Evening Music Meditation: Sweet Dreams Are Made of Eurythmics

“Sweet Dreams” was one of the most unusual and futuristic songs I remember hearing in 1983. Synthpop was still in it’s early stages. Looking back, I think of Human League being the true pioneer of the new synthpop/electronic/drum machine futuristic music. When I first put Dare on my turntable in 1981, I’d never heard anything like it. The sound was so mechanical, industrial and unusual that it seemed like a glimpse into the 21st Century.

Two years later, when Eurythmics released the single “Sweet Dreams” from the album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), I felt much the same way as I did when I heard the Human League singing “Love Action” or “Don’t You Want Me?” It was mesmerizing.

The band, or actually duo, Eurythmics were Londoners Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. To my memory, they were the first male/female duo that went by a band name in the 1980s. There were several others, like Boy Meets Girl, Scarlett & Black and the very famous Swedish duo Roxette. One of the unique things about Eurythmics, Scarlett & Black and Roxette is that all featured female singers with extremely short hair; usually blonde, but sometimes Annie Lennox was a redhead.

“Sweet Dreams” was an international hit (it topped the Billboard Hot 100) and it led to many other international hits for Eurythmics, like “Here Comes the Rain Again,” “Would I Lie to You?” and “There Must Be an Angel.”

As the 1980’s faded into the 1990’s, so did the success of Eurythmics. In 1992, Annie Lennox, who was the voice of the band, went solo with her debut album Diva. The album was a big success, producing five hit singles– the most famous being “Why?” and “Walking on Broken Glass.”

Diva was followed up by 1995’s Medusa. Although the sophomore album sold well, it didn’t yield the hit singles like Diva had done. The album itself topped the British charts and peaked at #11 on the Billboard Top 200. It was a collection of cover songs. Two singles were released from it, the most successful being “No More I Love Yous.” The other was “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”

Eurythmics reunited in 1999 for the album Peace. Although the album sold pretty well for a 10 year comeback album, it didn’t produce any hit singles in the USA. Still, the album itself peaked at a very respectable #25 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart.

Annie Lennox released another best selling album, Bare, in 2003. Bare peaked at #3 in England and at #4 in the States. This despite the fact that no singles were released from the album. Bare went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Album.

Lennox has managed to stay in the spotlight well into the 21st Century with two more successful solo albums, 2007’s Songs of Mass Destruction and 2014’s Nostalgia. Both albums peaked in the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic.

Eurythmics: Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.

Eternal Music Meditation: HAUSER–Cello in the Moonlight

Famed Cellist Stjepan Hauser was born in Pula, Croatia in 1986. He studied cello in Zagreb, London and in the United States under the tutelage of Bernard Greenhouse. He is best known as being one half of 2 Cellos along with Cellist Luka Sulic. As 2 Cellos, the duo have released a few albums, but as soloists, Hauser has stepped to the forefront.

Hauser has a YouTube page with 864,000 subscribers, including myself. And he has more videos on his page than does the average Pop/Rock musician. Although 2 Cellos became famous with their renditions of famous Pop songs, Hauser has chosen to go the Classical route with most of his solo works.

He has just recently released his first solo album, simply called Classic. It was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. Below I have chosen several of my favorite Hauser videos, which are extremely gorgeous musically and visually.

My favorite Hauser performance is his rendition of Benedictus by Karl Jenkins from The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. This was recorded at the Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb during October of 2017.

Another favorite is from the same concert performance. Here, Hauser performs Pie Jesu by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

On a lighter side, the video below presents Hauser performing Sir Edward Elgar’s Salut d’Amour, also with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Elisabeth Fuchs, Conductor

Moving to the Classical Period (the 18th Century) we have Hauser performing the Adagio from Joseph Haydn’s first Cello Concerto in C major with the Zagreb Soloists. This video was recorded live in Zagreb, Croatia, in 2012.

We now return to the concert from October of 2017. Here we have Hauser performing Ave Maria by Franz Schubert with Choir Zvjezdice and the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra at Lisinski Concert Hall, Elisabeth Fuchs, Conductor.

