Monday Music: Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Tony Bennett and Sting)

If you are familiar with Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," this is not that. This song was written in 1933 by Al Dubin and Harry Warren. It was featured in the original Moulin Rouge cinematic film in 1934. The song was covered by many artists during the Big Band era, including Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. Tony Bennett first recorded it in 1950 for Columbia records. His later version recorded in 2006 with Sting is much richer and better interpreted. Bennett was 80 years old at the time (24 years of age when his first rendition was released).  

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Songs for Christmas: Gabriel's Message

I enjoy listening to some of the Medieval and Renaissance Christmas carols. “Gabriel’s Message" is based on a Basque carol and may have roots in the thirteenth or fourteenth century hymn “Angelus Ad Virginem.” This carol dates from around 1582. It was copied down by French composer and musicologist Charles Bordes, who published it in an 1895 volume of Basque folk tunes. The song celebrates the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she is highly favored and has been chosen to be the blessed mother of Christ, Emmanuel ("God with us"). Sting does a fine rendition of it on his CD, If on a Winter’s Night. Here is a live performance of it from the Durham Cathedral: