Spring, Renewal, Rebirth: Songs of My Season

My name means reborn: Renate, from re-natus/re-nata. So, spring is my season. 

I was born in February and I love snow, but I'm an Easter baby according to my name. I was a wondrous "rainbow baby", born after a tragic stillbirth. According to my mother, I was named after her favourite cousin, who had a sunny and good-natured disposition. But, I can't help but think that my name represents a rainbow and sunshine after a dark time. It's about rebirth and renewal, rising again. Renate is also related to baptism, and I do really love the water. 

So, if spring is my season, I should have a spring theme song. What spring music do I like, though? What is the sound of spring and rebirth, Renate?

Vivaldi's Spring (link to video) from his Four Seasons is pretty, but it makes me think of furniture or eyeglasses, advertisements. 

André Rieu has a spring offering: Spring Symphony.  You can follow that link to a YouTube video, but you might not want to. To me, it doesn't say spring as much as it says "shoot those birds". It's supposed to be peaceful, relaxing music with charming birdsong. But, the chirping of the birds is just annoying. Birdsong in real life makes me happy. I'm happy to hear the real thing in the trees around my house.

The very best spring song has to be the Beatles', Here Comes the Sun. It starts with "It's been a long cold lonely winter". We acknowledge the darkness. Spring is a bit of a struggle for us where I live in Canada. Just because the calendar says it's spring, doesn't mean it's instantly all sunshine and flowers.  Some days we have snow, rain, hail, and warm sunshine in one day.  "I feel that ice is slowly melting" is really how spring feels most of the time. "It's alright." We're happy because know that summer is on its way. "Sun, sun, sun, here it comes!" That might work for a Renate theme song.

Every spring is full of music for me. From January to May, every year, I'm preparing my choir (YRCC) for a spring concert, except for the past two years, during the pandemic. For our Post-COVID Spring Season, which was supposed to be Spring 2022, we wanted to have as much uplifting music as possible. The pandemic was so depressing for us! Singing is the best (worst) way to transmit the virus and lots of choirs had outbreaks and deaths. Singing became associated with the word "superspreader". We could only meet by Zoom. It was better than nothing, but it was not choir. We finally started meeting in person at the end of February 2022. But, things are not quite safe yet, and we're not all comfortable with it. We're not quite ready for a big concert with the pandemic lingering still after Easter 2022. So 2023 will be our big return, revival, resurgence. 

We sing a wonderful arrangement of the song We Rise Again, so that is our main theme. We want to express the certainty that we will be together again, that the pandemic will come to an end, and that we are confidently returning to life and singing. 

We Rise Again captures the feeling of spring well. "As sure as the sunrise" everything is going to continue, to keep cycling, and it will be alright. 

Here Comes the Sun is our sub-theme. I've been working on creating my own arrangement of a Here Comes the Sun medley. It will also include Stevie Wonder's Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing and Let the Sunshine In from Hair. Here comes the sun, so don't you worry about a thing, and let the sunshine in! I'm looking forward to performing that, sharing it will everyone. It might become my theme song. 

Here is a very Canadian production of We Rise Again (as always, I think the YRCC version is the best): 

We rise again in the faces

Of our children

We rise again in the voices of our song

We rise again in the waves out on the ocean

And then we rise again

Here are some more of the songs we are enjoying this spring as we prepare for next spring's We Rise Again concert:

I Can See Clearly Now

Blue Skies

Walking on Sunshine

Tomorrow 

What a Wonderful World

You'll Never Walk Alone

Sesame Street and Cartoons: Iconic Music Memories

My father took me to the opera, which I loved, especially the orchestra in the pit. Those memories are my favourite serious music memories from childhood. But, I also had lots of experience in classical music from children's TV, well, cartoons and Sesame Street mostly. 

I have wonderful memories of symphony orchestras and opera singers and flamboyant conductors as drawings and Muppets. 

The one Loony Tunes scene that particularly stands out in my memory is the one where Bugs Bunny is a conductor, Leopold, and the Big Tenor has to follow his directions, Leopold’s gloved hands, and ends up turning red and then blue holding a note sooo long. I like to have my choir hold on to the last notes of some of our big pieces, sometimes more than twice as long as written, so we joke about this scene quite often. Here's a link to a video of this scene.

How many classical melodies are popular because of Bugs Bunny and Loony Tunes?! Rossini's William Tell Overture and The Barber of Seville are big ones. Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 and Wagner's Pilgrim’s Chorus from the opera Tannhaüser are among others. I'm sure everyone my age can hum along to music on the popular classical radio station, even if they don't know the pieces by name. I sing along in nonsense syllables, imitating the horns and even the cymbals and kettle drums, and joke with my kids: ooh, I know all the words to this one!

People have written about this before. Here's a link to an article on CMUSE.org. Here's a link to an article on ClassicFM.com.

