Music for a winter's day: Mahler's 4th

Mason & Hamlin

Our piano-less home now has a piano again... Douglas has a beautiful black Kawai grand piano that he bought in his single days, but it resides at his studio. I've missed hearing him play when he's at home. We found this FREE 1922 Mason & Hamlin upright piano on Craigslist in a town nearby, just the brand and year that Douglas wanted (he was looking for pre-1929, when the company merged with Aeolian and subsequently went down in quality). Isn't God good? We're getting it tuned later this week. I can't wait to start up the home concerts again!

Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols

Fauré's "Requiem"

I've mentioned before that we like to listen to Fauré in the fall, thanks to Douglas' influence. This year I've had his "Requiem" going in the car CD player. Love the organ!

"The Lamb"

I'm greatly enjoying all my Christmas music and I've been pulling up a few favorites on YouTube, too. I can't embed this one, but I can send you over to YouTube to see the King's College choir perform John Tavener's setting of William Blake's poem, "The Lamb." I rather enjoy the slightly bizarre quality of the music; it matches up with my mental image of William Blake.

Au lac de Wallenstadt

We've been quite busy around here with preparations for Douglas' weekend piano recital. Douglas has been devoting many hours to practice and I'm doing my bit by preparing for out-of-town guests and baking up dozens of refreshments. He did take the time to record my favorite piece that he'll be playing, "Au lac de Wallenstadt" from the Années de pèlerinage by Franz Liszt. Click here to listen or download. Enjoy!

He is Risen!

Happy birthday, J. S. Bach!

As a genre within art music, Baroque is my favorite. It is always beautiful and elegant, and it elevates the mind.

My husband, who has a great memory for birthdays and other dates, reminded me this morning that today is Johann Sebastian Bach's birthday. So in honor of this auspicious anniversary, please enjoy the first movement from the first Brandenburg Concerto. The rest of the concertos may easily be found on YouTube if you want more.

Nine Lessons and Carols

If you live in the States and are within range of a public radio station, chances are you can tune in to a live broadcast of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve morning. You can check your local NPR station's website to find out when to tune in.

If you can't listen in, you can still enjoy last year's service on YouTube. I love watching and listening because you can enjoy the beauty of the chapel and the cuteness of the choirboys (my husband makes fun of me for melting into a puddle of maternal goopiness whenever they're onscreen, haha). I've started with the first selection, "Once in Royal David's City," below, and the rest of the clips are labeled sequentially so you can watch them in order (or skip around to your favorites like I do).


Have a very merry Christmas, and may the light of Christ shine in your heart!

Greensleeves

I was introduced to this version of "Greensleeves" in Christmas 2008, when we were attending a church with a choir (of which I was a part, since Douglas was accompanist... otherwise I don't think they would've let me join, my singing skills being pretty non-existant. Perks of having a talented husband!). ;) It was one of my favorite songs we performed at Christmas that year. Have you ever heard such a hauntingly beautiful descant as in verse two?

Fauré, Pavane Op. 50

(Edmund and I have been listening to Douglas' Fauré CDs lately.)