Besame Mucho

Rich, sweet, and soothing, Cesária Évora - Besame Mucho
Andrea Bocelli version.
Tino Rossi - Besame Mucho, 1945 (Tino Rossi)


Bésame, bésame mucho
como si fuera esta noche la última vez

Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo tenerte y perderte otra vez

Bésame, bésame mucho
como si fuera esta noche la última vez

Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo tenerte y perderte otra vez

Quiero tenerte muy cerca,
mirarme en tus ojos,
verte junto a mi,
pienso que tal vez mañana
yo estaré lejos, muy lejos de ti,

Sangue Berona

Salif Keita & Cesária Évora - Yamore

Cesária Évora - Petit Pays

Africa Nossa

Embarcacao

Cabo Verde

Amor Di Mundo

Sodade

Angola

Mar de Canal

Ausencia






audiovisual, Cesaria Evora,

Tango

Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere


Antonio Banderas and partner


Cell Block Tango from "Chicago"

Survivors' Songs

Toni Childs' unforgettable voice. Toni had considerable success in Australia and New Zealand, but not in her native America. Perhaps Toni is not "commercial" enough for American tastes. On the other hand – let's put it this way – the American music industry is famously corrupt.

Don't Walk Away

Dreamer



I've Got To Go Now

Beth Orton

Brit

October Song

The Incredible String Band


Much less haunting – Seabound

Wayfaring Stranger

The first version that I ever heard: Emmylou Harris



Jack White version, from Cold Mountain

Wintersongs

Season-appropriate audio – in the Northern Hemisphere, that is.


Kitka is women's vocal music ensemble. Wintersongs is a compilation of Slavic and Eastern "winter" music. Also Nectar, The Vine.

La Wally

Renata Tebaldi sings "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana" from "La Wally" by Alfredo Catalani.


Maria Callas


Ebben? Ne andrò lontana,
Come va l'eco della pia campana,
Là, fra la neve bianca;
Là, fra le nubi d'ôr;
Laddóve la speranza, la speranza
È rimpianto, è rimpianto, è dolor!

O della madre mia casa gioconda,
La Wally ne andrà da te, da te
Lontana assai, e forse a te,
E forse a te, non farà mai più ritorno,
Nè più la rivedrai!
Mai più, mai più!

Ne andrò sola e lontana,
Come l'eco è della pia campana,
Là, fra la neve bianca;
Ne andrò, ne andrò sola e lontana!
E fra le nubi d'ôr!

Well, then? I will go far away,
As far as the echo of the church bell,
There, through the white snow,
There, through the golden clouds,
There, where hope, hope
Is regret, is regret and pain!

Oh, from my mother's happy house,
Wally will go away from you, from you.
Far enough away, and maybe,
And maybe, she will never return to you.
You'll never see her again.
Never again, never again.

I will go alone and far,
As far as the echo of the church bell,
There, through the white snow;
I will go, I will go alone and far,
Among the golden clouds.

Honky Tonk Angels

KD Lang, Lorretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, and Brenda Lee.

Self Control

Laura Branigan's unusual voice:

Tell Him

I still prefer Streisand.

I Drove All Night

I'm not sure which version I prefer. Cindi Lauper's I think.



Celine Dion has a great voice, but most of her videos have the same flaw – too many close-ups of Celine, without a story line. This is the re-mix, which I don't like so well as Celine Dion-I Drove All Night.

Eyes on Me . The Power Of Love .

Roy Orbison wrote it.

Angel

Another Canadian songstress whose voice has haunting qualities:

Premature, yet we can but anticipate

Spring! Still, this bit of wishful thinking seems appropriate as we approach the midwinter solstice that determined the timing of the Abrahamic religious festivals. As far as I'm concerned, despite the fact that skiing is great fun, snow is a four letter word.



I stumbled across Loreena McKennitt's Tango to Evora (along with a lovely Greek version by Haris Alexiou) on toomanytribbles. McKennitt writes and performs her own music, and like many Canadian artists her music was affected by her Celtic roots.



Loreena McKennitt - Greensleeves

Good for something

Christianity likes to take credit for the works of art that it sponsored – and I do mean sponsored as in paid for, as in passing on donations from believers through bishops to artisans and musicians. Still, some of the works might have been further inspired by the emotional connection of artists to their beliefs.

Since the most beautiful element of a cathedral is literally its elevation, it is impossible to capture in a photograph the purity of space that inspires awe. In this sense, cathedrals are rather like the Grand Canyon.

We owe the following piece not so much to Christianity as to Mozart, who smuggled it out of a performance at the Sistine chapel in his head. Obviously, Mozart must have cared more for beautiful music than about threats of excommunication. I suppose it's a matter of taste, but I think that it is sublime.

Barco Negro

Amália Rodrigues - Barco Negro


Mariza - Barco Negro (LIve in London)

Chingon Kill Bill

The gratuitous violence is less sickening in the first version of Malagueña salerosa, but the audio is a little less crisp than the second.

Andrea Besame

Andrea Bocelli - Besame Mucho
Cesária Évora version.



Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez

Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después

Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez

Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después

Quiero tenerte muy cerca
Mirarme en tus ojos
Verte junto a mi
Piensa que tal ves mañana
Yo ya estaré lejos
Muy lejos de ti

Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez

Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después

Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después

Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después


English translation:
Kiss Me A Lot

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was
the last time.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you again.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was
the last time.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you again.

I want to have you very close
To see myself in your eyes,
To see you next to me,
Think that perhaps tomorrow
I already will be far,
very far from you.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was
the last time.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you again.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you again.

Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you again.

La Cumprasita

La Cumprasita on ice -- with a chair:

Malagueña Salerosa

Chingon



Better audio: Chingon Kill Bill

Antonio Aguilar and Josèlito
Antonio has a lovely voice, the horse dances, but I think that Josèlito's voice is raw on all but the high notes.



