Playlist for Sick Days

When I set up the blog profile, one of the questions was about my favourite music. Impossible to answer.

On Thursday last, I tore something in my lower right back, and by Saturday I was unable to stand up without crutches, having made it much worse by repeated aggravation. Could not sleep much, Friday to Sunday, as there was only one pain-free position, and the slightest deviation produced spasms. Got a handle on it late on Sunday, and figured out how to move about on crutches without making things worse, and on Monday p.m. Grainne provided a little machine that imparted low-voltage shocks, and accelerated the repair process. Recovered normal locomotion by Tuesday evening, and had a pain-free night's sleep; all's well now.

While it was at its worst, there was nothing to do but lie on the floor of my office and listen to music. Here's the playlist that came off the shelf:

The Christy Moore 81-91 Collection. Many good songs, but the masterpiece is Ride On. This, like many a great song, comes from some place outside the universe. Second-best song: Nancy Spain. Warner. 9031-75351-2

Canticum Canticorum. Settings of the vulgate text of the Song of Songs, performed by Capilla Flamenca. ISBN 90-5826-208-1. Four settings (no less) of Quam pulchra es, five of Tota pulchra es, two of Anima mea liquefacta est, and more. Amazing.

Messe Saint-Leon Le Grand. Collection of fine popular choral pieces, and a mass by Denis Bedard, performed by a Canadian church choir (Westmount, Quebec). Gift from Paul Gauthier. High point: Bruckner, Locus iste. CSTL 100

Arlene Auger. Double CD of soprano arias and songs. Gift from Declan O'Keeffe. Best: some Villa-Lobos. Delos DE 3712.

Jo Stafford. Double CD. 54 songs from 42-52. Incredibly clean notes. Of course the high point is the duet Whispering Hope, beloved since my infancy.
http://www.sanctuaryclassics.com/

The Best of Elkie Brooks. High point the incomparable Pearl's a singer (- she stand up when she plays the piano...). Reissue of the A&M, by Karoussel.

Gypsy Kings. Mosaique. This is up there with the greats. I have no idea how they do it. These guys seem to live in Marseilles, but sing Spanish gypsy, canto jondo. Michael and Anne-Marie gave us tickets to their Point concert last year. It was a very good concert, but the best things they do are the slow, agonised love songs, and they concentrated at the concert on the ecstatic gypsy dance stuff.

Mozart and his Czech Friends. The latter are Jan Nepomuk Vent, Josef Mylivecek, and Jan Krtitel Vanhal. Symphonies for chamber orchestra. Agreeable. Multisonic 31 0399-2

Mozart. Mass in C Minor. Highlights + some extras from the Solemn Vespers, and the Ave Verum. 1994. By our own Maynooth Choral Soc, Gerard Gillen conducting. Private circulation only.

Liszt. Symphonic poems 2&3, Hungarian Rhapsodies 1,3,5. New Philharmonic Orchestra.
Why not?