A new Hallelujah

[melody57105]

I have just discovered LC via (of all people) Bon Jovi. (I don’t watch Scrubs or The OC and didn't watch Shrek long enough to hear it.) They are doing a cover of ‘Hallelujah’ on their ‘Bon Jovi Unplugged’ concert currently airing on CMT and VH1 in the US and are scheduled for MTV next month. It’s also all over youtube.com. IMO it’s an excellent representation of the song, true to LC, Jeff Buckley, and Bon Jovi. It’s #4 on this link misspelled 'Hallehuha'.

http://www.cmt.com/loaded/player.jhtml? ... dPN=series

Anyway, it totally ripped me up hearing that song. Outside of Bach chorales and Mozart I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a perfect marriage of music and lyrics. 'The minor fall and the major lift' brought me to tears. I’m nearly 50, have been a musician all my life (piano and church choir), a card carrying audiophile, and had never heard his name. Probably due to my location – farmland USA. Once I started digging I realized his songs had made an anonymous impact on my life. I was 9 or 10 when I first heard ‘Suzanne’ but was more interested in Davy Jones than a gravelly-voiced folk singer. Then Elton came along and we never heard of LC again. Now it’s time to start finding out what LC’s music is all about. I’ve been scouring the internet for bio info and have a pretty good appreciation for the man’s life but the range of music is a little intimidating at this point. Rhapsody.com has a good collection available for sampling. Anyone have a suggestion where to start?

Mel

[secretchord]

congratulations on 'discovering' Leonard but I have to warn you - your life will never be the same again!

if you want to make a start with leonard 'The Essential Leonard Cohen' is pretty good but you'll soon want to start buying the individual albums so where you start doesn't really matter, it's all good. Like any artist with a lengthy career Leonard has been through various phases and sounds, as 'The Essential...' will demonstrate.


enjoy!

[melody57105]

Thanks secretchord. No doubt I'll end up with all of his stuff. Where might I find a chronology of his work?

[margaret]

Melody,

go to the front page of the bigger website of which this forum is just one part,

http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com

you will find enough information to keep you reading for weeks or months. Just scroll down the left hand side and open any section and you will find lists of all albums, books, tours etc.

Welcome to our little community.

Margaret

[lizzytysh]

Hi Melody ~

Your posting is the unneeded proof that it's never too late to improve your life. You just have! Welcome to the Forum . Margaret already said what I'd intended... that you've landed in the place that will give you 'all' you need regarding Leonard. However, continue on the Marie Mazur's site, Speaking Cohen [link through the front page] where there are even more articles and photos which should absolutely not be missed. You've just taken a quantum leap as a musician and lover of fine writing. These lyrics are going to blow you away. Can't wait to hear how you feel driving across your farmland with Leonard's voice filling your car. An incomparable experience awaits you.


~ Lizzy

[melody57105]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I knew as soon as I read the lyrics for Hallelujua that my life had taken an important turn. I'm sure the song means many things to many people but the biggest thing for me was a feeling of recognition. Finally I found words that I myself could not summon. It's possible that LC will become a new litmus test for whether or not people 'get' me. Up to now I had two: cat person or not (I am) and Neil Diamond fan (I am not). But then, there are really only two types of people in the world - those that divide people into groups and those who don't.

[lizzytysh]

Hi Mel ~

Your posting takes me numerous directions at once. I'm not asking that you clarify these, but I'm still going to note them. Mel is typically a man's name; yet, Melody is a woman's, and melody could relate to your being a musician especially drawn to melody.

You're right that "Hallelujah" does mean many things to many people; and I was touched by your comment:

. . . but the biggest thing for me was a feeling of recognition. Finally I found words that I myself could not summon.

Regarding this:

It's possible that LC will become a new litmus test for whether or not people 'get' me. Up to now I had two: cat person or not (I am) and Neil Diamond fan (I am not).