Let’s now listen to selections from Hauser’s new album, Classic. First, we’ll hear him performing the famous Andante from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467. This is one of several specially filmed videos to promote the new album. Most of the following videos were filmed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary.

Also from Classic, is this beautiful rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Pas de Deux from his ballet The Nutcracker.

The Lonely Shepherd is one of the few tunes on Classic that are not from Classical composers. This lovely piece has been recorded and played in several movie soundtracks since 1977.

Adagio for Strings is the most famous composition of American Composer Samuel Barber. Barber, a 20th Century composer, wrote the piece for his Serenade for Strings, but this is the only movement most people are familiar with hearing.

From the Baroque period, Hauser presents a beautiful rendition of the ever-famous Air on the String of G by Bach.

And the last composition we will hear tonight is also from Tchaikovsky. It’s from his ballet The Swan Lake and is also included on Hauser’s album, Classic.

Evening Music Meditation: Comfort Music. Try a Little Milk and Toast and Roxette

We’re all familiar with the term “comfort food.” It refers to the foods, usually sugary or salty, that we turn to when we want to medicate away bad feelings. Well, COVID19 is giving me lots of bad feelings. I’m already tired of social isolation– and I’m an introvert! So I’m sure the extroverts are bouncing off the walls. And many of us have already turned to comfort foods to feel better.

How about turning to comfort music instead. It’s like a form of prayer. It makes you feel better, but not fatter!

Right now, I’m finding great comfort in many Roxette songs that most people are not familiar with, simply because they weren’t released as singles and didn’t become Top 40 hits. “Sitting on Top of the World” is one of my favorites because I’m tired of sitting at home and I want to be on top of the world again. So, this beautiful little song from the album Charm School helps me to remember there will be better days ahead,

“Milk and Toast and Honey” is also a nice comfort song– although it might make you run to the refrigerator! That’s not the intent, however. This is just a lovely, sweet song that points to how important the small blessings in life are when we stop taking them for granted and start appreciating what we do have in our lives.

“Breathe” is another favorite Roxette comfort song. Sometimes we forget to “open the window to a summer breeze” and simply breathe. Right now, we have a beautiful spring breeze to “Breathe” and despite COVID-19, we can still going walking in the sunshine and feel the softness of spring, as well as soak-in the beauty of all the colorful blooming plants to lift our spirits.

Another beautiful Roxette song is “Perfect Day.” Obviously, on the surface, things aren’t perfect right now. But again, that doesn’t mean that we can’t look for the good in each day and make it a little more perfect than miserable.

Roxette

One last song by Roxette that I take great comfort in is “Go to Sleep.” This is a truly beautiful lullaby of a song– sung so wonderfully my Marie Fredriksson. I have a playlist of these and other Roxette ballads that I often fall to sleep by at night, once I snuggle up under the sheets.

And once I wake up in the morning “I Wish I Could Fly.” Hopefully, this pandemic will subside sooner than later and we will all be able to fly up and sit on top of the world again.

Roxette— Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson.

Evening Music Meditation: Soul Ballet, From Midnight to Latin Jazz

Rick Kelly of Soul Ballet— Today

Soul Ballet was a smooth jazz concept by keyboardist Rick Kelly. He released his first album under the title of Soul Ballet in 1996. He then followed with six more albums between 1998’s Trip the Night Fantastic and 2009’s 2019.

Nothing has been heard from Soul Ballet since 2009. Even at the height of Soul Ballet’s fame as a moody, sensual smooth jazz act, there wasn’t much information about Rick Kelly, or Soul Ballet itself. I only became acquainted with Soul Ballet through smooth jazz radio in Chicago. One day I was in Tower Records downtown and Trip the Night Fantastic had just been released. I loved the title, was familiar with Kelly’s sound, and so I bought it.

Below you will find an array of songs from various Soul Ballet albums, including the debut self-titled album, Trip the Night Fantastic, Vibe Cinema and Lavish.

Soul Ballet does have a Facebook page, but it’s basically blank and the website has been shut down. Still I did manage to find a few pictures of an older Rick Kelly, so he must still be performing.