TV commercials have also impressed a couple of famous melodies in my memory. There was a furniture store that used Vivaldi’s Spring from The Four Seasons. Classy and expensive. My favourite was the British Airways ad that featured The Flower Duet from Delibes' Lakmé. Man, I love that! I’m sure there were more. 

Then, there's Sesame Street, another childhood obsession on television. Sesame Street is fantastic for tons of reasons, but one big one is all the great music. All kinds of music, pop, rock, jazz, classical, everything is presented along with the ABCs and The Count counting. Sometimes, there are guest musicians, the stars perform their songs, and sometimes the cast presents a song. Some songs were signature Sesame Street songs, written just for the show, like Sing (that's a link to a video).

My worldview comes from this song: Everyone can sing. Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing. Sing a song. 

I loved, love, Good Morning, Starshine on Sesame Street. With lyrics like "gliddy glup gloopy" it feels like it was written for the show, for Muppets, but it's actually from the musical, Hair. 

There was tons of good classical music there on Sesame Street too. Yo-Yo Ma visited Sesame Street several times, and there were so many other classical musicians with all kinds of instruments, and there were ballerinas too! Itzhak Perlman gave Telly a violin lesson and Lang Lang has appeared at least twice, so they still do all kinds of music.  I remember Andrea Bocelli singing with Elmo when I watched with my children- Time to Say Goodnight.

On YouTube, I was directed to videos of Cab Calloway, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, Johnny Cash, and Little Richard all singing with Muppets on Sesame Street. 

Wikipedia has a page with a list of all the celebrity guests that have appeared on Sesame Street. It's huge!!! Take a look here. 

My parents exposed me to a lot of good music, lots of different genres of music, and I had a lot of music at school: choirs, ukulele, recorder, clarinet. We had band and orchestra in middle school, band, stage band, jazz choir, and musical theatre in high school. I'm grateful for all of that and also for my musical education on Sesame Street and Bugs Bunny!

Got a Dance; Ain't Got No Steps

Will It Go Round In Circles is a 70s soul song by Billy Preston. I love it because of the brass, the grooves, the chorus, everything, but especially the verse that goes:

I've got a dance, I ain't got no steps, no

I'm gonna let the music move me around

I've got a dance, I ain't got no steps

I'm gonna let the music move me around

And then the chorus is so good! My dance with no steps, will go round, and fly, and who knows what else? I'm just going to let the music get into my body and my body will do whatever it feels like. Music, move me around!

This is one of my core beliefs, a thing in my soul: we can all dance and we don't need to learn any steps, don't need to study dance to dance. 

Just do it. 

Dance performances are wonderful, inspiring too, but they shouldn't make us feel like we should not do our own thing, that our own thing is bad, or unacceptable. We were born to dance and move our bodies to music in all kinds of ways. 

Outside of a dance studio, off of a stage, or even there (maybe especially there), we should be encouraged to respond to the music without any prescribed notions about what is the correct way to dance. We should not be told that our bodies are not acceptable for dancing. Everybody, every body can dance. You've got some moving parts, so move them. 

I encourage you to dance when you have the opportunity. In a bar, at a festival, in your own living room, dance your heart out! Dance the way your body and soul tells you to. Let others inspire your dance moves, your steps, but don't let them dictate to you or make you feel less than a beautiful treasure. Do your own dance.

Will it go 'round in circles?

Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?

Will it go 'round in circles?

Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?

Here's Donny Osmond singing this song! Oh, Donny of the purple socks, you are much much more than a teenage heartthrob! 

Peace Songs: Start a Love Train

Want to feel hopeful for a few minutes?

Listen to The O'Jays Love Train! 

The Soul Train Video Version might also inspire you to dance, which will add to your happy peaceful feeling.

Sing along:

People all over the world

Join hands

Start a love train

Love Train

 

What songs make you feel good about the world and hopeful or even confident that love and peace will prevail? 

Here are a few more that I like:

Imagine, All You Need is Love, Here Comes the Sun

Peace Train

Why Can't We Be Friends

What the World Needs Now is Love

Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There is a Season)

Blowin' in the Wind

Singing Together: Patriotism, Community, Unity and Peace

 As Russia attacks Ukraine, the world is learning the Ukrainian national anthem. It's all over the place on social media, posted by individuals, groups, and orchestras, sung in the streets, on stages, in arenas, in protests all over the world. 

A national anthem is a powerful piece of music, bringing people together, uplifting and encouraging us in many ways. I often cry when I hear a crowd singing their national anthem, it's so strong and beautiful. 

At the same time we're hearing all kinds of Ukrainian musical culture: choral works, symphonies, folk songs. We're seeing artworks by Ukrainians, traditional and contemporary shared on Instagram and Facebook. We all now know the colours of the flag. 

People gather and raise their voices together, and raise the flag, and wear its colours, doing what they can to send a message of unity and peace. 

Singing Ukrainian Anthem in the streets
this image is from an article on ClassicFM 
click link to open the article

We Can All Sing: We have rhythm in our blood

Of course you can sing! You breathe. That takes rhythm.

