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| Two Sisters (On The Terrace) 1881 by Renoir..... Art Institute of Chicago Wikipedia |
What's your favorite painting or artwork?
You've likely seen me citing Johnny Mathis' Christmas Waltz as my favorite Christmas song and I discovered another wonderful song last year that I urge you to give a listen. It's called Winter Dreams by that American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson and I just love it!
Now what's your favorite Christmas song and please include whose version.
UPDATE- GREAT SELECTIONS I LISTENED TO ON YOUTUBE THAT YOU MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH SUGGESTED IN COMMENTS ARE LINKED BELOW. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE SUGGESTIONS.
These two superb selections are from Chronica Domus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UShXvBKoEo4 Loreena McKennitt 'A Midwinter's Night's Dream'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5LROczmJHg Blackmore's Night 'I Saw Three Ships'
Suggested by Marie: the wonderful Tracey Thorn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERdFCP5fZ9U Tracey Thorn 'Like A Snowman'
Yes, Renoir would be in my top 5. There's something happy and idyllic about those rosy-cheeked lasses.
ReplyDeleteFavorite painting: The Lacemaker by Vermeer
Favorite artwork: The David by Michelangelo
Favorite Christmas song: Maybe this Christmas and Like a Snowman by Tracey Thorn (basically that entire Tinsel and Lights Christmas album)
Oh I absolutely love this Tracey Thorn!!! Never heard of her and apparently not many people have as I'm the 24th listener on youtube to that Like a Snowman...I'll be putting that Tinsel and Lights in my Christmas Rotation..
DeleteVermeer and 'David' make me believe in God...
Many thanks Marie!
Marie,
Deleteadded the youtube link in update for 'Like A Snowman'. Thanks again!!!
I would certainly think that as an owner of a blog that you do get to use poetic license in regards to your own opinions, no? The world would be so very boring if we all agreed on everything in regards to the arts,fashion,etc.
ReplyDeleteFavorite Xmas music would be anything from that Johnny Mathis Xmas album, especially O Holy Night! I will have to give that KC song a listen,G!
Somehow did not see first question...I love Degas and his Ballet series and love, love all of Ansel Adams works! Varied in my taste,but not set in my ways! Nothing like s trip to the museum to inspire!
DeleteT, oh I do love Degas and his ballet dancers and our Art Institute has many fine examples! AA is also wonderful although they don't have the emotional pull of Degas or Renoir.
DeleteSee,it is these differences that make it all so grand! I do see, in b&w,the emotional depth of his work!
DeleteFrom dancers to Yosemite, I love it all!
Johnny Mathis Xmas album brings forth such strong emotions!
Oh T, I do understand how it can occur and b & w has a beauty all its own just as Yosemite does in a spiritually emotional way. I suppose as mostly an agnostic, I have to have the human image component to get the emotional pull.
DeleteMoss, you need to utube John Berry's Little Drummer Boy and O Holy Night! Right now!!!
ReplyDeleteDRL & I love Johnny Cash's Little Drummer Boy...this John Berry couldn't even open for Johnny Cash in Cook County Jail...
DeleteHis O Holy Night is a solid B+ but not in Johnny Mathis' class.
DeleteWhatever.
ReplyDelete...just utube Johnny Cash's Drummer Boy and you'll forever after think of this John Berry kid as a subway busker.
DeleteWell they're all favourites for very good reasons! I can't claim to have a single favourite painting. I am partial to Turner's works though, amongst others… but to own one of his paintings would be a dream indeed.
ReplyDeleteThis time of year I'm always singing (in my head) an Australian Christmas Carol "Christmas Day" with the first line starting "The North wind is tossing the leaves". When most carols are filled with references to snow, this one is aptly Australian. North winds are hot here (the air is coming off the desert), and on hot days leading up to Christmas when it feels a little oven like it is truly appropriate!
Heidi,
DeleteI did listen to 'The North Wind (Christmas Day)' as they list it on utube and it is very nice and as much a hymn as a carol.
I also love Turner and that whole early modernist movement in which Ruskin was so influential I find fascinating.
I suppose it is quite hymn like... There are only around 4 or 5 Australian Christmas Carols, and as we are bombarded by images of snow/ ice and Northern Hemisphere appropriate carols, it is strange there aren't more that are weather appropriate!
