Daily Hit of Music

International Jazz Day - Speak Like a Child, by Herbie Hancock International Jazz Day is celebrated annually on April 30 and has been declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a day 'to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.'  The idea came from legendary jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Herbie Hancock. Jazz Day is chaired by Hancock and the celebration is recognized on the calendars of boths UNESCO and the United Nations. Enjoy this incredible performance by the Herbie Hancock Trio, which also features Tony Williams (Drums) and Ron Carter (Bass).  YouTube: Speak Like A Child Herbie Hancock Tune in to the International Jazz Day Concert:  https://jazzday.com/  hosted by Herbie Hancock to feature jazz artists across the globe. 

Night Prayer: Te Lucis Ante Terminum Have a listen to these renditions of the old Latin hymn 'Te Lucis Ante terminum'/'To thee before the close of day', which is sung at the final church service of the day in the Christian church, known as 'compline'.  Setting by Thomas Tallis Based on Thomas Tallis' setting, arranged and performed by Christian Forshaw (saxophonist) and Voces8   Original chant Text: Te lucis ante terminum, Rerum Creator, poscimus, Ut pro tua clementia, Sis praesul et custodia. Procul recedant somnia, Et noctium phantasmata: Hostemque nostrum comprime, Ne polluantur corpora. Praesta, Pater piissime, Patrique compar Unice, Cum Spiritu Paraclito, Regnans per omne saeculum. Amen. Text translation: To Thee before the close of day, Creator of the world, we pray That, with Thy wonted favour, Thou Wouldst be our guard and keeper now. From all ill dreams defend our sight, From fears and terrors of the n

Pennsylvania 6-5000 - music by Bill Finegan & Jerry Gray  On this day in 1940, the swing number 'Pennsylvania 6-5000' was recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra in New York (mind the volume isn't too high for the beginning): YouTube Spotify 'PEnnsylvania 6-5000' is the phone number of the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City. Before area codes, the first two numbers were called the "Exchange Code", and were represented by word whose first two letters were used as the numbers. Thus, 'Pennsylvania' represented the PE exchange code. Bill Finegan and Jerry Gray wrote the music for this song, with Carl Sigman adding the lyrics. Carl came up with 'Pennsylvania 6-5000', cashing in on the popularity of 'Café Rouge', a hot nightclub situated in New York City's 'Hotel Pennsylvania', frequented by Swing Era icons such as Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers and Artie Shaw. The Glenn Miller recording, which repeats 

Hildegard von Bingen - 'O splendidisimma gemma'/ 'O jewel resplendent' Take a listen to this beautiful rendition of the antiphon 'O splendidissima gemma' sung by Sabine Lutzenberger: YouTube Spotify An antiphon is a chant featured in Christian rituals, sung before and after a psalm verse.  Psalm antiphon for the Virgin, 'O splendidissima gemma'  by Hildegard of Bingen:  O splendidissima gemma  et serenum decus solis qui tibi infusus est, fons saliens  de corde Patris, quod est unicum Verbum suum, per quod creavit mundi  primam materiam, quam Eva turbavit. Hoc Verbum effabricavit  tibi Pater hominem, et ob hoc es tu illa lucida materia  per quam hoc ipsum Verbum exspiravit  omnes virtutes,  ut eduxit  in prima materia omnes creaturas. O jewel  (also meaning 'flower bud')  resplendent  and bright and joyous beauty of the sun  that's flooded into you— the fountain leaping  from the Father’s heart

Fryderyk Chopin - Grande Polonaise Brillante premières at the Paris Conservatory On this day in 1835, Fryderyk Chopin's  Grande Polonaise Brillante,  preceded by the   Andante spianato   was premi èred at the Paris Conservatory. Chopin  performed it, with marked success in a charity concert for the then famous Parisian conductor   François-Antoine Habeneck. Listen to it on our playlist: Andante spianato Grande Polonaise Brillante Paris Conservatoire depicted by    P. S. Germain It was not until 1834-1835, in Paris, that Chopin added the introduction, given over to the solo piano. Some commentators consider that the two parts – the introductory  Andante spianato  and the actual Polonaise – do not suit one another, as they are too different. Yet that very diametrical contrast is what seems to link the two parts together.  Spianato  means evenly, without contrasts, without any great agitation or anxiety. A ' polonaise ' or 'polonez' is a

ABBA - The Winner Takes It All Today is the 75th birthday of Björn Kristian Ulvaeus, who is a Swedish producer, songwriter and member of the pop supergroup ABBA. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names:  Agnetha ,  Björn ,  Benny  and  Anni-Frid . They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, t opping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982. ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, giving Sweden its first triumph in the contest. They are the most successful group to have taken part in the competition. ABBA was also one of the first to hire someone to direct a music video, since they made the collective decision to tour and perform much less to avoid a burn-out. This was a powerful move, however, since they got their image into people's homes through music videos more effectively that anyone else up to that point. Their pioneering of music videos was the precursor to all the visual material of Mich