“Round 12:01″ from Soul Ballet

“Black Sun” from Trip the Night Fantastic

“Am I Close Enough?” from Soul Ballet

“Tuscan Chica” from Lavish

“Walkin’ Through the Rain” from Soul Ballet

“Her Joy Ride” from Trip the Night Fantastic

“Cream” from Drum Beat Dream

“Lavish” from Lavish

“Romantique” from Trip the Night Fantastic

“Choose Me” from Vibe Cinema

“Want You” from Dial It In

“Black Sun” Remix from Vibe Cinema

Eternal Music Meditation: Easter’s Gloria!

It’s Easter Sunday and a very unusual Easter in this year of 2020. Most Easter Services/Masses were offered via the Internet because of the Coronavirus. But whether we are celebrating in unison on the Internet or in a Church, it is still Easter.

So the emphasis today is on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Christian tradition. And musically, my emphasis is going to be on some of the most beautiful “Glorias” ever composed.

Trevor Pinnock

We will start with the most “glorious” Gloria ever written– By Antonio Vivaldi. In the following video Trevor Pinnock and the English Chamber Orchestra and Choir are featured.

We will follow Vivaldi with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Gloria from his 12th Mass. This performance is by the Voice of Joy Choir and Orchestra.

Voice of Joy Choir and Orchestra

Next, we will follow with Handel’s Gloria conducted by Sir Richard Elliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists.

The English Baroque Soloists

We will continue with a Gloria by Dvorak for his Mass in C., Opus 86. It includes an opening Kyrie and it is performed by the Konzert 11 des Helmstedter Kammerchores.

Helmstedter Kammerchores

Dvorak is followed by two modern day composers. First we have Brit John Rutter with a performance of his Gloria recorded by the Angeles Chorale.

The Angeles Chorale

Next we have the Batavia Madigral Singers, conducted by Avip Prianta, performing Gloria In Excelsis composed in 2018 by Ivo Antognini. The Batavia Madigrals are from Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Batavia Madrigals

Now, we return to a true classic, Ludwig Van Beethoven and his Gloria from Mass in C Major. It is performed by the University of Southern California at Los Angeles Chorale and Philharmonic.

The UCLA Philharmonic and Choir

And we will now finish up our Easter Gloria Celebration with the Gloria from Mozart’s Coronation Mass. It is performed by the Ajoo Concert Choir and Orchestra.

The Ajoo Chorus

Evening Music Meditation: Holy Saturday–From Quiet Reflective Waiting to GloriousTriumph

Holy Saturday, in the Christian tradition, is usually a quiet day of waiting. A chance to think about the sacrifice God made for love of humanity. As evening falls, however, Holy Saturday is transformed into a time of anticipation and triumph expressed through Easter Vigil services.

We will start tonight’s Vigil symphony with American Composer Morten Lauridsen’s “Sure on this Shining Night.” performed by the University of North Texas A’Capella Choir with piano accompaniment.

John Rutter, English Choral Composer

On this shining night before the sunrise of Easter, there is no music that could be of greater appeal to our ears than “What Sweeter Music,” which is a composition by British Composer John Rutter.

And this “sweeter music” takes us to Psalm 23, The Lord Is My Shepherd. This musical composition accompanying the words to the psalm is again by John Rutter.

We then follow up with a magnificent composition by French Composer Gabriel Faure, “In Paradisum.” This is a gentle, lovely reminder of the beauty of Heaven, which we are about to encounter on Easter Sunday.

Gabriel Faure

And as we near the midnight stretch of time that takes us into Easter morning, we will end with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Gloria in Excelcis Deo” from his Mass in C Minor.

Gloria from Mass in C: Director: Clau Scherrer; Choir: Cantus Firmus Surselva; Orchestra: Kammerphilharmonie Graubünden.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “Glory to God in the Highest!”

Evening Music Meditation: Going Home

Charles Laughton, Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings in “It Started with Eve.”

“Going Home” is almost like a Gospel hymn. I first remember hearing the song when I discovered the 1941 Deanna Durbin movie It Started With Eve. Durbin sings the song during a very emotional, heartbreaking scene in the film.

