Back at last

I hope you haven’t given up on me. Finally the big project at work is over and out the door. We had to work for three weeks without a day off and anywhere from ten to fourteen hours each day. I was exhausted.


Now I have the time to get back to the things I enjoy, like blogging, but there is another little problem. I don’t have any good music to write about. I’ve been listening to the CD’s that I received at Christmas and frankly many of them are sort of boring. I found these CD’s on Amazon and I had to search a lot to find music by groups that I don’t already have in my collection, because I like to sample new music. Unfortunately there isn’t always a good selection and I’ve wound up with some that I just don’t enjoy very much.

Two albums in particular have let me down. The first is one that I suspected I wouldn’t like but I decided to give it a try anyway. It’s the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys album “Most Sacred Banquet”, and the selections here are just too high-toned for my taste. I’m probably being cynical when I say this, but sometimes I think that choir directors choose music only to show that they have sophisticated tastes. Unfortunately, I’m not sophisticated enough so Poulenc’s “Exultate Deo” and Messiaen’s “O Sacrum Convivium” make me yawn. I find it hard to pay attention to Tournemire’s “Cinq Improvisations for Organ” without becoming distracted by my surroundings.

The second CD is “Favorites From the Past” by the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale. This is a live recording that would have benefited from some studio polishing. It sounds like the soloists are standing too far from the microphone and some songs like “God Bless America” and “My Country Tis of Thee” seem sort of unmelodic. “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” is an old spiritual but here it’s lacking soul. “Philadelphia Pride” on the other hand is very nicely done so maybe show tunes are a better choice for this director.

I have to emphasize that there is nothing at all wrong with the singing on either of these albums. The boys are very talented and professional and they sound like violins. I fault the directors and arrangers.

However, don’t take my word for it. These may be the most wonderful albums in the world and the problem may be that I’m just tired. I prefer pretty music and I don’t hear it here.

The good news is that I’ve got new stuff coming in the next day or two so I will be posting something fun and interesting very shortly.