Your heart, your respiratory system, your very existence has a regular beat.

A baby is placed in your arms: you wiggle, jiggle and giggle, and sway and rock, and hum and sing too!

Pay attention and see babies move their bodies to music even before they can walk. 

Listen to babbling. Before they can speak, babies start to sing little melodies. School children sing together all the time. We love to hear our children sing.

You walk: one-two, it becomes a march. The tempo might be irregular, poco accelerando and then poco ritardando, when you see something interesting ahead. Put some music on and you'll be walking in time to it. Jogging with music, running with music, you're dancing. You dance, you musical being, you.

You’re not a capital D Dancer, but you can dance. Don't even think about opera stars, pop stars, and people in costumes with stage makeup competing for prizes or earning a living performing! They are capital S singers, but you too can sing. You sing.

You speak. You speak and you don't stop speaking because you're not a Speaker who puts on a suit and stage makeup and charges hundreds of dollars for people to listen to them. You didn't stop arguing with people because your debate team didn't win. You didn't even join the debate club, did you? You enjoy debating about movies and music, what's the best, who's the best, right?

Don't stop singing. If you stopped, then start up again. Sing to your babies; sing to your parents; sing to your lovers. Do it in the kitchen, in the living room, anywhere. Just do it. Just sing. 

Put on some music. Start in the car by yourself, then sing while you’re cooking. Start by singing along with the la-la and na-na parts, or just sing the chorus. Hum (humming is good for you too), then ba-ba-ba the melody, and then locate the lyrics. Sing along with the stars, and maybe add some dance moves, even just some expressive gestures (especially if you’re in the car). It feels so good!

Sing like nobody's watching. Or, go out and sing along with the band. Maybe your friends will sing along too! Facilitate the singing of others. Let everyone sing. Sing and dance on the dance floor. Let them all watch; maybe they'll be braver because you were brave. 

Singing is good for your body and good for your soul and good for relationships, families, and communities; the whole world should sing.

Don't let people tell people they can't sing, please. 

As a choir conductor, I facilitate others' singing. It feels good.

We Can All Dance: We have rhythm in our blood

Of course you can dance! You breathe. That takes rhythm.

Your heart, your respiratory system, your very existence has a regular beat.

A baby is placed in your arms: you wiggle and giggle and sway and rock, and hum and sing too!

Pay attention and see babies move their bodies to music even before they can walk. 

You walk: one-two, it becomes a march. The tempo might be irregular, poco accelerando and then poco ritardando, when you see something interesting ahead. Put some music on and you'll be walking in time to it. Jogging with music, running with music, you're dancing. You dance.

Don't even think about ballerinas and people in costumes with stage makeup competing for prizes or earning a living performing! They are capital D Dancers, but you too can dance. You dance.

You speak. You speak and you don't stop speaking because you're not a Speaker who puts on a suit and stage makeup and charges hundreds of dollars for people to listen to them. You didn't stop arguing with people because your debate team didn't win. You didn't even join the debate club, did you? You enjoy debating about movies and music, what's the best, who's the best, right?

Don't stop dancing. If you stopped, then start up again. Do it in the kitchen, in the living room, anywhere. Just do it. Just dance. 

Put on some music. Turn off the lights so you feel less shy. (Would it help if you put on some makeup, some dance clothes?) Start by marching, skip around a little. Move your head, shoulders, arms, rock the baby, jiggle and wiggle. You can dance. Move what you have; move what you can. It feels so good!

Dance like nobody's watching. Or, go out and dance in front of the band. Let them all watch; maybe they'll be braver because you were brave. Facilitate the dancing of others. Let everyone dance. 

Dancing is good for your body and good for your soul and good for relationships, families, and communities; the whole world should dance.

Don't let people tell people they can't dance, please. 

Me dancing with a Minion at a Town event 2017

Everything's Going to be Alright: Songs to help me feel positive

I'm in another pandemic funk, feeling blue. 

The song that first comes to mind when I need to think "This too shall pass" is Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry with its awesome vamp "Everything's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be alright..." It's a little sad though, starting with "Said I remember when" there's mention of "people we lost along the way", and crying of course. So, I just have to hold onto the vamp, stay there. 

Don't Worry Be Happy, that Bobby McFerrin classic is a little more positive, quirky-fun, with that whistling and doop-doop and especially the woo-ooh-hoo melody. I love nonsense. There's quite a bit of gloom in it though when you're in the mood for gloom. Still, it does say, "It will soon pass, whatever it is." Right?

The song that is making me really feel better these days is from the 2016 movie Sing. Singing is my thing, so that's a good start. In the movie, the song is performed by an elephant, which was my mother's favourite animal. It's a bouncy, fun version of Stevie Wonder's Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing. It has a good ba-ba-ba section, which I always like. The best thing about Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing is that it makes me feel like dancing. That's the key for me. Singing and dancing make me feel good. 

Listen to Tori Kelly's Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing.