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Hoagy Carmichael - Stardust Lyrics | Lyrics.com
One of the greatest of the Great American Songbook. The introductory eight lines are often omitted, but with the melody they set the tone for the famous chorus. Willie Nelson introduced me to this song, but Nat King Cole's version (with the intro) is perfection.
Beth, a university student, discusses the hymns she sang as a student at a Church of England primary school. A couple are familiar from my years at an Episcopal-affiliated school -- "Kumbaya My Lord," "He's got the Whole World in his Hands," "Lord of the Dance," "Give Me Oil in My Lamp," the latter of which we would have sung in Vacation Bible School. "Morning has Broken" was a pop hit for Cat Stevens; it was in the 1975 Baptist Hymnal, but our church never sang it. "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is a song I only learned as an adult. These are completely unfamiliar to me: "When I Needed a Neighbour," "From the Tiny Ant," "Who Put the Colours in the Rainbow," "Cauliflowers are Fluffy," "One More Step Along the World I Go," "Autumn Days." Here is the first stanza of "Autumn Days":
Autumn days when the grass is jewelled
And the silk inside a chestnut shell.
Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled.
All these things I love so well.
I think someone got stuck for a rhyme.
Top hits from the Contemporary Christian Music genre, by decade and by year, 1978 to the present day.
BBC Songs of Praise, The UK's Favourite Hymn | BBC One - 12 July 2020 - YouTube
Performances of the top 10 favourite hymns of the British public, including some modern tunes (Getty & Townend's "In Christ Alone" was #3), classic hymns ("Amazing Grace," "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer," "Abide with Me," "How Great Thou Art," "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind"), and hymns with patriotic connections ("I Vow to Thee, My Country," and the #1 pick, "Jerusalem.")
Oxford university Bate Collection | 3D Printing of an 18th century French serpent
Among the many delights of our brief time in Oxford -- the special Tolkien exhibit, a walking tour of the city, dinner at The Eagle and Child -- the most unexpected was a visit to the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments where, in addition to viewing an impressive array of historical instruments both familiar and exotic, you may play a sampling of instruments, including the theremin, shawm, and serpent. And if you fancy a DIY serpent, here are the instructions for making one with a 3-D printer.
Why WOULD Anyone Sing in Church These Days? | Jonathan Aigner
"We have a rich history of hymns and songs dating back centuries, set to beautiful, singable melodies with a rich harmonic framework, a group to which each generation added their best. Then we decided we didn't need these anymore. Their language was too difficult for us, we said, and it just got in the way of our emotional experience, anyway.
"So we replaced our hymns with new songs, written for solo commercial recordings. That's right, we replaced songs created for many voices with songs meant for one or a few....
"We used to give everyone the printed music, so that they could follow along. But nobody reads music anymore, right? (Of course, many of us once did when we were in the school choir or band, but, well, nevermind...) All those books are heavy. And a waste of paper. So we started projecting words (no music) up on the wall. They're there one minute, and gone the next, kind of like the songs themselves. People crane their necks and raise their chins to read them in their place on high. They have no idea if the next syllable will be held long or released short. They don't know if a pitch rises or falls. They just hope to catch on by the time it's over.
"So, we stopped empowering those among us who do read music to use those gifts. And we stopped expecting anyone else to learn. Just sing along with Mitch, and see how it goes. Maybe if you listened to more Christian radio, you'd know what to do....
"We used to have these majestic and beautiful instruments, with infinite musical palettes and soaring, sustained tones that gave them the ability to breathe life into congregational singing. Now, we've dismissed those as passé, and substituted a rock band, fronted by a lead singer worship leader. He (it's usually a he, for some reason) sings his song, and we try to sing along with his cover of our jesusy hot 100 favorites. What's more, few of these leaders it seems are capable of just plainly, accurately singing the melody. Some of them croon with a whiny, closed-mouthed tone, turning every vowel into an ee-ended diphthong. Others wail in reckless abandon with primal, orgasmic strains, while we sit and watch. They often embellish their performanced with ad libs, rubato, rhythmic embellishments, and melodic freedom, while the congregation audience struggles to keep up.
"So, we replaced an instrument uniquely adept at leading a congregation with a cover band....
"Most of the music churches are now attempting to sing is instrumentally-driven music in a vernacular style that was written for a solo artist recording. Replicating that style of music, with its syncopation, affected vocals, aimless melodies, and awkward vocal ranges, is impossible congregational task. There are new songs and hymns being written that are excellent for a congregation, but you won't usually hear them on Christian radio."
Digitizing My Life: Five Vinyl Album Takeaways - The Fire Ant Gazette - A Texas Hill Country Blog
Eric Siegmund has a USB turntable recommendation, and some lessons learned in the course of digitizing his collection, including the rediscovery of some long-forgotten and best-forgotten purchases:
"The oldest album in the collection was a 1964 release entitled Draggin' and Surfin' with classic songs like Little Surfer Girl and Wipeout. Sadly, I had forgotten that instead of featuring the original groups like the Beach Boys and Surfaris, the LP was recorded by a studio band called The Jalopy Five. The cuts didn't make the cut."
A slave owned by a Choctaw Indian wrote "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in an Indian Territory cotton field in 1840. Michael Overall traces the origin of the song and its global spread, all the way to the cheap seats of Twickenham's rugby stadium.
The Tragic Decline of Music Literacy (and Quality) | Intellectual Takeout
"The results of the study revealed that timbral variety went down over time, meaning songs are becoming more homogeneous. Translation: most pop music now sounds the same. Timbral quality peaked in the 60's and has since dropped steadily with less diversity of instruments and recording techniques. Today's pop music is largely the same with a combination of keyboard, drum machine and computer software greatly diminishing the creativity and originality. Pitch has also decreased, with the number of chords and different melodies declining. Pitch content has also decreased, with the number of chords and different melodies declining as musicians today are less adventurous in moving from one chord or note to another, opting for well-trod paths by their predecessors. Loudness was found to have increased by about one decibel every eight years. Music loudness has been manipulated by the use of compression. Compression boosts the volume of the quietest parts of the song so they match the loudest parts, reducing dynamic range. With everything now loud, it gives music a muddled sound, as everything has less punch and vibrancy due to compression.
"In an interview, Billy Joel was asked what has made him a standout. He responded his ability to read and compose music made him unique in the music industry, which as he explained, was troubling for the industry when being musically literate makes you stand out. An astonishing amount of today's popular music is written by two people: Lukasz Gottwald of the United States and Max Martin from Sweden, who are both responsible for dozens of songs in the top 100 charts.... With only two people writing much of what we hear, is it any wonder music sounds the same, using the same hooks, riffs and electric drum effects?...
"The truth: Elective class periods have been usurped by standardized test prep. Administrators focus primarily on protecting their positions and the school's status by concentrating curricula on passing the tests, rather than by helping teachers be freed up from micromanaging mandates so those same teachers can teach again in their classrooms, making test prep classes unnecessary.
"What can be done? First, musical literacy should be taught in our nation's school systems. In addition, parents should encourage their children to play an instrument because it has been proven to help in brain synapse connections, learning discipline, work ethic, and working within a team. While contact sports like football are proven brain damagers, music participation is a brain enhancer."
Music to our ears! Work choirs can ease job stress and loneliness | Daily Mail Online
"One in six were under high strain from their job. But the vast majority felt less stressed and isolated after attending a choir session. Singing has been found to improve breathing and posture, while releasing similar feel-good endorphins to exercise which could help colleagues bond more quickly."
