Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Nuages

"Nuages" (French pronunciation: ​[nɥaʒ]) is one of the best-known compositions by Django Reinhardt. He recorded about thirteen versions of the song, which is a jazz standard and a mainstay of the gypsy swing repertoire. English and French lyrics have been added to the originally instrumental piece. The title translates in English as "Clouds"; though the English lyric adaptation is titled "It's the bluest kind of blues".


Saturday, April 13, 2013

Bluesette

Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (born 29 April 1922, Brussels, Belgium), known as Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz musician well known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his whistling. Thielemans is credited as one of the greatest harmonica players of the 20th century.

 A jazz standard by Toots Thielemans is "Bluesette" where he used whistling and guitar in unison. First recorded by Toots in 1962, with lyrics added by Norman Gimbel the song became a major worldwide hit.



Monday, April 8, 2013

Love Theme from "The Godfather"

"Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather)" is a song written for The Godfather (1972), the first film in the Godfather trilogy. While its instrumental version is simply known as "The Godfather Love Theme", "Speak Softly Love" is the vocal version. The words are by Larry Kusik but the music itself is by Nino Rota. The signature musical theme that opens the piece closely models a theme that appears early in "Preludio - Povero Ernesto!" in the opera Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848). A similar melody also appears in the Overture to "La Forza del Destino" by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). There are also different sets of lyrics for the song in Italian ("Parla Più Piano") and also in Sicilian ("Brucia La Terra"). The Sicilian version is sung by Anthony Corleone (Franc D'Ambrosio) in The Godfather Part III.
Rota had used a more comedic version of the song for the 1958 film Fortunella. When this was discovered, Rota's score for The Godfather was disqualified from consideration at the 1973 Academy Awards; it had been nominated for Best Original Score. However, Rota's score for The Godfather Part II won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Original Score, despite containing the same piece.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Mna ha h-eireann (Women of Ireland)

"Mná na hÉireann" (English: Women of Ireland), is a poem written by Ulster poet Peadar Ó Doirnín (1704–1796), popularly set in song to the tune by Seán Ó Riada (1931–1971). Mná na hÉireann is usually placed in the category of Irish rebel music. It honours the memory of the women dedicated to Ireland, specifically the Irish nationalist movement.

   



Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Rocky Road To Dublin

"Rocky Road to Dublin" is a fast-paced 19th century song about a man's experiences as he travels to Liverpool, England from his home in Tuam. The tune has a typical Irish rhythm, classified as a slip (or hop) jig in 9/8 timing, and is often performed instrumentally.



Saturday, March 23, 2013

Mc Pherson's Lament (Farewell)

The words are by Robert Burns and are based on the real Jamie MacPherson's farewell which MacPherson wrote before the outlaw was hanged on November 16, 1700. He reportedly played this tune on the gallows and offerred his fiddle to anyone who could play it. Since no one took him up on the offer, he broke the fiddle. 



Monday, March 18, 2013

Einsamer Hirte

Einsamer Hirte oder auch Der einsame Hirte, englisch The Lonely Shepherd, ist ein Instrumentaltitel von James Last, der in der Aufnahme mit dem rumänischen Panflötenspieler Gheorghe Zamfir bekannt wurde.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Fields Of Athenry

"The Fields of Athenry" is an Irish folk ballad set during the Great Irish Famine (1845–1850) about a fictional man named Michael from near Athenry in County Galway who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family. It is a widely known and popular anthem for Irish sports supporters.


Friday, March 8, 2013

Friday, March 1, 2013

I'm into Folk

A nice song, full of humour, from the Belgian band "The Radios"