Pictures At An Exhibition, especially "The Great Gates..." at the end, either in Piano ala Janis or Ravel's orchestration versions...
To Be Over,,,a YES tune in their Relayer album...
Awaken,,,Yes tune from Going For The One.. |
OK, herewith my contributions from the Baroque catalog:
From the 2-CD album of the complete Albinoni Concertos, Opus 9, with Christopher Hogwood (Decca 289 458 129-2), the following movements:
a) Concerto No. 2 in D minor - Adagio - Track 5 CD 1
b) Concerto No. 11 in B flat minor - Allegro - Track 13 CD 2
And from Frederic Chopin, as interpreted by Arthur Rubenstein in a 2 CD set on EMI Classics (1992), the Nocturne in C sharp minor, possibly the most symmetrically beautiful of Chopin's creations. |
Panufnik Sinfonia Sacra
U2 - Elvis Presley and America (Unforgettable Fire)
Nascimento - Sao Vicente |
Stevie Ray Vaughan's rendition of Hendrix's "Little Wing" (Jimi's wasn't too bad either), Bruce Springsteen "My City of Ruin" from "America: Tribute to Heroes" (could include several cuts from that set). On the other end of the emotional spectrum, "Key to the Highway" from Derek and the Dominoes "Layla and other assorted love songs". Something magical was going on between Clapton and Duane Allman in the studio during those sessions, and it may have been captured best on this track.
FWIW,
Mike |
Samba Pa Ti from Abraxas, Santana |
for achingly-beautiful you might try rachmaninoffs vocalise featuring sylvia mcnair & the baltimore symphony orchestra- almost 7 minutes of total bliss. i actually tried to sit down and answer this question, but picking three is impossible...but here goes (in no particular order)..dvorak symphony 9, bach violin concertos, beethoven symphonies..arrrrrgh what about brahms, mozart, mahler, sibelius,, this is futile.. hayden, tchaikovsky, rimsky-korsakov..aaaarrrrghhh |
I'm no DeadHead, but Garcia and Grisman's version of Friend of the Devil can soak most people up- probably the most musical thing Jerry has done. |
Others that may have been missed
1) Karrin Allyson "It's easy to Remember" Ballads album.
2) Dianne Reeves "The Twelvth of Never" That Day album.
3) Natalie Cole "The Music That Makes me Dance" Ask A Women Who Knows album.
4) Bob Dylan "To Make You Feel My Love" Hope Floats album done by Garth Brooks.
5) Hollies "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".
6) Yo-Yo Ma "Doce De Coco" Obrigado Brazil album.
7) Renee Fleming "You'll Never Walk Alone" By Request album.
8) Renee Fleming "River Songs" Two Worlds album of Dave Grusin.
9) Sarah Brightman "Time to Say Goodbye" with Andrea Bocelli.
10) Diana Krall "Your looking At Me" All For You album.
11) Alison Krauss "When You Say Nothing AT All" Live album.
12) Jane Monheit "A Case OF You" Come Dream With Me album. Also on Diana Krall Live album. By Joni Mitchell.
13) Mary Chapin Carpenter "The Long Way Home" Time Sex Love album.
14) Holly Cole "I Can See Clearly Now" Don't Smoke In Bed album.
15) Arvo Part "Fur Alina and Spiegel Im Spiegel"
These are my three. John Dean
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Mazzy Star's "Fade into you" is a great song with beautifully haunting vocals. I also found Sarah Brightman's CD "Dive" to be chock full of great songs. |
Some may laugh at this one, but oh well! A few years ago, I think it was the Grammy Awards, Lucianno Pavorotti was to perform but became ill at the last minute. Aretha Franklin volunteered to sing the same piece of music and did so. I've never been more moved by a vocal performance before or since. It may have been a combination of the circumstances plus Ms. Franklin's unbelievable voice. I have no explanation. It was truly moving as well as achingly-beautiful. |
Tiny Tim: Tip Toe Through The Tulips (LOL)
Miles davis, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Byrd, Santana
These guys could speak beatiful words through the playing of their individual instruments.
