New Addition to the Blog

I recently added my Listener's Classical Music Appreciation List 101 section to my blog. Being a classical music geek, often times I am asked what I would recommend to the lay-person in classical music. Here's a chance to explore on your own some things that I would recommend. I'm also inspired daily by having my iPod, which, to me, is one of the coolest inventions ever...

I can assure you that if a Mozart piano sonata, Beethoven's 5th Symphony, Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, or Canon in D are what you're looking for, you'll probably hate what I recommend as required listening material. As eclectic as I can be in my musical taste, I like interesting classical music. And none of the aforementioned pieces even remotely interest me.

On the other hand, if you look into some of these, you may find them to be utterly stunning and interesting each in their own way, and appreciate them for the sheer brilliance they possess.

This batch I've seemed to whip up this time revolves around choral music, in honor of our Choral Union in Janesville, as well as to the members of my church choir that I direct. I have to say that for any classical choral music fanatic, Britten's War Requiem is, in my opinion, THE finest choral composition ever written. Dramatic, sublime, eerie, jubilant, it possesses everything that a chorister would love to sink their teeth into. The "Sanctus" section, to me, is probably one of the most glorious things I've ever heard, making the hair stand on end up and down my arms.

Another recently found gem was the Jenkins "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace," which is in 13 movements, and uses more popular musical arranging, and incorporates sound looping and classical choral and orchestral scoring.

Then there's the Serenata Schizophrana by Elfman (yes, the Oingo Boingo guy), which is classically written, and the 4th movement "I Forget" is on my top ten favorites of all time.

Frank Ferko's "A Festival of Carols" is a unique adaptation of traditional Christmas carol lyrics, written to completely different tunes and is scored for chorus and harp. These are brilliant!

Finally, another of my top ten favorites, "A Jubilant Song" by Dello Joio is for chorus and piano, set to words by Walt Whitman, and really needs to be heard more often.

Let me know what you think of all of these if any of you out there check these out. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy listening!