DeleteHeidi,
DeleteIn youtube searching that song it did become apparent you Aussies have been left out in the heat when it comes to Christmas. "Chestnuts roasting over afternoon asphalt..." just doesn't get me in the yuletide spirit.
I don't know that I have a favorite painting, I will have to think about that one and get back to you since there are so many artists and paintings that I love.
ReplyDeleteAs for Christmas song, I seem to go for the bittersweet. Favorite contemporary song would be "Last Christmas" by Wham! Don't judge, I am a proud child of the 80s. Favorite classic, "What Child Is This?" by anybody. My firstborn, who is now 12, was an infant his very first Christmas, and I sang that song to him so many times in the month of December. Just hearing the opening chords of it can bring tears to my eyes, it reminds me how very lucky I felt when I held that tiny child in my arms our first Christmas together! XO, Jill
Hi Jill,
DeleteLoved your winter white post btw and I always judge, but don't always share verdict, and can't imagine you ever not receiving high marks on anything of consequence. The 'What Child is This' is just beautiful and just listened to Faith Hill's version for the first time and love hearing how special it is to you...can only imagine what that's like.
I also love 'Last Christmas' by Wham and the very cute brunette in the vid looks like an '80s styled version of you. Please do get back to me on that favorite painting/artwork.
The only album I like is bing crosby's album and the lyric i sing to myself is - chestnust roasting over a open fire. then i stop bc i dont know the words.
ReplyDeletefavorite art work is impossible - sophie's choice-esque!
Naomi,
DeleteI occasionally stop in at a watering hole that has Thrusday night karaoke with lyrics on a screen and can get you a slot at 10:22 tonight if you're game?
Sophie's Choice?!?! The Den will not forbid you ever not seeing the unselected ever again. The New York Times does a feature called 'By The Book' where they ask culturally prominent people about their fav books and authors and the younger less established subjects always seem at such great pains to project sophistication, intellectual depth, inclusiveness, etc. that if they mention a Dickens or Shakespeare, it's often with an apology for not being 'original'.
The older more established subjects give more definitive honest sounding answers
It is very hard to pick a favorite art work. Seeing it face to face is a must and I just haven't seen them all. My favorite Christmas song is Oh Come Emmanuel...I think a goat could sing it and I would still love it. Favorite album, the only one I own, is George Winston December from 1982.
ReplyDeleteT, I hear there is going to be a milch goat at Karaoke tonight I was just telling Naomi about, not sure if 12th Century hymns is in the repertoire...
DeleteYou'll be seeing some great fav artwork candidates on your upcoming trip to Italy.
As a college art major (emphasis on history and education), it would be impossible to choose a favorite. So much of the visual arts speak to me of truth, beauty, meaning, and the human experience. As I've studied the lives of the great masters throughout these many years since, I've gained a renewed and deeper understanding that has added to my appreciation. I will never forget the impact and power of seeing Picasso's "Guernica" while traveling to Spain with a group of art students. Vermeer's masterpiece "Girl With a Pearl Earring" has always been a favorite of mine, as well as the discovery of a local contemporary artist Brian Kershisnik whose work speaks deeply to me.
ReplyDeleteOne of the greatest pleasures (and needs) of my life are those quiet afternoons wandering around a museum or gallery. I am nourished. Art touches, reaches, and speaks to such a deep place within my soul. Evoking something-- maybe just the creation process itself--reverent and holy and still.
As far as a favorite Christmas song, that's a difficult question, too. I do love the Choir of King's College, Cambridge renditions of "In the Bleak Midwinter" and their glorious Hallelujah Chorus from "Handel's Messiah".. . to name just a few. Of course, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" as for the past 24 years this song quietly plays in the background as my five children have excitedly come into the tree-lit room to see what Santa has left them. These are precious, cherished memories that I'll always associate with this beloved and time-honored song.
P.S. A hearty thank-you to our dear GSL for a few lovely afternoons this week revisiting Doctor Zhivago. I can see why it is a favorite.
Hi Emily,
DeleteI'm listening to the King College Choir rendition of 'Bleak Midwinter' and it certainly is a powerful piece especially when performed in such a beautiful setting as the chapel at Cambridge.
Delighted you got to revisit Dr Zhivago; I'll have my revisit in the New Year one blizzardy day.
Wonderful post, GSL.
