First off, The List is back. Looking a bit bare right now. Might even stay that way. But it's back, such as it currently is. And you might be wondering why I'm posting at all when I had so adamantly claimed we were closed for business. Well, I had kinda thought the domain was expiring this October. But, no, seems it runs to next October. That kinda makes me feel like I should do something, here. I'm also facing bankruptcy from medical bills, so I might not even have a computer come the fall. We'll just have to take this one day at a time, ya dig?
This is actually a fun time of year for me in that, as hard as it is to uncover Christmas projects in the spring and early summer, that almost makes it easier to find the waaaayyyy off the beaten path holiday projects. You know, the ones that are really different. And y'all know how much we love different around here.
Today's nugget of different....ness is Papagena. Now I know that that may sound like a pizza establishment, but its actually an a cappella group from the UK. I know. I know. You're thinking, "Oh, Lordy, not another a cappella group." I was, too. But Papagena is different. Papagena isn't one of those mashup or beatbox groups; much as we love those, we've got plenty of them already. Instead, Papagena is all about the vocal harmonies....no gimmicks or pyrotechnics...just beautiful voices coming together in a totally transcendent fashion. The label loving people have tagged the group as Folk, but Classical Crossover might also apply. I've even seen their genre given as "Cathedral". It's easier to demonstrate than explain. Listen to Papagena's version of Katy Perry's "Firework" from their debut album, "Nuns & Roses".
This is actually a fun time of year for me in that, as hard as it is to uncover Christmas projects in the spring and early summer, that almost makes it easier to find the waaaayyyy off the beaten path holiday projects. You know, the ones that are really different. And y'all know how much we love different around here.
Today's nugget of different....ness is Papagena. Now I know that that may sound like a pizza establishment, but its actually an a cappella group from the UK. I know. I know. You're thinking, "Oh, Lordy, not another a cappella group." I was, too. But Papagena is different. Papagena isn't one of those mashup or beatbox groups; much as we love those, we've got plenty of them already. Instead, Papagena is all about the vocal harmonies....no gimmicks or pyrotechnics...just beautiful voices coming together in a totally transcendent fashion. The label loving people have tagged the group as Folk, but Classical Crossover might also apply. I've even seen their genre given as "Cathedral". It's easier to demonstrate than explain. Listen to Papagena's version of Katy Perry's "Firework" from their debut album, "Nuns & Roses".
The five women who make up Papagena are Lizzie Drury, Suzie Purkis, Abbi Temple, Sarah Tenant-Flowers & Suzzie Vango. As the poster image above suggests, the group's repertoire ranges from medieval to contemporary and from sacred to profane. They even write their own original songs from time to time. Papagena clearly enjoy exploring music of all eras and genres, to which they bring both reverence and irreverence (i.e. "a sense of fun").
Following the release of "Nuns & Roses" in 2017, the group did a series of Advent performances which they named after an ancient Irish carol, "The Darkest Midnight". The performances were so well received that Papagena decided to record a Christmas album. While we don't know which songs will ultimately make the cut, we do know what songs were performed in the Advent outings. While much of the set list dates to centuries long gone (including "Carol Of The Bells," "Gaudete," "The Wexford Carol," and "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel"), it also included Joni Mitchell's "River", Winnie Bruckner's "The Snow It Melts The Soonest", "My Winter Coat" from the Roches, and Suzzie Vango's original "Balulalow".
While it's connection to the holidays is tenuous, Papagena also sang "God Says Yes" at their Advent concerts. The song is derived from a poem of women's empowerment written by Kaylin Haught and was put to music by composer Paul Carey. Musically, it has a bit of the feel of an old time Spiritual number. I'm including the poem following the video so you can thoroughly enjoy the wit and whimsy of the piece.
Following the release of "Nuns & Roses" in 2017, the group did a series of Advent performances which they named after an ancient Irish carol, "The Darkest Midnight". The performances were so well received that Papagena decided to record a Christmas album. While we don't know which songs will ultimately make the cut, we do know what songs were performed in the Advent outings. While much of the set list dates to centuries long gone (including "Carol Of The Bells," "Gaudete," "The Wexford Carol," and "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel"), it also included Joni Mitchell's "River", Winnie Bruckner's "The Snow It Melts The Soonest", "My Winter Coat" from the Roches, and Suzzie Vango's original "Balulalow".
While it's connection to the holidays is tenuous, Papagena also sang "God Says Yes" at their Advent concerts. The song is derived from a poem of women's empowerment written by Kaylin Haught and was put to music by composer Paul Carey. Musically, it has a bit of the feel of an old time Spiritual number. I'm including the poem following the video so you can thoroughly enjoy the wit and whimsy of the piece.
I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
what if I cavort with squawking saints
forage with a crowd of long legged water angels
sail with a regatta of white pelicans
sing glory hallelujah with the cormorants
drying their wings over the water
and she said Baby I made you for this
cavort as you wish
And is it even okay if I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I'm telling you is
Yes Yes Yes
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
what if I cavort with squawking saints
forage with a crowd of long legged water angels
sail with a regatta of white pelicans
sing glory hallelujah with the cormorants
drying their wings over the water
and she said Baby I made you for this
cavort as you wish
And is it even okay if I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I'm telling you is
Yes Yes Yes
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