Henryck Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, especially the recording with David Zinman conducting the London Sinfonietta with soprano soloist, Dawn Upshaw.I woyuld also appreciate it if you could arrange tomschedule aperformance of Igor Sravinsky's A Symphony of Psalms, with either Pierre Boulez or Robert Shaw as conductors.
Gorecki's piece is like a continual, but varied expression of the profound sorrows of the world--a mellifluous musical mantra, if you will, that pulls the listener into the world's darkest depths and sustains you there in its grasp. there is also a tender element of hope and redemption amidst the passionate progressions of this composition.
Stravinsky's classic Symphony of Psalms, dedicated to "The Glory of God"',is a remarkable gem in his extraordinary repertoire of compositions.This work prevails upon the passion and struggles expressed in the Psalms, but always offers it's magnificent refrain of "Alleluia" to comfort us and bring us back to the world of peace that God makes available to us. Again, there is the feeling of comfort , solace and redemption when the "alleluia" enters our ears, our minds, and our hearts.
Clare Franco via Nikki Ableson
Bon Jovi - Undivided
This song has a strong melody and lyrics. Its message is hopeful. We shoud stay together and united for love and values.
Marta Pinto
New Order - True Faith
This is a purely inspirational piece of music which say's everything about the dawning of a new day and a new challenge
Paul Hutchinson
The power of love, Frankie Goes to Holywood
Whenever I hear it, it makes me feel as though as long as you have love in your heart you can overcome any obstacle. Thinking of you New York on 9/11.
Mary
Ain't Talkin, Bob Dylan; All I really Want, Alannis Morrissette; Teach Your Children, Crosby Stills Nash; God's Away on Business, Tom Waits
Rich, deep reflections on very bad things that will always be with us in one way or another. 9/11 is just one...
Eliza
There Are No Words by Kitty Donohoe
This song was written shortly after 9/11. Instead of focusing on the ultra-patriotism that many were feeling at the time, it looks more deeply at the situation. While urging that Americans stay strong and united, it also asks whether vengeful violence is the correct response to what happened. One line is: will we ever forgive, though we never will forget? I think this type of response to the events of 9/11 also needs to be included.
It is my understanding that Kitty Donohoe was on the short list to perform at the NYC 9/11 remembrance but did not make the final cut. I hope you will consider airing this song. You can hear it on her website at http://www.kittydonohoe.com
Emil Brisson
The Planets: VENUS by Gustav Holst
I have always loved Holst's Planets as being inspiringly expressive. VENUS is one of those pieces that does give me personal solace from my hospital Chaplain work, which can be quite intense in neediness, pain, suffering.
In my former life as a NYS Lic.Massage Therapist & AMMA Therapist, I used VENUS in my musical selections - the effect it had on my patients was profound. Music such as this tremendously helps those of us who minister to others on deeper levels.
I like to think that those who lose their lives in any tragic event go to a place where music like this is unending. May all of us live in an inner serenity expressed by pieces like this. May we always remember to turn to it in our times of trial. May VENUS always bring her beauty, calm, and peace to our planet Earth.
With great appreciation, Rev Leslie
Rev Leslie M. Celadhan, InterFaith Minister
American Tune by Paul Simon
Simple, melancholy, optimistic, a statement of enduring values - "We come in the age's most uncertain hour and sing an American tune."
Louis
Brahms Sonata for Cello and Piano in E Minor Opus 38
The cello part unleashes the grip of powerful emotions - sadness, loss, love - it allows me to feel the entire range and complication of grief...and then the piano keeps coming in - during the allegro non troppo - like a cascade of optimism, a waterfall of light - that lets my mind open to the possibility of going on...the piano measures time and time keeps moving on and we, the living go forward...but not without the sublime heaviness of the cello... by the allegro they are dancing so furiously together it just makes me apprehend life as fundamentally confounding!
9/11 confounds me - it confounded my city- there will be no resolution - it was another instance of man's inhumanity to man...why does Brahms piano part make me optimistic??? And why do I cling to the optimistic hope that no one will go through what I/we went through that day, when history has shown that these things happen again and again and again all over the world? The cello and piano allow for a kind of fatalistic optimism to co-exist: a bearable realism.
Katie
Faure Requiem - Pie Jesu - Kings College Choir
What other music so eloquently expresses the loss of innocence we all suffered on that day?
Greg Taylor
Bon Jovi - Undivided
It means that in times of trouble and pain, we should all stay together as one. It's the most important thing.
Letici
John Lennon, "Give Peace A Chance"
On September 14th 2001, my then-boyfriend and I went to Union Square where there was a sort of spontaneous public memorial. We were already getting a bit uneasy at the patriotic tone a lot of people were taking; and so we were uneasy when we heard a couple people singing "God Bless America." But we noticed not too many people joined in. He tried singing "New York, New York" instead -- but no one joined us. Then we heard across the park that someone was playing "Give Peace A Chance" and walked over; the singer had gathered a decent crowd around him, all of them joining in on the chorus. We joined too. And so did more people, joining after us. He played through the song twice, and then just kept playing, letting us all sing that one line over and over, for a good three minutes more -- "All we are saying is give peace a chance." Finally everyone had found one song they wanted to sing.
Kim W.
Ashoakan Farewell
It is a piece with exquisite poignancy.It is evocative of an everpresent sorrow but at the same time hopefulness and the solace of memory.
John Nevins
Stevie Wonder's "Love's in Need of Love Today" from "Songs in the Key of Life."
A friend of mine pointed out that this really captured the feeling many needed to get through the day right after 9/11. Also, I like the fact that "pledge drive" type format mirrors what I sometimes hear on WNYC, my favorite public radio station!
N. Elijah Sivin
Undivided - Bon Jovi
This song talks about the loss and how this loss teaches us to live.
carla martins
Ravel La Valse, Schumann Fantasiestuecke
My wife and I were friends with the late pianist Ruth Laredo, and she planned a rehearsal of her season opener for Alice Tully Hall at our apartment on the evening of Sept. 11th. We had invited several friends. On that terrible morning I called Ruth and she said she wanted to go through with it. "Otherwise the terrorists win," she said. So we did and it was a deeply moving experience. She played the Beethoven Appassionata, some Scriabin preludes and the 10th sonata, Ravel's La Valse, Schumann's Fantasiestuecke, and some Chopin pieces. We of course can never forget that day. or Ruth.
John
Mahler, Der Abschied from Das Lied von der Erde
Mahler's music encapsulates the whole of humanity, from its greatest and noblest to its basest, and Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) must count as one of his greatest works, and the last part (Der Abdschied; The Farewell) surely is one of the most poingnant and moving (vocal) pieces of all time. The sense of utter loss and darkness with which it begins is almost unbareable, and the hope and consolation with which it ends is equally shattering. In short, a most appropriate piece to commemorate this tragedy. Find the Bernstein/Fischer-Dieskau recording!
Gijs van der Meijden (The Netherlands)
Dvorak Sym. #9 - 2nd Movement
I love Dvorak's expression of "Going Home" - it expresses a yearning for calm and a sense of hopeful finality and acceptance that I find especially meaningful during anxious and uncertain times.
Jim
Undivided - Bon Jovi
This song reports exactly the feelings and the hope for those o lost their love ones and for all the people in the World that wants peace and justice!
vanessa grilo