ReplyDeleteDifficult to pinpoint a favorite piece of music, but as for a painting(s), I put forth to you Hogarth's A Rake's Progress. Not strictly "a painting" but an entire series showing the downfall of a wealthy fool and all the gloriously delicious details of the spiral downhill. Marvelous stuff that one can gaze at for many hours and find more and more detail with each viewing.
What an interesting and worthy choice is 'A Rake's Progress' and just popped in at the Soane to refresh my memory....poor Sarah Young! Also stumbled upon a portrait Hogarth did of David Garrick (now at Windsor Castle) with his beautiful, fashionable, and well born wife who I've never seen a likeness of.
DeleteDearest CD, if a song does come to mind please alert us at once. The Den holds all your opinions in the highest regard!
Well, I've thought about it a bit more, and really, no one song springs to mind. I do enjoy traditional English carols (I Saw Three Ships is a favorite), and Handel's Messiah of course. Oh and anything Bing, Fred, Frank, or Dean. Loreena McKennitt has some wonderful tunes (A Midwinter Night's Dream), and yes, much like Jill, Wham's Last Christmas is a must.
DeleteBravo CD,
DeleteLoved those 2 selections and have updated blog to include the youtube links. Many thanks as I just knew you'd have a new gem (or 2) that I wasn't really familiar with!
I love posts like this-discussing favorites. I love to hear what everyone thinks and feels and, for some reason, I love talking to people about what I like.
ReplyDeleteI will give the KC and J Mathis a listen. I havent heard them. My mother had a cassette tape of Christmas classics that she played throughout the season so anything from that album is beloved; Bing Crosbie, Elvis, etc.
I have recently fallen for a collection of choral music and its beautiful.And Ive always had a soft spot for 'Santa Baby'. And 'Little Drummer Boy'
As for the big guns of painting Cezanne and Degas are my favorites but I will have to put more thought in to my answer. I am also very attracted to art that reminds me of the books I read as a child.
Emily: I just stayed in an apt in Paris around the corner from the studio where P painted Guernica and popped over for a visit. You cannot go in but I looked up into the window.
Welcome back Bebe! and just read your fab 1st installment of your Parisian adventure. After Renoir, Degas is my favorite Impressionist for the reasons Trudye mentions above regarding his beautiful paintings of ballet dancers.
DeleteSanta Baby can be a saucy number depending on who's singing it....and 'Baby It's Cold Outside' is in that same realm that can make an office Christmas party get frisky in a hurry!
There is a nice little documentary about Degas using dance as his theme. It was made recently. I can't remember the name but I will look for it. You should watch it
DeletePlease do Bebe, as Degas' ballet paintings at our Art Institute is the pride of our fabulous Impressionists collection.
DeleteIts called 'Degas and the Dance'. Its at Amazon I thought it was quite good.
DeleteOh, good grief! How could I not mention Barbra Streisand's beautiful Xmas album? Her Ave Maria and The Christmas Song are goose bump worthy!
ReplyDeleteT, I do like Barbara Streisand's music but at least need the illusion that Christmas had a strong emotional/spiritual connection to the singer growing up...or later on in life and it feels too mercenary with her.
DeleteI do love her Broadway album!
Oh bah humbug! I have a dear Jewish friend that used to love to attend Xmas eve services with us because she loved the music! It moved her!
DeleteT, of course I know Irving Berlin who wrote White Christmas was Jewish but I just prefer having a sense the performer had or has a similar emotional/spiritual connection to the holiday that I do...I would have no problem with Jews saying they prefer one of their own playing Spartacus or Anne Frank or performing songs of their religious holidays
DeleteAs dear Estella so aptly stated, "Whatever"!
DeleteWe listen to the Mariah and Neil Diamond Christmas albums a lot but my heart belongs to the pogues Fairytale. Also like Baby it's cold outside with Ella Fitzgerald. My favourite painting is delacroix's liberty leading the people for its physical and metaphorical scale. Runners up are Putti Fighting by guido renni and singer sargent's portrait of Madame x.
ReplyDeleteLove posts like this!
I do like The Pogues 'Fairytale' and that's a perfect pub tune this time of year. Delacroix's Marianne is quite an inspiring figure isn't she! Love the Madame X portrait and the version Life Magazine did with Dina Merrill in the black dress around 1960
DeleteAnything Monet---I can even look cross-eyed at my shower-curtain and taste a Giverny afternoon. Several pieces of Tiffany glass, most prominently an enormous wall-sized panel commissioned by Mrs. President Harrison in memory of her husband---it's in the IMA here, not too many steps from some exquisite O'keeffes, as well.