Placido Domingo Malagueña


Yehudi Menuhin plays Malaguena by Sarasate

E lucevan le stelle

Luciano Pavarotti


Placido Domingo - E lucevan le stelle

Domingo



Alfredo Kraus

JOSE CARERRAS-E LUCEVAN STELE-TOSCA

House of the Rising Sun

Eric Burdon and the Animals - House of the Rising Sun



The song is about a whorehouse in New Orleans. The Animals' version (better audio) provides a backdrop to these images of Katrina's devastation – the storm that the Bush administration could not afford to clean up because it was spending too many taxpayers' dollars devastating Iraq. Still denying global warming?

Rather prettier, Johnny Depp (images) - Eric Burdon & Animals, House of the Rising Sun



Joan Baez House of The Rising Sun
Reggae Gregory Isaacs House of the rising sun
Japanese Chiaki Naomi "The House of The Rising Sun"

Diamonds and Rust

Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust


House of The Rising Sun
House of The Rising Sun, 1960
Animals - The House Of The Rising Sun
Bob Dylan - House Of The Rising Sun
Pink Floyd - House of the Rising Sun
Joan Baez - Where have All The Flowers Gone
Joan Baez - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Joan Baez, Diamonds and Rust - Live, 1975
Joan Baez - It Ain't Me, Babe (Live 1965)
Joan Baez - Me And Bobby McGee
Joan Baez - Farewell Angelina (Live 1966)

Mood

Ravel's Bolero

I:



II:

Heifetz Sarasate Zigeunerweisen

Exquisite: Jascha Heifitz plays Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen Op. 20, "Gypsy Airs"

Spem in Alium

The name Thomas Tallis should be familiar to anyone who's watching the recent British miniseries, The Tudors. This is the Tallis Scholars version of Spem in Alium. I still prefer the sublime Allegri Miserere.

Master Soundtrack

One of my favorite movies and favorite soundtracks.

The Boccherini theme:




Halo Theme

Into The Fog

Lost at Sea (Vaughan Williams - Fantasy on a theme by Thomas Tallis)

Master And Commander Hold Fast

The Far Side of the World 5:50

Prelude

Fantasia

Adagio from Concerto Grosso

Aranjuez

Xuefei Yang plays Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto De Aranjuez



Paco de Lucía Concierto de Aranjuez Part2
Narciso Yepes - Concierto de Aranjuez (2)
Andrea Bocelli Aranjuez

Romance de Amor Performed by Xue-fei Yang
Cavatina performed by Xue-fei Yang
Xuefei Yang plays Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Asturias (Leyenda) performed by Xue-fei Yang

Cesária Évora - Petit Pays

Cesária Évora - Petit Pays





audiovisual,

Vivo Per Lei

Jamie, David, Andrea, and Hayley





audiovisual,

Nessun Dorma

Pavarotti - Nessun Dorma



Jussi Björling



audiovisual,

Dust in the Wind

Dust in the Wind - Sarah Brightman



Kansas - Dust in the Wind





audiovisual, Sarah Brightman,

Running up that Hill

Kate Bush - Running up that Hill



Placebo - Running up that hill

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

Hayley Westenra - Wuthering Heights

Kate Bush Cloudbusting

Kate Bush - Army Dreamers

Kate Bush - Babooshka

Kate Bush - The Sensual World

Kate Bush - Wow

Kate Bush - The Sensual World



audiovisual, Kate Bush,

Orinoco Flow

Enya - Orinoco Flow



Celtic Woman - Orinoco Flow



Celtic Woman comprises variously: Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, Chloë Agnew, Órlagh Fallon, Lisa Kelly, Hayley Westenra Máiréad Nesbitt, Lynn Hilary, Alex Sharpe, Deirdre Shannon.

Hayley Westenra performs Scarborough Fair :



Sarah Brightman - Scarborough Fair



audiovisual, Celtic Woman, Hayley Westenra,

Pokarekare Ana

She's a Kiwi, he's a Welsh boy-soprano turned lyric-baritone/tenor, the music is a Maori love song.



Pökarekare ana
ngä wai o Waiapu, 1
Whiti atu koe hine
marino ana e.
E hine e
hoki mai ra.
Ka mate ahau 2
I te aroha e.

Tuhituhi taku reta
tuku atu taku rïngi,
Kia kite tö iwi
raru raru ana e.

Whati whati taku pene 3
ka pau aku pepa,
Ko taku aroha
mau tonu ana e.

E kore te aroha
e maroke i te rä,
Mäkükü tonu i
aku roimata e


They are agitated
the waters of Waiapu,
But when you cross over girl
they will be calm.
Oh girl
return to me,
I could die
of love for you.

I have written my letter
I have sent my ring,
so that your people can see
that I am troubled.

My pen is shattered,
I have no more paper
But my love
is still steadfast.

My love will never
be dried by the sun,
It will be forever moistened
by my tears.



audiovisual, Hayley Westenra, Aled Jones,

Lascia Ch'io Pianga

Hayley Westenra - Lascia Ch'io Pianga (aria from Handel's opera, Rinaldo)



Farinelli - Lascia ch'io pianga



Farinelli was the stage name of Carlo Broschi, an acclaimed castrato. To simulate Farinelli's vocal range, the movie's sound editors combined the voice of a female soprano (Ewa Małas-Godlewska) with a male countertenor (Derek Lee Ragin).

Philippe Jaroussky Handel Rinaldo "Lascia Ch'io Pianga"

Even weirder, "Farinelli" sings Pansori, Korean Aria





audiovisual, Farinelli, Hayley Westenra

Apopse Thelo Na Pio

Haris Alexiou