Day 78: Kellyburn Braes ROCKS!

HaydnCD78Today’s CD of Scottish Songs for William Napier (V of, hopefully, V) got off to a rousing start with tenor Jamie MacDougall belting out a bold and lively version of “My goddess woman” (Track 1). It’s a brash ode to a lass the protagonist deems, well, a goddess.

Track 2 (“Bid me not forget”) is given to soprano Lorna Anderson. And it’s not among my favorites.

Track 3 (“Ae fond kiss”) is another MacDougall song. Not a catchy melody. Music forgettable.

Track 4 (“Kelly-burn braes”) is a Huh? song. The melody is familiar. I’ve heard this before. But the lyrics…what do they mean? For that answer, I once again turn to the wonderful web site The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive created and maintained by Emily Ezust.

Here are the lyrics to this fetching, instantly FAVORITE, song: Continue reading

Day 76: Of Ghosts and Miracles

HaydnCD76My first destination this morning was the new Tim Horton’s near our home. I went in, sat down, remarked to myself how much fun it’ll be to listen and write from a different location (not to mention eat different food and drink different coffee).

Then, I thought, “I’d better check to see if their Wi-Fi works before I order.” I set up my laptop, searched for a signal…

And found none.

I asked the gal behind the counter if they have  Wi-Fi (since their signs indicate they do). She told me Wi-Fi wasn’t available yet.

So I packed up and left.

I’m back at Panera Bread.

But that’s okay. It’s good coffee and good food and – like Cheers – everybody knows my name.

As I listen to Haydn’s Scottish Songs for William Napier III, I gaze out the window to witness yet another blizzard. I observe the people around me (including the very animated lady ahead at a table on the left chatting about her latest Bible study) reading, eating, laughing.

A minute ago, a friend sent me the URL to this WestJet Christmas Miracle video, which I watched, tears streaming down my face.

This line was especially meaningful to me:

“A WestJetter would say it was more than mere fun. Miracles do happen when we all work as one.”

Indeed.

There’s a tie-in between the WestJet stunt and today’s CD of folk songs written for William Napier. Continue reading

Day 75: Half Way!

HaydnCD75Today marks the half-way point in my exploration of the music of Joseph Haydn.

Tempus fugit, eh?

The songs on Haydn CD 75 are a continuation of the ones on CD 74: Scottish Songs for William Napier. Only difference is today’s CD is titled Scottish Songs for William Napier II.

The story of what Haydn did for Mr. Napier is quite extraordinary. I wrote about it yesterday. Take a look when you get a chance.

There are 33 tracks on today’s CD. But the total running time is only about 63 minutes. I’m not math whiz. But when I cipher that ratio is comes out to less than 2 minutes per song.

Screen Shot 2013-12-14 at 7.37.47 AMTrack 1 (“Duncan Davison”), for example. At just over one minute, it’s a wee song. But a fun, bouncy way to start the CD.

“They call him Duncan Davison,” sings tenor Jamie MacDougall in a Scottish brogue so heavy you’d swear he was wearing the traditional belted plaid during his performance.

Track 2 (“Be kind to the young thing”) is another MacDougall performance, thought not as jaunty or fun.

Track 3 (“Had awa frae me, Donald”), performed by soprano Lorna Anderson, is one of the best tracks on this or any previous Scottish Songs For [fill in the blank] CD. Her voice is lilting, and poignant, and wistful all at once. So very, very pretty. This could be Anderson’s finest moment in these Scottish song CDs. Favorite!

I’m going to see what these lyrics are, what they mean. “Had awa frae me” means nothing to me at t his point, although I have an idea. To learn more, I Continue reading

Day 67: Thank You, “Wolfgang”

HaydnCD67I’m embarrassed. And somewhat pissed.

Last night, I forgot to rip more CDs from my Haydn Collection into iTunes.

In other words, yesterday’s CD was the last one from my wonderful box set by Brilliant Classics that I had on my laptop. I usually rip 8-10 at a crack just so I have a healthy reserve.

Wow. Time flies.

Fear not. YouTube to the rescue.

Thanks to a cat named Wolfgang Amadé Mozart who posts Haydn music to YouTube, I’m able to listen to today’s CD ,anyway.

Thank you, Wolfgang!

Here’s what I’m hearing today:

Track 1 (“Jenny dang the weaver”) is the perfect way to start, especially after the Aural interruptus I experienced this morning after sitting down with my cup of Light Roast. “Jenny dang the weaver” plays from 00:00 to 02:15 and it’s a delightfully jaunty tune, shared by soprano Lorna Anderson and tenor Jamie MacDougall. The title, alone, made me laugh. Not quite out loud. But it was a good sturdy internal chuckle.

Here are the lyrics to and a bit of information about this improbable tune, once again from Continue reading

Day 65: “I wish my Love were in a Myre”?

HaydnCD65 If there’s one thing I’ve learned from listening to Scottish Songs for George Thomson it’s that the song titles are often quite intriguing, even amusing.

Track 20 (“I wish my Love were in a Myre”), for example. The hell does that mean?

I Googled the title and found the lyrics to this very old song on a site called The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive that appears to be a labor of love for a woman named Emily Ezust. The lyrics:

Again rejoicing Nature sees
Her robe assume its vernal hues,
Her leafy locks wave in the breeze
All freshly steep’d in morning dews.
In vain to me the cowslips blaw,
In vain to me the vi’lets spring,
In vain to me in glen or shaw,
The mavis and the lintwhite sing.

The merry ploughboy cheers his team,
Wi’ joy the tentie seedsman stalks;
But life to me’s a weary dream,
A dream of ane that never wauks.
The sheep-herd steeks his faulding slap,
And o’er the moorlands whistles shill,
Wi’ wild, unequal, wand’ring step
I meet him on the dewy hill.

And when the lark ‘tween light and dark,
Blythe waukens by the daisy’s side,
And mounts and sings on flitt’ring wings,
A wae-worn ghaist I hameward glide.
Come, Winter, with thine angry howl,
And raging bend the naked tree;
Thy gloom will soothe my cheerless soul,
When Nature all is sad like me. Continue reading