# The Stars Align



## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

For awhile now, we have had a fairly popular message thread on the forum "http://www.talkclassical.com/15023-keep-looking-up.html".

Of course, music and the bodies that occupy the night skies is a combination that conjures up many possibilities, like this one...






This thread is what inspired a montage on my weekly podcast well over a year ago.

The titles I had selected range from the early classical (*Mozart*'s _Jupiter _Sympohony, either dedicated to the Roman God or the planet) all the way to contemporary song (_When You Wish Upon a Star_ and _Stardust_), with significant stops along the way.

2013 marks the 30th anniversart of the passing of French-Canadian composer Claude Vivier, brutally murdered in Paris. Vivier, who trained under Karlheinz Stockhausen and made his name in electro-acoustics was both prolific and quite controversial. Although he had been performed regularly in Contemporary Music circles, receiving a commission by Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony was quita a _coup _at the time. The piece, Orion, is one of his most lyrical compositions, and would have augured well for the composer.

Romantic composers and opera are also featured in this playlist, including excerpts from _Aida _and _Tosca_. *Messiaen*'s monumental _Turangalila _is both astronomical and astrological - and a sensual experience in the strictest sense of the word.

*Joseph Strauss*' _Music of the Sppheres_ and two sections from *Holst*'s _Planets _round up the montage.

Happy Listening!

*ITYWLTMT Podcast Montage #34 - Heavenly Bodies
(Originally issued on Friday, December 9, 2011)​*
*Josef STRAUSS (1827-1870)*
_Sphären-Klänge, walzer_ (Music of the Spheres), Op.235
Bratislava Radio Symphony Orchestra 
Ondrej Lenard, conducting

*Ned WASHINGTON (1901-1976)*
_When You Wish Upon a Star_ (1940)
(arrangement by/de Robert Freedman)
Wynton Marsalis, trumpet
Branford Marsalis, saxophone
Kent Jordan, flute
Kenny Kirkland, piano
Ron Carter, acoustic bass
Jeff "Tain" Watts, drums
Studio orchestra
Robert Freedman, conducting

*Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)*
"Celeste Aida" (Heavenly Aida) (Act I, Sc. 4) from _Aïda _(1871)	Jon Vickers, tenor
Leontyne Price, soprano
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Sir Georg Solti, conducting

*Claude VIVIER (1948-1983)*
Orion (1979)	
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Peter Rundel, conducting

*Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1992)*
"Joie du sang des etoiles (Joy of the blood of stars) from Turangalîla-symphonie, for piano, _ondes martenot_ and orchestra, I/29
Yvonne Loriod , piano
Jeanne Loriod, ondes martenot 
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa, conducting

*Howard Hoagland CARMICHAEL (1899-1981)*
_Stardust _(1927)	
Dave Brubeck Quartet

*Gustav HOLST (1874-1934)*
"Mars: The Bringer of War" and "Neptune: The Mystic" from The Planets, suite for orchestra and female chorus, Op.32
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
Choeur de femmes de l'OSM
(Iwan Edwards, chorus master)
Charles Dutoit, conducting
[Complete Performance: Dutoit conducts Staatskapelle Dresden]

*Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)*
III. Menuetto: Allegretto and IV. Finale: Molto allegro
from Symphony no.41 in C Major, K.551 ('Jupiter')
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Jane Glover, conducting

*Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924)*
"E lucevan le stelle"(When the stars were brightly shining) (Act III, Sc. 3) from _Tosca_ (1900)	
Giorgio Lamberti, tenor
Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)
Alexander Rabbari, conducting


Original Bilingual Commentary: http://itywltmt.blogspot.ca/2011/12/montage-34-heavenly-bodies-les-corps.html
Detailed Playlist: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/106513800/pcast034-Playlist

Podcat Link (Internet Archive): http://archive.org/details/HeavenlyBodies_697


*April 5th 2013, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will feature a new podcast "C'est legendaire" at its Pod-O-Matic Channel . Read more April 5th on the ITYWLTMT Blogspot blog.*


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