The music to “Going Home” was written by Antonin Dvorak for his New World Symphony in 1893. It’s the second movement of the symphony and is referred to as a “Largo.”

Anton Dvorak

The theme to the Largo has a very sad, spiritual feel to it. Many European Classical composers relied heavily on native folk tunes, which they weaved through the various movements of their symphonies. The tune could have come from a Czechoslovakian folk tune and the urgent sadness of the movement could possibly be related to Dvorak’s missing his home country. The New World, or 9th Symphony, was written by Dvorak in New York City.

Dvorak’s home in New York City.

In 1922, William Arms Fisher, a student of Dvorak, put lyrics to the melancholy melody of the Largo. Fisher gave the lyric version the title “Going’ Home.” Below are two live performances of the symphonic Largo melody made into the pop/spiritual tune.

“Going Home” performed by the ANU School of Music Chamber Choir, conducted by Bengt-Olov Palmqvist.

“Going Home” perfomed by the Zero8 Chorus.

A very sad Deanna Durbin just before she sings “Going Home” to Charles Laughton.

Morning Music Meditation: Good Friday

Today is Good Friday and so I have two of the most beautiful Requiems (Funeral Services/Masses) ever composed: The first by modern day American composer Morten Lauridsen and the second by renown French composer Gabriel Faure.

Morten Lauridsen (1943-present) is an American composer from the West Coast. His most famous composition is Lux Aeterna, which was composed in 1997. This is a live recording of the entire requiem, which consists of five parts: I. Introitus, II. InTe, Domine, Speravi III. O Nata Lux IV. Veni, Sancte Spiritus and V. Agnus Dei – Lux Aeterna

This particular version of the Lux Aeterna is performed by the vocal ensemble Cantando, accompanied by the La Passione Orchestra with Conductor Luc Anthonis. The most famous recorded version is by the Los Angeles Mastor Chorale.

Morten Lauridsen

Gabriel Faure

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) was a French composer who wrote orchestral and chamber music, piano compositions and vocal works. His Requiem was composed in 1888 and has become one of the most famous Requiems in Classical music. This particular version (presented below) is by the Ensemble Orchestra of Paris, accompanied by the Accentus Choir and conducted by Laurence Equilbey.

Both Requiems are extremely lovely even though they were written more than 100 years apart, and modern day compositions are not generally considered to be as beautiful as those from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. In fact these types of compositions, with their lush softness, have often been referred to as “lullabies of death.” They provide a remarkable insight into the beauty of new life that is brought through death to the old life.

Have a blessed Good Friday.

A very young Gabriel Faure.

Evening Music Meditation: Samuel Barber, from Serenade for Strings to Agnus Dei

American composer of Classical music Samuel Barber is probably most famous for just one orchestral piece he wrote: The Adagio from his Serenade for Strings. This, despite the fact, that two of his other compositions won Pulitzer Prizes: His Concerto for Piano and Orchestra and his Opera Vanessa.

But the Adagio from Serenade for Strings is so powerful that I consider it the saddest piece of music ever written. It can move a person to tears. In 1967, words to the Catholic Mass, the Agnus Dei or Lamb of God, were added to the original melody of the Adagio. Since that time, the composition has been called Agnus Dei whenever it is performed by a choir or solo singer.

Since today is Holy Thursday, the first day of the Christian Triduum, and since many denominations celebrate the Lord’s Supper on this eve, I thought it appropriate to make Barber’s Agnus Dei the song for the evening. Meditate away and allow the tears to flow.

Samuel Barber

Morning Music Meditation: Blue in Blue

This morning I’m concentrating again on British Composer Patrick Hawes and his album Blue in Blue. Here are three of the loveliest compositions from that album. Unfortunately there are not any “real” live performance videos for two of them.

The first video features the composition “Swan,” which is a lovely instrumental gem.

The second video is an actual live performance of Hawes’ extremely beautiful “Pavane” from the soundtrack to the film The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie.

And the third composition is a vocal piece called “The Italian Song.” It is recorded with an orchestra and is very moving.

All three of these compositions are found on the Blue in Blue album and can be downloaded from iTunes or Amazon.