Diamonds in youtube's rough

[CellarDweller115]

OMG, she is amazing!

I wish the video had closed captioning so I could read the comments the judges were making.

[fritzkep]

Wow!

[BlueAmber63]

Not Opera....but this young man sang on UK's Xfactor sometime ago...but
I never forgot his performance. It just stayed with me out of all of this
programs performances. I thought his nerves would get the better of him..
but I was wrong. You have to watch the whole vid...to realize how scared
he really was.!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1T9-I3wx8I&list=RDnrMTuEFnifc&index=5


Chris Moloney......."The Rose"

[CellarDweller115]

Wow!  Never saw this video before, he was sooooo scared.  I'm so glad it went so well.

According to his wikipedia page, he's still performing (video is from 2012) so I'm glad it's worked well for him.

[foreverinawe]

Sometimes is doesn’t take much to send me over the cliff.

A couple weeks ago I surfed into an old trailer for the 1980 movie Somewhere in Time. When the movie was brand new I wasn’t into overwhelming hormones or time travel, and I assiduously avoided all contact with it: i.e., I never went to see it. I can’t even remember hearing the eponymous theme song.

Something in the old trailer caught my eye. It said (unbelievably!) that the music was written by Rachmaninoff. I went into a mini tizzy. That was preposterous! Outrageous, even.

A day later, somewhat cooled down, I sneaked a peak into IMDB’s review. It said the 18th variation of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was indeed featured briefly in the movie. I was stunned. The main music was written by John Barry, entitled of course, Somewhere in Time. I quickly found it on youtube. It is eyewateringly beautiful.

Straight to the library, checked out the DVD. Brought it home and sat glued for almost two hours. Two of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen, in a fantasy that had so many clever twists it could almost seem possible. The Grand Hotel itself is almost a legend, and swept along by John Barry, Roger Williams and Sergei Rachmaninoff.....well, there I went, right over the cliff.

And I loved it.

Chris Moloney’s wonderful "The Rose" made me browse for more of him. To my surprise I discovered a medley recorded by Roger Williams -- The Rose, and Somewhere in Time -- when he was 85 (played exquisitely, two years before his death). Two songs that had suddenly exploded into my world.  I feel compelled to share them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=368sTuHroiA

   ~~~fia

[CellarDweller115]

This one selection isn't artistic, it's knowledgeable.


If you are on FB, you can see many videos posted by people that show 'life hacks' or make claims about topics such as 'fake foods', or other such topics.

There is a channel on YouTube called "How To Cook That" and it's hosted by Ann Reardon, who is a food scientist.

She will frequently post videos where she debunks these videos, showing that these hacks truly don't work, or that the claims that are being made are false.

Here is one of her videos.  it's about 23 minutes long, but you only need to watch the first few minutes to get the idea.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSBSzWmjXO0&t=5s

[CellarDweller115]

Peter James Hollens is an American singer/songwriter, producer and entrepreneur. He has been involved with a cappella music since 1999 when he and Leo da Silva founded the University of Oregon's a cappella group, On The Rocks, known as the first official collegiate a cappella group in Oregon.  He regularly releases new music videos to his YouTube channel. With over 5 million followers and subscribers, his content has received over a billion total views since 2011.

Peter Hollens ~ Shenandoah

Peter Hollens feat. David Archuleta ~ Loch Lomond

Peter Hollens ~ You Will Be Found

Peter Hollens feat. Tim Foust ~ Bridge Over Troubled Water

[foreverinawe]

Peter James Hollens is an American singer/songwriter, producer and entrepreneur.

Chuck, you’re right on about Hollens. He’s wonderful. I love all four of the selections.

But I gotta tell you a funny story......I thought he was someone else. And that was simply because he sounds like another guy. Trouble was, I couldn’t remember the other guy’s name 

Search search search....took me two days, but I finally found him.  His name is Julien Neel. He’s French,  grew up in the US, and now lives and records in France. And sometimes he’s a one-man quartet, thanks to some fancy video editing equipment. (Plus four octaves range helps.)

And he’s a bit of a ham. His four personas sneak insider looks at each other as they sing. Case in point

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpU_X6VKqvA

He arranges the music himself, sings a capella. His harmonies are a joy, and I marvel at what has to be prodigious concentration behind a pleasant face.

   ~~~fia

[Sara B]

^^^^

Excellent!

[CellarDweller115]

Cool video, fia!  I thought it was great!

[CellarDweller115]

It's a little early for Christmas, but I was in the mood to post this.  Not a traditional Christmas song, but I listen to it each Christmas.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtrBcRJC2C8

[foreverinawe]

Now is the hour for me to say goodbye
Soon you'll be sailing far across the sea
While you're away oh please remember me
When you return you'll find me waiting here

Does  this simple Maori song humble you, as it does me?
Their recent pandemic-inspired concert at
Royal Albert Hall fills an entire hour with the same
abject sincerity, their love of life, their love of country,
their love of each other.

Maybe one simply “needs to be in the mood” for
such honest feelings, I don’t know. But in a word,
I am incredulous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fSYFx5yyns

   ~~~fia

Here’s a link to their promo with additional info about their predicament in the Description

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZYYtUtrE6w

[foreverinawe]

A month ago, while driving, the car radio was playing WUOT FM.  I love the music, but my loss of aural discrimination often keeps me from understanding normal speech. In other words, I don’t understand what the announcer is saying. There’s no cure, hearing aids only make the blather louder.

At any rate, Schubert’s Ave Maria began playing, performed by a violin and a piano. But there was clearly something different about this performance. The violin became a human voice, a profound human voice, that told of the suffering and heartbreak in Maria’s soul. And yet it also carried -- somehow -- an element of understanding -- an acceptance -- of human life, and Maria’s own.

I was overwhelmed. Years ago I read that when the violin was invented, musicians said that “at last we have an instrument that can match the human voice in emotions.” I was experiencing that firsthand.

When the performance ended that announcer identified it, but of course I couldn’t understand what she was saying. No matter, I thought, When I get home I’ll look it up on WUOT’s website playlist. It will even tell me the name and catalog number of the recording.

But it wasn’t on their website. Something had upset their scheduled broadcast. I didn’t know it, but there was a good reason for their departure from their published playlist. I’m sure they explained it on the air, but of course I didn’t understand.

A week later I found it on youtube (about the 30th Ave Maria I listened to).  The violinist was Camilla Wicks. She had died a few days earlier, age 92. WUOT had been honoring her passing.

Well, you;ve read this far, so maybe you’ll humor me and read a bit more. It is most germane.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/arts/music/camilla-wicks-dead.html

Did you read it? I’m going to repeat the ending:

In the interview published posthumously by the Strad, Ms. Wicks reflected on the role of music.

“We need something that is going to bring us hope,” she said. “All music can accomplish this. The greatest of pieces are those that say, ‘Yes, this is terrible, but there is hope.’”[/i]

And here is what she meant --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PG1hw5ZNwk

   ~~~fia

[CellarDweller115]

Hello fia!

I'm glad you were able to track down the version of the song that affected you so.   She was a very talented violinist!  This version is beautiful.