My mother used to say, "Why in the world do you listen to that mournful music?" but I listen to Early Music in the car all the time when I'm alon. I love it. What can I say? D and I went to see/hear Anonymous 4 many years ago when he still feigned interest in my enthusiasms, and it was a high point for me. I could rustle up another Early Music duo, Live Oak, which D and I went to see in a church outside Boston so long ago . . . a woman up front kept fussing with her purse. Her companion was impossibly old and immobile throughout her pawing. The purse began to move;
out popped a tiny dog's snout.
Good Lord, what on earth is mournful about early church music??? It is the most inspiring and uplifting form of song I know - listening to the choir at Gloucestershire Cathedral was like hearing angels flying to heaven! And Palestrina is simply joy, (I discovered him when I was 17 because the album was 50p and I liked the cover!).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that was lovely, thank you!
I had the Anonymous 4 Xmas album in the popular cassette format, and I used to listen to it in the car. This was back when I had a car and went places.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it all depends on your definition of "Early Music"; mine is anything pre-Baroque. So in addition to Gregorian chant and early polyphony, there's also Renaissance and Elizabethan. I like the Anonymous 4, and I also like the Boston Camerata and the Waverly Consort. John Dowland's music is a favorite, alongside Hildegard von Bingen and Guillaume Dufay. And who could ever call Palestrina's music "mournful"?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful clear voices. Like a mountain brook! Thanks for posting this :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE Anonymous Four. I think that sound is otherworldly - in fact I play their music all the time when I'm working. People are transported to a place of peace during their massages.
ReplyDeleteLove early music, too, especially Spanish music. I feel like I'm in a time machine.
Thanks for this. It's a rainy morning in DC - perfect backdrop for the music.
Love it XXX oooxxxOOO 000...
ReplyDeletetiny snout...
I used to play An English Ladymass a lot. I'll have to get it out - it's been awhile. Did you know one of the original Anon 4 lives in Nyack? (or used to).
ReplyDelete(Thanks for being my first twitter friend!)
That's beuatiful.
ReplyDeletei liked it
ReplyDeleteAwesome way to start the day! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, a couple of links for early music lovers. New York:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.earlymusicny.org/emny.php
and Knoxville:
http://www.kempmusic.org/
thanks for reminding me about anonymous(e) 4....I love them and haven't listened to them is a long while!
ReplyDeletenothing like 'mournful music' to make me feel better....