Monday, November 19, 2012

Exalted

Time to update the iPod last night. Christmas is coming with its excuse to put Handel’s Messiah back for the festive season. I don’t do carols and I abhor that which passes for Xmas music on the local ‘all xmas’ radio station.  How many hideous versions of the awful ‘Little Drummer Boy’ can anyone stand without wanting to drive headlong into on-coming traffic?  I don’t know how Mrs. B. does it.

But Messiah is a joy as ever and will belt out frequently in the next couple of months.

People have asked me why a lot of my favourite music is ‘religious’ when I’m not religious, Christian or otherwise, by any stretch of the imagination. Truth be told, no god inspires me in anything I do, but if one wants to hear music that is full of joy or awe or any other sort of real emotion then find one of those religious types be it Handel, Bach, Byrd or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and there you go.   

It could be argued of course that certainly until the 19th century then the church, or the nobility were where the high dollar commissions came from. But there is more to it than that. The big bucks now come from being on Idol or X-factor and I don’t see a great deal of inspiration or ecstasy there.

And in the UK there has long been a tradition from the 19th through the 20th centuries of Choral Society Christmas productions of Messiah with the Huddersfield Choral being the most famous and its something to be encouraged here too. Now a radio station that played nothing but Messiah from Thanksgiving to Xmas would get my vote.

So here is ‘Ev’ry Valley Shall be Exalted’
Text from the  Book of Isaiah. King James version

Mark Padmore with the LSO conducted by Sir Colin Davis

4 comments:

  1. With you all the way on that...

    Right up to the moment I hear 'When a Child is Born'.

    OSM

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad to hear that you haven't forgotten your roots.

    There was a sprinkling of snow on the Pennines this morning : swap you our weather for yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love some snow thats for sure. Its pushing 70f here right now. Thats just sick!

      Delete