We Will Always Love You Whitney

It was really a shock to all, and at such a young age. I really love Whitney’s music, even though I did not grow up with her songs. It was only through American Idol and shows like that which I discovered who the legendary Whitney Houston is. Contestants would always be singing songs by her. For instance, I can remember Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “I Have Nothing” very well on American Idol. From then on, I began searching for her songs. I was just blown away by her ballads! Her voice has so much soul and she convey so much through her music. I’m glad it was Jennifer Hudson that did the tribute to her on the Grammys. I couldn’t have thought of anyone else better.

My favourite song of hers has to be “Greatest Love of All”. Even though it’s a cover, she really made it her own. Anyway, I just found out from wikipedia that there are actually 2 versions of the song – 1 with a piano intro, and 1 with the keyboard intro, which we are all too familiar with. Here is the version with the piano intro, which I think I like more:

“Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all”

Northern Lights by Phoenix Chorale

I chanced upon this choral CD on my latest visit to the HMV record store. While I was pleasantly surprised to find a whole CD dedicated to works by Ola Gjeilo, I was a bit hesitant to get it because I have no idea who the Phoenix Chorale or Charles Bruffy is. So, I did a quick search on my cellphone and quickly realised that they are a professional choir in the States, and Ola Gjeilo was a former composer-in-residence for the Phoenix Chorale! And they did win Grammys. Ola Gjeilo is also accompanies them on some tracks. Anyway, I did buy the CD, because I really like the song “Unicornis Captivatur”, which is also recorded in this offering.

OK I am not an expert on such stuff, so I won’t consider this a review, but I thought I would like to share some opinions on the album/ music/ recordings:

-Many composers have used the text of “O Magnum Mysterium” in their composition, and for Ola Gjeilo, this appears in the song “Serenity”. It is really quite a different take on the text compared to that of Poulenc, Javier Busto, etc., which were more “mysterious”, and the title is really an apt description of the piece. (Another version of the setting of this piece that I really like is of course Morten Lauridsen’s version!) A cello accompaniment is also included on this piece, one that greatly complements the piece as well.

-Another song that I like was “Dark Night of the Soul”, which included the Harrington String Quartet, which is quite like a whole story in itself. I thought maybe the solo soprano voice could be more prominent because it sort of felt like she was sort of drowned in the midst of all the accompaniment. But that might just the intention of the composer, or my bad speakers.

-I like the harmonies in “The Spheres”. The song is set to the text of “Kyrie eleison”. I haven’t really heard much versions of this compared to “O Magnum Mysterium”, and the only one I actually know is that by Palestrina, which I feel is a completely different take altogether.

-Some areas that I thought the choir could have done better are the ending of phrases and that of the words. For the former, the members don’t always phrase off together, so it sounded a bit messy (then again, it could be my speakers). For the latter, not all endings of words were pronounced as they should have been, e.g. ‘s’ of ‘rediens’ in “Vivus inde rediens” (Unicornis Captivatur).

But of course, all the songs are beautifully performed by the Phoenix Chorale, and at some points of listening to this album,  I did get goosebumps just listening by to the songs.

To find out more about this recording, and/or to purchase a copy, click on this link: http://phoenixchorale.org/2012/01/new-cd-northern-lights/