Where Or When
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Where Or When

Today I’m playing a classic from the 1937 Rogers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. Where Or When has been recorded by hundreds of artists. One of my favourite recordings is by Harry Connick Jr. and I think this was used in the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack. I hope you enjoy today’s song.

To hear all of my June songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/where-or-when

Hello
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Hello

Today I’m playing Lionel Richie’s 1984 hit Hello. When this song was suggested to me I was sure I had played it in 2010, but it seems that that wasn’t the case, so here it is! The song has featured in many films, but I think one of the funniest uses of Hello was in the 2013 Australian commercial for beer kegs in which Lionel Richie is discovered inside a man’s fridge…

To hear all of my June songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/hello

Theme from Cagney and Lacey
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Theme from Cagney and Lacey

Today’s tune is the theme tune from the 80s TV show Cagney and Lacey. Admittedly the first 2 and a half minutes are quite different from anything that was ever heard on the show, but again it just goes to show how a good tune works in different styles! Well, hopefully it works… The theme was written by Bill Conti and replaced an earlier opening sequence in the first season of the show which featured the Michael Stull song Ain’t That The Way sung by Marie Cain.

For more reworked TV themes, click here, and to hear all of my June songs, click here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about why I’m trying to record a piano tune every day here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/theme-from-cagney-and-lacey

Suddenly
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Suddenly

Don’t worry – Angry Anderson hasn’t made it to my piano tune collection! Suddenly is a beautiful song written especially for the film adaptation of Les Misérables. Apparently when he was reading the book in preparation for making the movie, director Tom Hooper realised that there was no song in the stage show which showed Valjean’s acceptance of fatherhood as he took Cosette under his wing. Claude-Michel Schoenberg had never included such a song because he felt that it was too intimate a moment for the stage and was something that could only be captured on camera. Along with lyricists Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer they came up with the idea of Valjean suddenly realising his purpose in life, and the song was quickly written, ready for the film. There’s more information about this song and clips of the film on this behind-the-scenes video. I hope you enjoy my version.

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my June songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/suddenly/s-Sg6cH

Caruso
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Caruso

This is the final song in my Italian weekend on 365 Songs. Today I’m playing the song Caruso, written by Lucio Dalla and recorded by many artists, including Dalla himself, Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli and many more. The exact meaning of the song is unclear, but the lyrics are assumed to tell the tale of the last days of the singer Enrico Caruso leading up to his death in 1921. Interestingly the confusion surrounds the Italian words used in the chorus as it’s unclear whether Caruso is addressing his wife or his daughter: the chorus begins with the phrase “ti voglio bene”, meaning “I love you”, but this phrase tends to be used more with family members or close friends, rather than in the sense of a romantic love.

This is the first song of June, but you can still listen to all of my May songs here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/caruso/s-lDyxD

Malinconia
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Malinconia

I found this song on one of my dad’s Italian compilation CDs and I’ve always really like the chorus in particular. I can’t find much information about the song, but it was performed by Tony Cucchiara and here’s the original courtesy of YouTube. I hope you enjoy this song.

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my May songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/malinconia/s-OGVmF

Vieni Sul Mar
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Vieni Sul Mar

It’s Italian weekend on 365 Songs, so here’s a lovely Italian folk song called Vieni Sul Mar. It has been recorded by hundreds of artists and a search on Spotify reveals performances by all the great Italian singers: Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Andrea Bocelli, and many more. I hope you enjoy today’s tune.

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my May songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/vieni-sul-mar/s-5vHPd

Bambino Nel Tempo
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Bambino Nel Tempo

I’ve decided to have a bit of an Italian weekend on 365 Songs. I first heard this song in an Italian restaurant in London and thought it was a brilliant pop song, complete with a harmonica solo! I’ve not included the harmonica solo in my version. Bambino Nel Tempo was recorded by Italian pop king Eros Ramazzotti and the lyrics are about the nostalgia felt by adults when they think back to their youth. Here’s a video of Ramazzotti performing the song live if you’re interested.

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my May songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/bambino-nel-tempo

Canto de Meditación (Misa Campesina)
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Canto de Meditación (Misa Campesina)

Today’s song is the Canto de Meditación from Carlos Mejía Godoy’s Misa Campesina Nicaragüense. Perhaps not the most well known tune I’ve played, but this song and in fact the whole of the Misa Campesina is a personal favourite.  I was introduced to the Misa Campesina while studying Latin American music with Mike González at Glasgow University and ended up doing a special study on it as part of my degree.

The Misa Campesina combined Nicaraguan folk music with liberation theology and was composed in the artistic community of Solentiname in the southern end of Lake Nicaragua. Given the non-conformist lyrics the mass was quickly banned by the church in Nicaragua. However it grew in popularity as it was used at clandestine celebrations which spread through the country.

This particular song’s lyrics include the following lines:

Before the day breaks
the birds of the mountains
give us their melodies,
their guises and zenzontes.
The sonorous pecking
of a carpenter is heard
who is constructing his house
in the top of a tree,
and a sparrow jumps
from one branch to another, nearby.

Just like these little birds,
today I sing to you, Lord,
and ask you to unite us
in strength and in love.
I praise you a thousand times
because you were also a rebel,
fighting night and day
against the injustice of humanity.

If you’re interested, here’s a video of the original complete with Spanish lyrics to sing along.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/canto-de-meditaci-n

Already Home
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Already Home

I’m not quite sure where I first heard this song, but it has made its way onto my Spotify Starred list in the past few months, probably because I’ve spent so much time travelling. Already Home is a lovely song by the US duo A Great Big World and it appeared on their 2014 album Is There Anybody Out There and was later released as a single. Here’s the original video of the song – I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you enjoy my performance!

If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project or see all of my May songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/already-home/s-5mTCA

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