'La Catedral' by Agustín Barrios  Today is the birthday of the Australian virtuosic guitarist, John Williams. Take a listen to his beautiful recording of 'La Catedral' by Barrios - his best-known and most played composition, inspired by J.S. Bach: YouTube Spotify Agustín Barrios Agustín Pío Barrios was born in the Missiones district of southern Paraguay on 5 May 1885 and died on 7 August 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Barrios is considered to be one of the greatest performers and most prolific composers for the guitar. Barrios was a constant traveller, until late in his life, where Barrios took up a teaching position at the Declamation and Conservatorium Rafael Olmedo. There, he left a written teaching method including 10 duos and other arrangements for him to play in concert with his students. These were preserved in handmade copies for the students. The entirety of these materials and his original compositions were stolen from his house after his

St. George's Day Spitfire Prelude and Fugue - William Walton St George's Day in England remembers St George, England's patron saint. The anniversary of his death, which is on April 23, is seen as England's national day. According to legend, he was a soldier who killed a dragon and saved a princess.  Patriotism Feeling proud of one's country can seem like a deeply suspect emotion - perilously close to jingoism and racism. However, the desire to feel proud of one's community is a natural and noble impulse. Collective pride is so important, because there's never enough to be proud of in a single life - nationalism takes the pressure off all of us and allows us to rejoice in the achievements of our nation as a whole. We are members of a wide entity which we might be (and should be) prepared to love.  Paraphrased from 'The School of Life'. For more, see this . The Spartans directed their pride towards military strength and the Athenian

Gravity - Film Score by Steven Price Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. These clips from the final scene of the film Gravity remind us that the Earth is our home.  Gravity , final scene part I . Music by Steven Price Gravity, final scene part II . Music by Steven Price Steven Price Steven Price is a British film composer, best known for scoring Gravity , which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Score. He was also music editor to Howard Shore for the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and has been an arranger, programmer and performer for numerous films and advertising campaigns. Price has a First Class degree in Music from Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. 

Tailleferre - Sonata for Harp  - 3. Perpetuum mobile ( perpetual motion) Germaine Tailleferre (1892 - 1983) Listen to this elegant and surprising 'perpetual motion' movement from Tailleferre's sonata for solo harp, played by Maria Graf: YouTube Spotify The two other movements of this sonata are also definitely worth listening to. You can find them on the  DHM playlist  as well as all other featured music on this blog. Germaine Tailleferre was born on April 19, 1892 to family living in the outskirts of Paris. Despite exposing their daughter to music from an early age, Tailleferre's parents considered music to be an inappropriate activity for a young lady. Eventually, the young Germaine pursued serious studies at the Paris Conservatoire where she studied accompaniment, harmony and counterpoint, taking first prizes in each.  Tailleferre was the only woman in the post-WWI group of French composers known as Les Six , where she was encouraged a

'An die Nachtigall'/ 'To The Nightingale'   - Franz Schubert With fewer cars on the road, you might have noticed sounds that you rarely heard before: birdsong, for example, seems so much more abundant than it might have done previously. There are many composers who have had a fascination with birdsong, especially Olivier Messiaen (in  this video  he deconstructs the song of nightingale and other birds).  Listen to Franz Schubert's short, but incredibly beautiful song 'To The Nightingale',  An die Nachtigall  performed by Renée Fleming. ( Spotify ) Poem by Matthias Claudius (German): Er liegt und schläft an meinem Herzen, Mein guter Schutzgeist sang ihn ein; Und ich kann fröhlich sein und scherzen, Kann jeder Blum' und jedes Blatts mich freun. Nachtigall, ach! Nachtigall, ach! Sing mir den Amor nicht wach! English translation © Richard Wigmore: He lies sleeping upon my heart; my kind tutelary (prot

My Favorite Things - Rodgers/Hammerstein/Andrews, Jarreau/Miller/Battle You've probably heard of The Sound of Music and if you haven't heard of that, you've probably heard of Julie Andrews, who was the first to record Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'My Favourite Things' from The Sound of Music .   Have a listen to a very different take on the song with opera singer Kathleen Battle performed and arranged by Al Jarreau and Marcus Miller, a fusion of jazz and operatic style using a musical song from 1959:  YouTube Spotify Al Jarreau   Marcus Miller Kathleen Battle Richard Rodgers (composer) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyricist-dramatist) Julie Andrews

Oboe Concerto in D minor - Alessandro Marcello (circa 1673 - 1747) Listen to this concerto by Alessandro Marcello performed by Marcel Ponseele on baroque oboe performed by Malcolm Messiter The slow movement of this concerto is particularly beautiful.  A concerto is a musical composition for instruments in which a solo instrument (or instruments) is set off against an orchestral ensemble. There are two seemingly conflicting origins of the word 'concerto': the Latin definition suggests 'competing', whilst the Italian definition suggests 'agreement'. In the case of the musical concerto, both meanings have value - both contest and concord provide variety within unity.  Alessandro Ignazio Marcello was an Italian nobleman and composer, who was born in Venice and held concerts in his hometown. He often composed under the pseudonym Eterio Stinfalico (the name he used as a member of the Arcadian Academy). This concerto is possibly his best-known