Well, it’s not really about the Spring season, but it does have the word “Spring” in it … works for me!

Happy Friday everyone! Here’s something to kick back to – Joy Spring was the nickname that Clifford Brown called his wife. But if we blissfully ignore that fact, bam, the piece is now about Springtime. Easy.

Our two-week look at the music of spring is almost over … just a few more.

Charles Gounod is best known for his “Ave Maria,” which he didn’t actually write. Bach wrote it; Gounod just slapped a melody line on it. Less than 5% of the notes belong to Gounod. Let’s just forget the Ave Maria. Instead, let’s focus on his fantastic operas and art songs, not to mention his many masses and sacred choral works.

Please. Can we just forget the stupid Ave Maria.

Here is Gounod’s “Song of Spring”:

There must be something magical about springtime in Scandinavia. Maybe it’s because the winters are so damn long. Maybe it’s because some parts of Scandinavia go without seeing the sun for part of the winter. Whatever the reason, there is much to celebrate when the frozen, dead world comes back to life.

So, we’ve heard from Grieg, and Sinding, and their friend. Why not add Sibelius to the mix?