Sunday, June 12, 2011

Als die Mutter: Songs from my mother

In my life thus far, there has been no greater musical influence than my mother. Her tastes influenced mine, and my strongest interests in music have developed from the starting point of her printed and recorded collections. My interest in opera would not exist were it not for the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rodgers and Hammerstein, which I learned to appreciate because of my parents.
Here are 10 tracks from my mother's record collection or songbooks.
  1. Buffy St. Marie “Universal Soldier.”
  2. Rodgers and Hammerstein: Waltz from “Carousel”
  3. The Beatles: “Taxman”
  4. Patti Lupone: “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”
  5. Willie Nelson: “City of New Orleans”
  6. Kenny Rogers: “Lucille”
  7. The Shirelles: “Soldier Boy”
  8. “MalagueƱa”
  9. Palestrina: Jesu Rex Admirabilis
  10. How Great Thou Art