized that Luke Skywalker was kind of pathetic compared to Han Solo.) Anyway, I like the way side 2 of Abbey Road kind of runs together. This is just a snippet of it, but I love the mellow harmonies, the crickets, the faux-Italian, etc. I assume it's faux-Italian; to tell you the truth, I don't even know all the lyrics to all the Beatles songs - some of them sound like gobbledegook to me and I just sing along phonetically. I think at the end of this they say "cake-and-eat-it."

56. On the Appian Way. Respighi

Last year we got some tickets to the Toronto Symphony. I chose this concert because I recognized Respighi (they used to play stuff from his Ancient Airs and Dances on CBC2 a lot, but that's really all I knew of him). We had great seats at the back of the orchestra; the sound was wonderful. They opened the concert with Italiana (Ancient airs and dances, Suite No.3). I thought it was absolutely beautiful. Later in the concert, they played The Pines of Rome, four short pieces. The opening piece is supposed to portray children playing among the pines of Villa Borghese; it's striking because it's written all in the treble clef (even the parts for low instruments like the cello and bassoon). This makes the sound quite brilliant and even shrill, for which reason Dr S did not like it. She didn't like On the Appian Way, either, for the same reason that I do like it; the sound crescendos gradually until it's blasting out (when the orchestra played, the trumpets were standing up in the choir stalls). This is a scene of an army (I'm thinking an ancient Roman army) approaching from the distance, coming closer until they're right on top of you. Although it starts off kind of menacing, it ends up being a very triumphal, even happy-sounding piece (so it's not very politically correct). Boy, did that Respighi write some evocative music!

57. Guess Who I Saw Today. Carmen McRae

When Dr S and I moved to Hamilton (aka The Armpit of Canada) to go to McMaster (aka Hell on Earth), my dad made us four mixed tapes of jazz and blues. This song (in a different version) was on one of them. It's a good song because it tells a story, and you don't get climax until the very last word.

58. Buonaparte. Keith Murphy

Keith is an old friend; we first met at Y camp over 30 years ago and bonded over singing and ukulele-playing. He's married to Becky Tracy (song #84). When we visited them in Vermont last year, Keith gave us a copy of his CD. This song is based on a shape note song (which I do not absolutely understand, so I won't try to explain it); Keith wrote the third and fourth verses. It's a very pleasant melody and I like his voice. If you enjoy this and are interested in getting a copy of the CD, go to BlackIsleMusic.com.

59. Dead. They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants is a very strange band with very strange but catchy songs. This is a good one. To my knowledge, I never made my younger brother have to be my personal slave, but it's a good line.

I returned a bag of groceries accidently taken off the shelf before the expiration date.
I came back as a bag of groceries accidently taken off the shelf before the date stamped on myself.

Did a large procession wave their torches as my head fell in the basket, and was everybody dancing on the casket?

Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't done anything that I want
Or, I'm still alive and there's nothing I want to do.

I will never say the word "procrastinate" again; I'll never see myself in the mirror with my eyes closed.
I didn't apologize for when I was eight and I made my younger brother have to be my personal slave.

Did a large procession wave their torches as my head fell in the basket, and was everybody dancing on the casket?

Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't done anything that I want
Or, I'm still alive and there's nothing I want to do.

So I won't sit at home anymore
and you won't see my head in the window
and I won't be around ever anymore
and I'll be up there on the wall at the store.

I returned a bag of groceries accidently taken off the shelf before the expiration date.
I came back as a bag of groceries accidently taken off the shelf before the date stamped on myself.

Did a large procession wave their torches as my head fell in the basket, and was everybody dancing on the casket?

Now it's over I'm dead and I haven't done anything that I want
Or, I'm still alive and there's nothing I want to do.

60. In the Beginning. Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland is best-known for works like Billy the Kid and Appalachian Spring, and a great arrangement of Shall We Gather By the River. I love all of those, but I thought I'd share something you may never have heard before, In the Beginning, which is Genesis, chapters 1 and 2:1-7. Our choir sang the first bit of this piece one January when the lectionary was on Genesis. We sang only the first bit because the piece (at least this recording of it) is almost 16 minutes long (don't worry - I'm only giving you the first two days here!). I think our choir director said we'd never be able to do it because we'd surely go flat in a piece that long (since it's a capella, or acapulco, as he likes to say). I notice that in this recording, the mezzo-soprano soloist (not named in the liner notes, but on the CD itself, Catherine Denley is listed as a soloist) goes flat pretty quickly but somehow the choir manages to maintain their pitch. It's kind of neat word-painting, etc. with those cool Copland harmonies. At the end of each day the choir sings very quietly: "And the evening and the morning were the first (second, etc.) day." Here are the words for the bit you're listening to:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven.
And the evening and the morning were the second day.



Not the kind of thing you listen to on your ipod on your way to work, but worth a listen sometime.