Light On Dark Water

Bach/Gounoud – Ave Maria, Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening

Weekend Music

Finally, something a bit more seasonally appropriate. Not Advent-specific, obviously, but at least on the general subject. My friend Robert has been praising a collection of Christmas songs by Kathleen Battle, and it was while listening to one of them that I ran across this. Even though Christmas is only three days away, I decided to post this instead. 

 

The Christmas album, by the way, seems very good on the basis of the selections I heard. In general I tend not to like classical singers in non-classical material–the singers tend to overpower the songs. But these performances seem to be like the Ave Maria, very restrained and pure. It's called A Christmas Celebration.

Maclin Horton
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21 responses to “Bach/Gounoud – Ave Maria, Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening”

  1. grumphy in Norfolk

    I can;t play any music clips because I’m sitting with my apple mac in the only heated room in the house with my father asleep…

    Reply
  2. Marianne

    Exquisite.
    Sad that she has the reputation of being a difficult diva.

    Reply
  3. Mac

    I didn’t know that.
    No headphones, grumphy?!

    Reply
  4. Louise

    I love the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  5. grumphy in Norfolk

    would be a delight to be a difficult diva for a day

    Reply
  6. Mac

    heh

    Reply
  7. grumphy in Norfolk

    well I am playing it and my father hasn’t woken…

    Reply
  8. Mac

    I guess this is the following night? I trust your father hasn’t slept for the nearly 18 hours between your two comments.

    Reply
  9. grumphy in Norfolk

    Yes, it is the following night, but no, he has slept most of the time but he woke up and ate meals between times…

    Reply
  10. Mac

    I take it he’s not well? not that that’s particularly a subject for online discussion.

    Reply
  11. Anne-Marie

    Ha, my (desktop) computer is in the room my father sleeps in. I can’t listen either, but wish you and yours a merry Christmas, Mac.

    Reply
  12. grumphy in Norfolk

    Merry Christmas to all who read this blog! Both those who can and those who cannot listen!

    Reply
  13. Mac

    And Merry Christmas to y’all, and everyone else.

    Reply
  14. Marianne

    One day ahead of most all of you — Merry Christmas!

    Reply
  15. Mac

    And also to you, and to all. I probably won’t be online again till sometime tomorrow morning (not early). So, a Merry Christmas to those many time zones ahead, and a happy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to those in the U.S. Or out in the Pacific, this side of the international date line.

    Reply
  16. Rob G

    That’s a very nice rendition, Mac. I like the guitar and voice combo.
    Merry Christmas to all of you! Here’s a little something, my favorite contemporary setting of the Ave Maria, by Morten Lauridsen. Can’t listen to it without tearing up!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgxD5Z7TM44

    Reply
  17. Mac

    Wow. I think I had heard that before but apparently not really paid close enough attention. Really gorgeous. And what singers! They’re from the Phillipines:
    http://www.ustsingers.com/
    And Merry Christmas to you, when you celebrate it.:-)

    Reply
  18. Louise

    Merry Christmas y’all.

    Reply
  19. Rob G

    “Merry Christmas to you, when you celebrate it”
    Same as you, Mac. The OCA is new-fangled Orthodox. Some of our priests don’t even have beards! 😉

    Reply
  20. Mac

    I confess to being abysmally ignorant about the Orthodox world, though I gather the picture is pretty confusing. I see there’s a pretty long Wikipedia article about the OCA. Maybe if I read it some of it will stick.

    Reply
  21. Grumpy

    Rob G’s ‘Ave Maria’ is fantastic – I just listened!

    Reply

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