Gobble till you wobble!

Here’s some truly lovely music by Anton Dvorak which is a delightful digestive aid – his String Serenade. What makes it good enough to eat? Sweet, singable melodies, and predictable harmonies – no surprises, without ever being boring. The whole thing is about 30 minutes:

If you’re strapped for time, here’s the second movement, a waltz – in my opinion, the best part of the suite:

Happy Thanksgiving!

… they would sing this little aria out of Carl Orff‘s drunken oratorio, Carmina Burana.

You’ve heard Carmina Burana before – everyone has, thanks to the opening chorus. People can’t get enough of this one. You can find it in movies, video games, commercials, sports events, and flash mobs (I was there!) But unless you’ve gone to a performance of the complete work, you probably haven’t heard this selection.

It’s sort of the swan-song of, well, a swan – a swan who was roasted and eaten. Just pretend it’s a turkey and it’ll work fine for tomorrow’s “gobble till you wobble” meal.

While the performance below is okay, I wasn’t able to find a video of a performance that I really liked. This aria is written in a horrible range for a tenor to sing in – it was written to sound drunken and terrible. All the videos I found had singers who sounded too good, and the effect is lost. The awkward, silly bassoon solo at the begins sets the mood for some trashy singing. Perhaps tomorrow, after I feast on bird, I will record myself singing this, and post it tomorrow so you can hear what it should sound like.

I wish you safe travels if you are on the road or in the air today. Happy Thanksgiving!

When I was a swan, I was beautiful; I lived on the lakes.
O how miserable! Now I am charred and fiercely roasting! 
The servant turns me on a spit; I burn upon my pyre; the waiter serves me for dinner. 
O how miserable! Now I am charred and fiercely roasting!  
I lie upon a plate; I will never fly again; all I see are gnashing teeth. 
O how miserable! Now I am charred and fiercely roasting!

Only three workdays this week! Hooray!

go ahead and revel in the joy of the moment – because reality is about to strike …

Only three workdays this week? How am I supposed to squeeze five days of work into three days?

Mozart. Mozart, played ridiculously fast. Mozart, played so fast that the cellos and basses are catching fire. That’s how.

Put this on your iPod and you will not only finish your work, you’ll also clean the house. You might even have time to go to the gym – and you can listen to Mozart there, too. For an extra boost in productivity, increase the YouTube play speed to 1.25 or 1.5!