ReplyDeleteMusic---Spem in Alium, as that's the one I hope is playing as I drift away, drift away. Short of Heaven, there's Pachelbel, and of course, my Ray Charles THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS. That one plays me through cooking, dishes, cleaning, and lightens lots of Christmas chores.
Hope you're warm and dry---it's drizzly cold here, but Chris is on his way home, and last night was a live broadcast of Peter Pan---so there's THAT to brighten.
r
Hi Rachel,
DeleteOur Art Institute has an impressive Impressionist collection with Monet very well represented and we also have one of O'Keeffe's better known huges pieces 'Sky Above Clouds' and she herself is an alumna of the School of the Art Institute.
Ray Charles can brighten the spirits in any season!
Darling! How can 63 million views be wrong - Wham Last Christmas is the ticket. Ok if you want the intellectual choice Kings College singing O Holy Night or whatever.
ReplyDeleteFavourite artwork? Well, the Wandjina art of the Kimberleys? Georgia O'Keefe? Titian? Picasso? Monet? etc etc. Really, once you start looking and seeing, it is not such an easy call see Emily's comment above.
Darling Anon!
DeleteThe views are up to 64.6 million now as it is in heavy rotation here at The Den. Thanks for introducing us to he Wanjina art of the Kimberleys and my dear Anon the difficulties you and Emily imagine are perhaps due to your academic training or inclinations or a perceived impulse to 'justify' your decisions or thinking in favorite=best terms. Notice how clever GSL couched his selection in favorite at our Art Institute as he positively glories in wiggle room in all it's forms.
Your Renoir is a truly beautiful painting - would have to agree it's worth listing as a favourite. But could never limit to just one painting or artist. Absolutely impossible. Love heaps of painters, not necessarily all their works, though many. Including just about all the Impressionists and Post Impressionists, particularly Matisse and van Gogh. But also Picasso (though certainly not all his) . Raphael, Botticelli, Signorelli, Fra Angelico, Fra Lippo Lippi, Titian, Vermeer et al.
ReplyDeleteMusic at Christmas time - agree with Heidi, the Australian Christmas carol is really lovely and so appropriate here in Oz with plants frying in the sun. . But having lived in Cambridge for over four years have a sentimental attachment to King's choir, both their Advent and Christmas carols - and also their performances of "The Messiah". Remember once on Christmas Eve walking through the large court outside the chapel, with the ground covered in snow. Strangely we were quite alone but the sound of the choir singing the Advent carols drifted out. Almost unearthly. So beautiful in the dim cold greyed out world. Also love the Tallis Scholars performance of "The Messiah" - once attended their performance in the Sydney Opera House. It was glorious. Their Spem in Alium also wonderful. In addition love listening to plain chant recorded in old abbeys like Monte Olivieto Maggiore or the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz. There is such beautiful spirituality and meditative peace which is a lovely contrast to the fun and jollity of Christmas in more modern style popular recordings. Enjoy both! Best wishes, Pammie
Thanks for those suggestions as will give several a listen on youtube tonight or later this week. I always assumed that most people had one special painting or artwork that held a special place in their heart not for being the best but for other personal reasons such as where it takes them, circumstances they first saw it, etc. but that obviously isn't as prevalent as I initially thought.
DeleteMy favourite Christmas hymn is, O Holy Night, and listening to it is one of THE most important parts of my Christmas Eve tradition.
ReplyDeleteMy traditional (what I grew up remebering) version is Nat King Cole's, so this is what I play many,many times through the night.
I also read, (and now make my family watch the DVD version) Truman Capote's; A Christmas Memory. This has been a part of my family Christmas tradition for as long as I can remember, and I continued it on for my son. I read it aloud to him every Christmas Eve from his birth in 1992, until I gave up torturing him with my tearful rendition, and relented to the Truman Capote narrated DVD movie with Geraldine Page. I also have New Years Eve traditions; but thats a whole different story. lol.
Holiday Cheers,
Donna
Donna,
DeleteI love Nat King Cole and must give his O Holy Night a listen. You've mentioned Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory before and I will definitely be giving that a look this Christmas Season for the first time on youtube.
The blues are just beautiful aren't they?
ReplyDeleteHe does use the best blues and the right reds to set those blues off.
Delete