Genuinely haunting. Not many songs are. But this – absolutely laden with mystery and unease. Positively overflowing with melancholy. And, above all, absolutely mesmerizing.
Classical
10/12/2020: Drømte Mig En Drøm (Arranged for Strings) by The Danish String Quartet // Traditional
Everywhere has history. Some cultures, however, wrote more down. Icelandic poems are some of the oldest, for this reason. This song, “I dreamt a dream”,…
09/11/2020: “Lute Suite in E Minor, BWV 996 I. Passaggio – Presto” by J.S. Bach // arranged by John Williams
What I love most about this piece, other than its obvious dainty charms, is the cross-century dialogue. Without being too pretentious, I think it’s amazing…
23/10/2020: “Mademoiselle De Paris” by Michel Legrand
In the 50s, a style of classical music called “Easy Listening” became popular. Instead of multi-part epics of the traditional vein with complex musical motifs,…
18/09/2020: “A Andorinha Da Primavera” by Madredeus
Madredeus could loosely be said to be a Portuguese folk band. They come from a tradition of fado music, which is a distinctive style of…
19/11/2019: “Ambre” by Nils Frahm
Incredibly contemplative – somehow Autumnal in its wistfulness, although the album it comes from is called Wintermusik. Released in 2009, the album is improvisational piano…
15/09/2019: “8 Humoresques, Op. 101, B. 187: No. 7. Poco lento e grazioso in G flat major” by Art Tatum/Antonin Dvorak
I wasn’t entirely clear how to credit this one. The piece was composed by Dvorak in 1894, but Art Tatum’s version is very different in…
06/06/2019: “Ouverture No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, Second Movement (Air On A G String)” by J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most important composers of all time, with his Baroque melodies enduring hundreds of years and still as magnificent…
04/03/2019: “Bird’s Lament” by Moondog
Moondog was ahead of his time in the 60s, and to be honest he’s probably still ahead of our time. The sheer surrealist lunacy of…