D major

Hallelujah
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Hallelujah

Today’s song – number 42:365 – is my version of Leonard Cohen’s 1984 song Hallelujah. Cohen apparently wrote around 80 draft verses for this song, and in the many live performances he often sang different versions. The interpretations of the lyrics are varied. From the literal, musical lines – “it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor third and the major lift” which mirror the chord patterns of that line, to lines heavy with religious imagery, the song is a perfect example of Cohen’s enigmatic poetry.

This song has been covered hundreds of times, and here’s one more! I hope you enjoy my version.

Fields of Gold
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Fields of Gold

Song 11:365 is the beautiful song Fields of Gold, originally released by Sting in 1993, although my version is more in the style of Eva Cassidy’s version. It wasn’t until two years after her death in 1996 that Eva Cassidy’s recordings of Fields of Gold and Over the Rainbow were played by Mike Harding and Terry Wogan.

I hope you enjoy my performance. If you’d like to hear more Sting, click here to listen to Englishman in New York, Fragile and my version of the Police song, Every Breath You Take. To find out why I’m posting a tune every day, click here.

On My Own
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On My Own

Song 4:365 is On My Own from the musical Les Misérables in which Éponine expresses her unrequited love for Marius. Although this song is one of the most well-loved in the show, it didn’t feature in the original French version. Instead the melody was used in a song performed by Fantine, L’Air de la Misère.

There are few more Les Misérables songs in my collection which you can find here, and if you’d like to know more about my 365 challenges, click here.

Bethlehem
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Bethlehem

Earlier this year I played a number of songs from the Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil musical Martin Guerre. One song from this musical which I didn’t play was Bethlehem which tells the Christmas story within the context of the musical. This is my chosen song for today and I hope you enjoy it.

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

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

The Little Drummer Boy
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The Little Drummer Boy

Today’s Christmacious song is The Little Drummer Boy, or as it is sometimes known, The Carol Of The Drum. Written in 1941 by Katharine Kennicott Davis and based on a traditional Czech carol, it was first recorded in 1945 by none other than the Trapp Family Singers. It has since been recorded over 220 times in 7 languages.

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

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/little-drummer-boy

It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
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It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

It’s December and therefore time to start playing festive music! Today I’ve chosen Andy Williams’ classic from 1963, It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. I hope you enjoy the first of my Christmacious tunes!

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

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/the-most-wonderful-time-of-the

Ashokan Farewell
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Ashokan Farewell

Today I’m playing a lovely piece of music I’ve come across fairly recently. Ashokan Farewell was written in 1982 by American folk musician and composer Jay Ungar to serve as the farewell waltz at the Fiddle and Dance Camps run by Ungar. It was later used as the theme of the US miniseries The Civil War.

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

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/ashokan-farewell

Lullaby (Apukád erős kezén)
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Lullaby (Apukád erős kezén)

Today’s song is a beautiful piece from the musical Chess. It’s known simply as Lullaby, but in the US version of the show it’s sung in Hungarian as Florence is reunited with her Hungarian father. As I’ve been trying to find out a bit more about this song I’ve discovered a version of the song performed by Gemini who worked closely with Benny and Björn and performed many of their post-ABBA compositions. This version is called When I Close My Eyes Tonight. I do think it works better as the Lullaby in Chess, but it was nice to discover a new version I hadn’t heard before!

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

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

When Will Someone Hear?
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When Will Someone Hear?

Continuing from yesterday, I’m working through four of my favourite songs from the Schönberg/Boublil musical Martin Guerre. This song is called When Will Someone Hear?

There’s more Martin Guerre here and if it’s your first time on the site, find out why I’m playing one song a day for the whole of 2015 or listen to my October songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/when-will-someone-hear/s-uO5n6

I Try
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I Try

Today’s song is I Try by Macy Gray. Released in September 1999, it topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, reached number 5 in the US, and number 6 in the UK. Like yesterday’s song, it’s actually Ben Taylor’s version which reminded me of this song.

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 September songs here.

https://soundcloud.com/mark-pentleton/i-try/s-xUPPi

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