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Too many classical pieces to mention but in the rock world,"Soon","And you and I","Close to the Edge" from Yes,"Afterglow","Ripples" and "Your Own Special Way" from Genesis,and "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" from Pink Floyd aways get my emotions flowing. |
Ella Fitzgerald singing "I Loves You Porgy" on her 40th birthday concert recording
Stevie Wonder singing "You and I" on Innervisions
The Beatles "Something"
Luciano Pavarotti singing the aria "Nessum Dorma" from Turandot
World Saxophone Quartet peforming "Ming" on Revue
Joan Baez singing "All My Trials" on her first eponymous Vanguard LP
Cesaria Evora singing "Sodade" from Miss Perfumado
John Coltrane playing "Naima" from Giant Steps
Does this kind of list actually have an end? |
Casssandra Wilson-Harvest Moon, Jane Siberry-Taxi Ride, Bill Evans-Peace Piece. |
Poets and psychologists have pondered the question "why we respond to beauty with tears..." without arriving at a final solution, except to wonder if it is becuase it reminds us of the rest of the times in our lives, that are not filled with constant beauty and happiness... making the satisfying listening moments that much more precious.
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Can something be beautiful and ache? What is soothingly-ugly music?
Just a thought. |
Just about every single classical music piece can qualify - it just takes a bit of a commitment on our part to come to appreciate it. Since we all have nice systems I am sure, why not try to branch out and appreciate all sorts of music? |
ah, Milstein's Goldmark Violin Concerto
(what was Sarah Chang thinking!? pardon my bitchiness. ) |
Klemperer's Mahler 2
Kim Kashkashian's Britten Lachrymae
Byron Janis
Shostakovich 11 'The Year 1905'
Peter Pears singing Britten |
Right on Brownie. That is a beautiful recording of The Planets. I also have to go along with previous posts about Margo Timmins of The Cowboy Junkies, (Sweet Jane), as well as putting forward Maggie Reilly on some of the Mike Oldfield albums (eg Five Miles Out, To France etc.) Haunting....
Paul |
Oh boy, music which I cannot perform without a good ,long period of desensitization to get my emotions under control.Also, have any of you noticed that the emotional impact seems to increase as we get older? The Allegri "Misereri", the Brahms motets, in particular, "Warum?" and "Las Dichts Nur nichts nicht dauren" but all of them are great The J.S. Bach motets also persist in blowing me away after 30 years of exposure. |
Van Morrison, almost anything by him moves me. |
Ravel and Prokofiev. has anyone mentioned these geniuses? Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe and Piano Concertos demand great equipment. huge dynamic range. Prokofiev's romeo & juliet, piano concertos 1,2, and 3, and violin concerto no. 2 are essentials. Especially listen for the excellent contrast at the beginning of Romeo & Juliet montagues & capulets theme! (before the famous lumbering melody strikes) A true test of concert hall aptitude. |
Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos No. 2 & 3; Horacio Guttierez/Lorin Maazel on telarc --
IMHO, the ULTIMATE recording of the ULTIMATE composition. |
I don't think any of these have been mentioned.
1-Beethoven "HammerKlavier" Sonata op.106 (slow movement)
The words "achingly beautiful" were invented for this piece.
The approximately 90 seconds in the middle of the piece where the main theme transforms into an almost whispered refrain is the most orgasmic 90 seconds I have ever experience,listening to music that is:)
2-Beethoven Quartet opus 131.
The middle child or the brilliant "late quartets". Unlike the Hammerklavier, this one has to be experienced in its entirety. Unfathomably beautiful.
