Verdi – Libiamo ne’ lieti calici
An evening pause: I have never been a fan of opera, but this piece by Verdi is truly beautiful and fun to watch.
Hat tip Jim Mallamace, who also notes its opulence.
Category: The Evening Pause
A nightly pause from the news to give the reader/viewer a bit of classic entertainment.
Simpals Animation Studio – Dji Death Sails
An evening pause: Even death needs a break once and awhile.
Hat tip Jim Mallamace.
Joan Baez – Diamonds And Rust
An evening pause: Performed live c1978.
Hat tip Roland.
Alan Jackson – Amazing Grace
An evening pause: This most famous of all gospel songs seems appropriate for Christmas day. Note the humbleness of the words. To be humble means you recognize your imperfection, and can address it with grace.
Hat tip Mike Nelson.
Kathy Mattea – Mary did you know
An evening pause: This song honoring Jesus I think really speaks of every child born on Earth, and how every parent should see them. As Wordsworth said, they come “trailing clouds of glory.”
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kissed your little baby then you kissed the face of god.
Hat tip Diane Zimmerman.
Anna Weatherup – Be Thou My Vision
An evening pause: It all depends on how you define God. To me, God is the entire universe, of which I am part. To recognize such a reality is terribly humbling, and leads to wisdom.
Billy Preston – You Can’t Beat God Giving
An evening pause: Feel the joy and good will. We should all feel this way, all the time.
Hat tip Cotour.
Werner Klemperer & John Banner – Silent Night
An evening pause: Silent Night is followed by Robert Clary singing a French carol. All three were actors from the 1960s television comedy series, Hogan’s Heroes, with Klemperer playing the Nazi prison commander, Banner the foolish guard (“I know nothing!!!”), and Clary the French prisoner.
I don’t know exactly when this aired, but it was likely in the late 1960s. It signals the good will fundamental to western civilization. The Germans had only two decades earlier put the world through a horrible war. Still, Americans were glad to hear two Germans immigrants sing this gentle song in their native language, despite the evils that nation had subjected the world to so recently.
The war was over. We are all fallible humans. Time to forgive, and move on.
Hat tip Phill Oltmann.
The Piano Guys – Emmanuel
An evening pause: I think this makes for a nice start of this year’s set of Christmas season evening pauses.
Note that though this piece is available on youtube, I specifically chose to embed it from Vimeo. It is time to no longer rely solely on google, if at all possible.
Ambosspolka
An evening pause: Hat tip Jim Malamace, who correctly notes that “The ‘electric cords’ on the hammers are hilarious and fitting because the hammer impacts actually caused sparks.”
Royal Guardsmen – Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
An evening pause: Fun bubblegum music from the 1960s.
Hat tip Roland.
Voorhees Choir – Three Hanukkah Songs
An evening pause: This week is Hannukkah. Three songs to celebrate the lit candle that did not burn out.
Glenn Yarbrough – Baby The Rain Must Fall
An evening pause: Hat tip Tom Biggar.
Henry V arrowhead removal
An evening pause: Hat tip Tom Biggar.
Elise Trouw – The Girl from Ipanema
An evening pause: This might my favorite version ever of this song.
Hat tip Jim Mallamace.
The Diamonds – Little Darlin’
An evening pause: Hat tip Tom Biggar.
BouzoukXp – Belenos
An evening pause: The wonders of technology: all played by the same person.
Hat tip Bob Roberts.
Pearl Harbor: The Last Word
A evening pause: On the anniversary of Japan’s unprovoked sneak attack on the United States, let’s hear what it was like to be a sailor on the U.S. battleships sunk during that attack, from interviews recorded four years ago for the 75th anniversary of the attack.
And did I mention it was an unprovoked sneak attack? The Japanese of that time brought the war upon themselves. Hiroshima and Nagasaki was their fault, not ours.
I wonder, would today’s Americans have the will to win, for freedom and the rule of law, as 1940s Americans did? Based on our response to 9/11, I think not. Based on our terror of a flu-like illness today, I know not. The tragedy of this is beyond words.
Mark Felton – Flying a glider across the Atlantic during World War II
An evening pause: In anticipation of the anniversary Monday of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, this story of one of World War II’s many desperate and sometimes crazy ideas, many of which actually made sense. All took amazing courage, as this story illustrates.
Hat tip Tom Biggar.
Nandi Bushell – Rock and Grohl
An evening pause: The musical talent and passion are both outstanding. The shallow philosophy, when compared to Aristotle or Plato or Moses (to list only a few), is kind of sad to watch. She really believes that life is that simple. As a child such shallow passion is fine. I fear however that in the arriving dark age no one will ever do anything to make her think more deeply.
Hat tip Mike Nelson.