ThePianoGuys are making it BIG!!

ThePianoGuys were an early addition to this blog, and I am so delighted to see them hitting the big time!  You can (and should ;) pre-order their album here:

Support GUM!!

Also, you can (and should ;) watch them on Leno!
Congrats, Guys!

"Comfort, Comfort Ye My People" - Bourgeois, White, Canto Deo

One of my favorite, lesser-known hymns.  It is typically sung at Advent, but I think it is applicable year-round.  The Melody is by Louis Bourgeois, 1551; this setting is by David Ashley White (b.1944; who incidentally is at the University of Houston); this performance is by Canto Deo Chamber Choir.  Enjoy!

"All we, like sheep" from Handel's Messiah

I love this movement from the Messiah, and not just because I always smile at the title.*  The music and text (below) work so well together, with a simple theme for "All we, like sheep," suggesting the simpleness of mankind relative to God; and fast notes for the words "astray" and "turned," suggesting the wanderings of a lost and scattered flock.

Text:  "All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  (Isaiah 53 : 6)

* Sometimes when we are playing "Settlers of Catan," I start singing, "All we lack sheep."

"Buckbeak's Flight" from Harry Potter 3 - John Williams

The Harry Potter establishment scored big when they got John Williams to compose the soundtrack!  I love this piece - I think it really captures the feeling of freedom and exploration that Harry experiences during his ride on Buckbeak.

"Homeland" and "Here I Am" from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - Hans Zimmer

One of the things I enjoy about animated films these days is that a lot of them have really good-quality music, good enough to be played by professional classical orchestras!  The movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is one of these.  You may remember this movie as being "the animated film about animals who don't talk."  I knew the soundtrack by heart long before I saw the film.  But the movie was pretty good, too - even my dad enjoyed it :)

Here's the "original," soundtrack version, which continues to include the piece "Here I Am":

Kyrie from Missa Mater Patris - Josquin des Prez (performed by Chanticleer)

The Missa Mater Patris by Josquin des Prez is my favorite mass, and the Kyrie (below) is my favorite part.  To hear the entire mass, which is ~1/2 hour, check out this playlist.  This recording is by the group Chanticleer - sort of the American equivalent to the King's Singers.

(This is actually a "parody mass" - for more info, click here.)

"Finlandia" - Jean Sibelius (four versions!)

"Finlandia" is one of my favorite melodies - I didn't realize it was written by Sibelius, and I also didn't realize he was Finnish until I looked up this song.  Below are four (count them, four!) versions of this beautiful music.  First is the song in Finnish - although it is not the national anthem, it is one of the most important national songs of Finland (I also found a cool flashmob of this).  Second is Sibelius' symphony.  Third is an English, a capella version of the anthem.  And last is the tune as the hymn "Be Still My Soul."  Enjoy!

"O Sole Mio" - Capurro and Capua

Nothing says Valentine's like an Italian love song, especially this classic....

ThePianoGuys (esp. Steven Sharp Nelson): "Beethoven's 5 Secrets" and "The Cello Song"

Okay, so I am an unabashed fan of ThePianoGuys, but I think I may have come across them in an unusual way....  I recently started a research study on back pain in cellists.  While I was preparing, I thought, "I should look at some videos to see how different cellists move the bow when they play."  I did a YouTube search for "cello," and the video below came up in the list.  The thumbnail image showed eight cellists, and I thought, "Perfect!  I can watch eight cellists at once."  Of course, it wasn't long before I realized what was happening....

Also when I was preparing for the study, I realized that the song "Secrets" by OneRepublic had a great cello part (I thought I could learn to play it ;), and I hoped that one day ThePianoGuys would do a cover of that song.  Well, today that became reality!

"Appalachian Spring" - Aaron Copland

This is my favorite movement from Aaron Copland's famous "Appalachian Spring."  I love the burst of excitement that opens the scene, and the descending line that follows.

You may be surprised to learn this about the title of the work:
"Originally, Copland did not have a title for the work, referring to it simply as Ballet for Martha. Shortly before the premiere, Graham suggested Appalachian Spring, a phrase from a Hart Crane poem, "The Dance" from a collection of poems in his book "The Bridge."...Because he composed the music without the benefit of knowing what the title was going to be, Copland was often amused when people told him he captured the beauty of the Appalachians in his music, a fact he alluded to in an interview with NPR's Fred Calland.

"The Burning Bush" from The Prince of Egypt - Hans Zimmer

The soundtrack to The Prince of Egypt is one of my all-time favorites.  This piece plays when Moses has his first encounter with God and decides to return to Egypt.  I love the way the music suggests the love and mercy of God with gentle choral sections, integrated with brass and percussion to suggest justice of God.

"Julie-O" by Mark Summer/Kevin Olusola

Hip-hop + cello!  What a fun combination : )  I guess this is what happens when good cellists get bored....