3-Jeff Buckley's cover of Len Cohen's "Hallelujah"
It's rare, but pop music can occasionally achieve "achingly beautiful" status. I feel like a selfish bastard always wishing he had not left us, just so he could make more music that touches the soul. |
Federic Chopin - Variations on "La ci darem la mano," Op. 2 for Piano and Orchestra (Largo) |
It's been a while since I posted on this thread, and the A-goN computer seems to have forgotten to remind me of new posts, so I'll add another one, Gerald Finzi's Eclogue for piano and strings. Very soothing and contemplative music. |
Oooh, one more...any Diana Krall vocals ("besame mucho", "look of love", etc.) |
Holst's The Planets: Charles Dutoit conducting Montreal Symphony Orchestra!! |
Hmm
Bach - Chaconne fr Violin Partida # 2 as Played on Guitar by Andres Segovia. Taste, restraint, perfect technique. Segovia stretches the notes in a way that no one else dares.
Mozart - "Martin aller Arten" from Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail as played on Trumpet by Maurice Andre - Every soprano who ever attempts this should be required to hear what Andre wrests from this , absolutely simple, perfect. Perfect phrasing, perfect intonation, perfect control, perfect balance. Perfect
Diana Krall singing "Garden in the Rain" from "Love Scenes" |
As I get older I find that I appreciate music that is stripped of all pretensions and is simple and direct. While my first love is Jazz, of late I've been listening to alot of blues. Its music that speaks straight to the heart. My current favorite is the music of Mississippi John Hurt. If you don't feel chills up and down your spine when you hear him sing "Since I've Laid My Burden Down" you've got a hole in your soul. Something more recent is Kelly Joe Phelps's CD "Lead Me On". His superb slide guitar work and haunting vocals have the same effect. |
Elgar - Sospiri
Sigur Ros - ( ) esp. track 6
Grainger - Variations On A Theme From County Derry (Danny Boy)
Dvorak - Symphony 9, 2nd movement.
The best thread in a long time |
Not quite achingly beautiful, more like lilting ear candy, but Morten Lauridsen's 4 minute piece called Dirait-on sure has captured my fancy. It's the last of several pieces from his cycle called Les Chansons des Roses, which are poems by Rilke that Lauridsen set to music. I have 3-4 recordings of it now. As I said, it's ear candy. Might be the next Pachelbel's Canon (I regret to say). |
"Me so Horney" by 2 Live Crew.
"Baby's got back" by Sir Mixalot.
"And Justice for all" Metallica.
You're all freaky! :) |
"The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" by Traffic (Steve Winwood). Hauntingly beautiful and mesmerizing.
I got to hear/see Steve Winwood perform this live at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California, last Tuesday, July 1, from the 3rd row, just right of center.
I was in heaven!
(CD's great, to.)
--Steve |
Another strong vote for Lux Aeterna. This is great stuff. I find it quite peculiar that here I am, a 50 year old one-time Deadhead Jew with a growing fondness for sacred choral music. My Dad calls it Sacred Schmaltz. I love the place this music takes me to. |
"Lux Aeterna" written by Morton Laurensden. Choral piece for voice and orchestra. There is a recording out by the LA Master Choral and Orchestra that is just stunning. Haunting, beautiful ethereal music. I am going to see a live performance this Saturday by a regional choral group near where I live (Phila. area). They are performing entire work acapella.
Also- a song by Jerry Douglas and James Taylor: "The Suit"
Story of a Nebraska farmer who dies and his wife buys him a suit for his funeral. Sad, lovely tale of a simple man and his end, wearing the state of Nebraska as his overcoat... |
Fantastic thread... and I have to thank you guys for many of the suggestions. Particularly, thanks for mentioning Eva Cassidy - what a stunning & haunting voice! I can't believe I'd never heard of her before! By the way, I read she died of melanoma at age 33... very unfortunate! |
Two new additions for the chamber music crowd:
Brahms Viola/Clarinet sonatas, Opus 120, nos. 1 and 2.
The viola version with Kim Kashkashian is absolutely marvelous. Her playing is
willful without being forceful. I have the Naxos CD of the clarinet version, very romantic without sounding too lush. They rank up there with the Brahms sextets and the late
Schubert string quartets for being the most achingly-beautiful music I have heard.
