Irish singer/songwriter Tommy Makem, 74, died on Wednesday of lung cancer.

Point out the weaknesses in some, maybe most, praise music sung in churches today and what happens? A long rant-fest.

“‘Lord to give you up I’d be a fool’ almost literally gag-making”

“the lyrics of praise music is meaningless pop gestures”

“As the character in the Simpsons said, you can turn praise music into a love song merely by changing ‘Jesus’ to ‘Baby.'”

“Most “praise music” stinks. Use the Psalter or use the psalms of David in meter.”

“I remember the whole ‘rock music is evil’ debate. The same debate happens every time a new music genre enters the Christian space”

Have you seen this video of Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts? A Bristol, England, native walks on stage, feeling nervous, and does not impress the judges by claiming a desire to sing opera. Oh, but when he sings! He went to the semi-finals to sing “A Time To Say Goodbye,” and returned to his first song in the finals, “Nessun Dorma.” Now he has a £1m record deal with Simon Cowell’s label and plans to sing with Katherine Jenkins at a Wales event.

Bravo!!

I don’t usually post on weekends, but I just found a YouTube link to share. I’m about a light year behind everybody else on things like this, and I’ve only been exploring YouTube recently. I checked out The Divine Sissel, and found that this number is available.

It’s a country song, which isn’t her usual medium, but I think it’s a lot of fun, and it might help explain my enthusiasm for this really remarkable talent. Also check her rendition of the contemporary gospel number, “My Tribute.”

“Astronomers have recorded heavenly music bellowed out by the Sun’s atmosphere,” writes SPACE.com reporter Jeanna Bryner. Awesome. The heaven’s declare the glory of God.

So, there was this violinist, a violin player, in the metro lobby this morning. He was good. Played classical stuff. I didn’t have anything on me, so I didn’t chip in. I was in a hurry too.

Read what happens when a great violinist, Joshua Bell, starts playing for the crowds in Washington D.C. The music director of the National Symphony Orchestra thought a crowd would form to listen, “75 to 100 . . . if he’s really good.” (via World)

“Bach no more composed for us than he lived for us. His music comes from far away; it speaks a language that we understand yet in which we hear echoes of another language, outside our expressive range.”

Martin Geck, Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work (trans. John Hargraves)

Taken from Terry Teachout’s Almanac

“Bach no more composed for us than he lived for us. His music comes from far away; it speaks a language that we understand yet in which we hear echoes of another language, outside our expressive range.”

Martin Geck, Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work (trans. John Hargraves)

Taken from Terry Teachout’s Almanac

New rates from Copyright Royalty Board, if unchallenged, would shut down great Internet radio stations like Accuradio and Pandora. According to this Wired News article, the new fees are a flat “$0.0011 per song per listener,” increasing to $0.0019 by 2010, and they are retroactive to 2006, at a rate of $0.0008.

Kurt Hanson of Accuradio and “Radio and Internet Newsletter” has a breakdown. “That math suggests that the royalty rate decision — for the performance alone, not even including composers’ royalties! — is in the in the ballpark of 100% or more of total revenues.” Meaning, it would cost webcasters more to operate than they can make from it.

Hanson told Wired News that “he doesn’t ‘think the people actually running the record labels want to see internet radio shut down,’ but that SoundExchange’s lawyers had planned ‘an aggressive, win-all-you-can battle in Washington. I think they were more successful than they expected to be.'”

If the lawyers didn’t intend to gain this much ground, I hope they back off when the rate change goes to congress. Speaking of congress, when is Mrs. Clinton going to decry the evil music industry for their corporate malpractice at the people’s expense?

Tags: internet radio, webcasting, congress

The classical world is one of arduous work but also miracles of artistry. Every year brings child prodigies wise beyond their years. Meanwhile, the demise of major classical recording labels over the last decade has given rise to an uncountable number of independent labels. Among the many musicians turned out each year by the world’s conservatories, the unknown ones who record for such operations are often as talented and distinctive as those who fill seats at Carnegie Hall.

So writes David Patrick Stearns in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, “Ears don’t deceive – the CD covers do.” Partly for these reasons, the husband of a recently deceased pianist was able to republish under her name excellent concertos by musicians who were not readily known. When one critic put one of Joyce Hatto’s discs into his computer, it told him the performer was Laszlo Simon. You can read how that happened and exactly how the hoax of the greatest pianist of our time is currently unraveling on ClassicsToday.com.