(Arrangement by Kevin Olusola, who is a member of the "Sing-Off"-winning a cappella group, the Pentatonix.)

Here is the original....

(this video makes me dizzy....)

After a week of cello... ("Roman Carnival" and "Cello Wars")

It's been a busy week with a lot of cello!  Here are two light-hearted pieces, one that I've heard a lot of this week, and another, just for fun!  Enjoy!

Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture - Stokowski/Philadelphia

Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel - Steven Sharp Nelson

"A Prayer of King Henry VI" - Henry G. Ley

On Sundays, I will post "sacred" pieces (as opposed to "secular"), in honor of the Sabbath.

This is one of my all-time favorite choir pieces, which was introduced to me at the wedding of two friends.  The song has a slow tempo, lending a thoughtful feeling to the humble prayer.

Translation:

Lord, Jesus Christ,

who created, redeemed and pre-ordained me

to that which I am,

you know what you would make of me;

make of me according to your will

with mercy.

Amen.

"Nation Shall Not Lift Up A Sword Against Nation/Glory To God In The Highest" - Ralph Vaughan Williams

Amazing, powerful choir piece.  I love the way it builds into a triumphant climax.  The lyrics are so faith-inspiring, too - they give me hope for good things to come!

(My recording - which does not have the Dona Nobis Pacem at the end - is from the Luther College 2008 Christmas broadcast on PBS - a great album!)

"The Isle of the Dead" Opus 29 - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Don't be put off by the name of this piece - it is gorgeous!  I heard this performed at the Houston Symphony Orchestra last week, and it was this piece that inspired me to finally create this blog.  This was one of few Rachmaninoff works that was "more than just music," as Maestro Graf put it on Friday - it was inspired by a version of Arnold Bocklin's painting, shown in the YouTube videos below.  One of my favorite elements of the piece is the 5-beat rhythm - suggesting the movement of the oars in the water - that begins and ends the piece.

Part 1 (as divided by the YouTube poster):   It starts quiet - turn your volume up :)

Part 2:

"Seek Him That Maketh the Seven Stars" - Jonathan Dove

9/23/2012:  UPDATE!!  Someone has posted the recording I have of this song!  (I prefer it to the recording posted previously. : )

Don't you just love that?  Aahh. : )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Original Post: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I first heard this song at The 100th Annual Christmas Carol Services, performed by the Harvard University Choir.  (For the purists - it isn't strictly a Christmas song, so you can listen to it in January!)  I was stunned by the beauty and majesty of the music.  There were so many parts that I loved then, especially the "aa-ah"s in the phrase that begins at 3:30 - they sounded as though light was flooding the chapel in waves, from a great fountain.  As I have listened to it repeatedly, I have fallen in love with the successive repetition of "that maketh the seven stars" by each part (beginning 4:21).*

And speaking of falling in love, this song actually helped me reconnect with the love of my life, whom I married the following year :)  It reminded me of music by Eric Whitacre, a favorite composer, so I e-mailed a link to a recording of it.  My gesture kindled the hope that we could get back together, and we did just that a week later!

* In my recording of this song, which is from the Salisbury Cathedral Choir, some of these parts are sung by soloists.

ThePianoGuys - "Peponi" [Coldplay's Paradise, African Style (Piano/Cello) Cover - ft. Alex Boye]

Incredible music and video.  ThePianoGuys do it again!  I love the beautiful music combined with Alex Boye's intensity and powerful voice.

This Collection

After lamenting how challenging it is to find Good, Uplifting Music (GUM, we'll call it), I decided to begin this blog to gather the GUM that is out there, wherever it may be.

So, welcome to this new blog, a venue to share music that is both uplifting and good-quality!

By "uplifting," I mean that you feel better because you listened to it.  You feel happier, the world seems like a better place, or you are simply left in awe of the beauty of the music.  This also means that there will be no offensive or suggestive lyrics, and only family-friendly videos will be embedded here.

By "good-quality," I mean that the music is moving, interesting, well-composed, and/or otherwise better than the average music that you might pull off the shelf or Pandora might pull out of the box.

There will be lots of variety, and when I say variety, I don't mean what radio stations mean ("We play everything from this-kind-of-pop to that-kind-of-pop!").  I believe that there can be good music in every genre, so this is really, truly, a variety station!  ...Though I confess I do have favorite kinds :)

There will be music from country

("This" - Darius Rucker)

to hip hop

("Miss Independent" - Ne-Yo)

[The official video is quite fun, but there is enough immodesty that I didn't embed it here.]

to a'capella

("Club Can't Even Handle Me Right Now" by Flo Rida - Dartmouth Aires)

to orchestral

("The Lark Ascending" - Ralph Vaughan Williams)

To the extent possible, the title and artist will always be listed, along with a recording of the music (from YouTube, upon which I will depend for legality of the recording!).

Enjoy, and I look forward to your comments!