Also, not quite on the same plane as above but the cello
solo( with piano accompliment) music of Faure is very heart felt music |
alomst forgot: Non Ti Scorda Di Me |
1. Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20 - a piano concerto with most beautiful theme
2. Scorpion, "We'll Burn the Sky" from Live from Japan (?) album - Easily the best song by the band
3. Armstrong, "What a Wonderful World" - ahhhh...
4. Francisco Tarrega, "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" - overplayed but still achingly beautiful
5. Led Zeppelin, "Stairway to Heaven" - since no one else seems to have mentioned it...
6. Chopin, Nocturn - pick any of 'em. really.
too many to list |
Emmylou Harris
Wrecking Ball |
1. Steven Stills-"Singin Call"
2. Robin Trower-"Bluebird"
3. Steely Dan-"Turn That Heartbeat Over Again"
4. Moody Blues-"Dawning is the Day" (sorry about that, it's criminal to limit it to three!) |
I second the vote for the Rachmaninoff 2nd.Symphony. However, I must correct "Tubegroover". The part you love is actually the 3rd. movement, not the 2nd. Irishdog. |
Jeff Buckley - Lover You Should Have Come Over.
For lyrics, melody, and arrangement this is hard to beat. The opening lines:
"Looking out the door I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water
And maybe I'm too young
To keep good love from going wrong
But tonight you're on my mind so..."
The bridge, which swells with a gospel choir, is almost overwhelming:
"It's never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder
It's never over, all my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her...
It's never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
It's never over, she is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever"
He could write like Leonard Cohen, and sang like an angel. |
Richards, glad to see a Pat Metheny title in there. I'd also add the last two tracks from Still Life Talking.
'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' from Beyond the Missouri Sky, which is a really a Charlie Haden/Pat Metheny duet release.
'Hejira' from Joni Mitchell's album of the same name.
'Heartland' from Keith Jarrett's album Concerts (Bregenz), also 'Americana' and 'Recitative' from Dark Intervals. |
CLASSICAL:
Satie--3 Gymnopedies
Bach--Air on G-String
Mozart--Concerto #5 for violin & Orchestra, Adagio
Beethoven--Symphonie #6--Shepherd's Song
JAZZ:
Oregon, Silence of a Candle from Beyond Words
Paul Winter, Icarus
Bolling, Sentimentale from Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano
Pat Methany, last 3 songs on Secret Story
Oscar Peterson, Blues for Lisa from The More I see You
ROCK
Traffic, Freedom Rider from John Barleycorn
Eric Clapton , Tears from Heaven from Unplugged
Jackson Brown, Late for the Sky from Late for the Sky
Grateful Dead, Ripple from American Beauty
WORLD & MISC
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, My Heart, My Life from Night Song
Loreena McKinnet, Bonny Portmor from The Visit
Ana Caram, Correnteza from The Other Side of Jobim
Ali Akbar Khan, Fantasy from Journey |
I just cannot forgive meself for not having mentioned this beautiful piece of music
Gaeltacht - Renaissance of the Celtic Harp by Alan Stivell.
A masterpice of celtic music. |
John Williams rendition of Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez on RCA Red Seal.
Summertime - Louis and Ella from Porgy and Bess
The look of Love - Dusty Springfield from Casino Royale (Burt Bacharach)
Besides the three I would like to mention some others which I had great difficulty in putting it in runners up.
Fur Elise - Beethoven
Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven Radu Lupo, Israel Sypmphony Orchestra
The four seasons - Vivaldi - Joseph Silverstien, Seiji Ozawa, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven's 9th Symphony - Seiji Ozawa on Telarc
The girl from Ipanema - Antonio Carlos Jobim, from Getz/Gilbarto
Childrens Games - Antonio Carlos Jobim - Stoneflower
Lara's Theme - Maurice Jarre Original Soundtrack from Dr Zhivago
A man and a woman - Francis Lai Original Soundtrack
There are many others but it would not be appropriate from me to compile a huge list here. I hope I am not forgetting some other superb inspirational and soul stiring music. |
Most excellent choice Quirkasaurus.
How much BoTox do you think she needs to pantomime the anime? |
