Name Songs that I find particularly Moving or Beautiful

by InPulse. They are an a capella group and they have a vocal mix that is astounding. This song won Best Original Song at the 2004 National Harmony Sweepstakes and the group tied for 3rd place there as well. I have never heard them live but I like their music.

by Dido. A fairly current song and fairly popular. It speaks to me because I was going through a painful relationship break-up when it first came out and it spoke to me in a way that few other songs did. Still does today.

by The Yellow Jackets. They were a jazz group about 16 years ago and I believe disbanded some time ago. This is not a true song, i.e. no lyrics, but its one of the first jazz pieces I ever heard that moved and inspired me instead of boring me. I don’t get the same high (no pun intended) now as I did back then but I still enjoy it and find it moving.

by Amy Grant. Oddly, I think Amy’s recording of this song is a bit lackluster. Its a spiritual song, which is Amy’s background but I first heard it, not from Amy Grant but at a liturgy in Arizona. The folk choir singing it gave it an upbeat, moderately fast and inspiring tempo. That was more than 25 years ago and the song has stayed with me.

by Phil Collins. When I first heard this song I thought the lyrics a bit odd even though the melody and harmonic rhythm were good and felt right. But then I realized he must be singing about his child and the meaning of this song fell into place and also into my heart. If you are a parent, you know the message Phil Collins is giving here.

by David Sanborn. A jazz instrumental piece from several years back and not a true song but moving and a bit inspiring none the less. Much of the jazz played today I find boring and a waste of time. Mindi Abair and David Sanborn are two of the few current jazz musicians that break the mold.

by Shadowfax. Its not a true song but an instrumental piece. It was popular and often heard on the radio about 15 years ago. I still love it and listen to it every now and then.

by Stephen Foster. An old folk song, which has been very familiar to people for generations. I used to sing it as a kid in grade school and always thought it was nice but nothing special. Then in college I heard a recording of a full, mixed choir, singing it A Cappella and I was truely transported to another dimension. The performers were top notch professionals and to say that performance was unforgetable is an understatement. Ever since then, whenever I hear it or sing it myself, that recording is what is going on the back of my head and in the depths of my soul. It speaks to the power of Foster’s melody and harmony that it has lasted for centuries.

by Jay Unger. Composed in 1982 at a camp in the Catskills called Ashokan. It does have lyrics though I have never seen them or heard it performed with voice. It was also used in the Civil War series on PBS as a insturmental background.

A song from the Civil War era which I discovered when it was used as one of the main theme songs on the Ken Burns PBS series The Civil War many years ago now. The simplicity of the melody and the harmonic rhythm somehow produces a song that is profound and reaches deep into your soul, beyond what you might expect. It IS a song with lyrics but the version I have always heard, and sometimes play on the piano, is strictly instrumental.