Leonard has been that same litmus test for me, as well, and has generally held true. I'm a cat person, too, and have used that same one; and I used to dislike Neil Diamond's singing until a musician and singer many years ago pointed out to me how perfect Neil's diction is in his singing and how difficult it is to do that and still infuse the song with feeling. As I listened to his diction, I naturally listened closer to the lyrics, and developed an appreciation for Neil's singing.


~ Lizzy

[secretchord]

It's possible that LC will become a new litmus test for whether or not people 'get' me.

for better or worse I now have this as a litmus test for music - so much of it now falls into the 'well I suppose it's okay but it's not Leonard ' category

so much so that myself and another musician friend who I sometimes perform with (and who I converted to Leonard from an unhealthy Dylan obsession) now semi-jokingly call ourselves The Not Leonards!

[lizzytysh]

I now have this as a litmus test for music - so much of it now falls into the 'well I suppose it's okay but it's not Leonard ' category

Yes. This, too, for sure! The new title of your 'group' [duo?] is funny.


~ Lizzy

[melody57105]

Lizzy, good point on Neil Diamond! Good diction is not often found nor adequately appreciated. There is an art to it. I was fortunate to have top notch directors for the choirs in which I've sung. By the time I was 9 I knew what a dipthong is, to form the 'H' before the 'W' in words like where and when, and to carry consonants to the next letter. I'm from the Midwest where choral music is much appreciated due to the large Scandanavian/German population's Lutheran devotion to Bach. Back in the day when it was okay to sing 'sacred' music in the public schools, I had a director who warmed us up on Bach Chorales by giving us only the tenor note and we sight-read them a capella. And if you go to a GLC (Good Lutheran College) there is a long standing tradition of having an excellent choir.

Mel is typically a man's name; yet, Melody is a woman's,...

I wasn't sure what to use for a tag. I thought Melody might be presumptuous, Mel could be either sex although I am female, and when I was running out of creative screen names I started using names of horses I've had over the years; one of whom was Lucky's Dusty Melody. Not terribly original but like most horse folks I remember horses' names more easily than the people that owned them. So that's where it came from - plus my ZIP code.

and melody could relate to your being a musician especially drawn to melody.

This got me thinking if I AM especially drawn to melody. As a soprano, the melody can get boring. Contrary to popular belief (and to the chagrin of many sopranos) the key element of any good musical ensemble is not the melody or lead, it's the accuracy and placement of the major or minor third in a chord. In SATB it's usually carried by the tenors. If that third is off, nothing will save the melody.

Susan P. Schutz wrote "Music touches feelings that words cannot" and yet sometimes, not often enough, the words and music become greater than the sum of their parts. This is what I'm finding with LC.

[osmachar]

If anyone cares to know - I've got two cats and I like Neil Diamond (he's great live).

[lizzytysh]

Susan P. Schutz wrote "Music touches feelings that words cannot" and yet sometimes, not often enough, the words and music become greater than the sum of their parts. This is what I'm finding with LC.

True on all counts. I wonder if Susan might have incorporated Leonard into her summation if she'd been aware of him when she made it [no idea if she is yet].

Very interesting info you've given on diction, singing, and music. I can see you're going to appreciate Leonard's music and songs on many levels. Thanks for the clarification on your name here. Funny how we come by those things. Very true on remembering horse's names better than those of their owners. A very interesting post, overall, Melody. I still didn't know what a dipthong is, and experimented with your breakdown of it and it 'sounds' as though it lends greater distinction to the words. Not only is singing 'sacred' songs a problem in schools, but now you're fortunate to find a school that has music or art as part of their curriculum . I guess that might not be so in a specifically Lutheran or other Christian school, but in the public school system, it's a challenge.

If anyone cares to know - I've got two cats and I like Neil Diamond (he's great live).

I care Osmachar. With my acquired taste of Neil Diamond, I'd also be interested in seeing him Live. I used to refer to him as blase, milk toast... until I learned the diction lesson. Amazing how, if you're open to it, someone's reframing of something can make such a difference in perception.


~ Lizzy

[osmachar]

Yes, Lizzy, do make sure you get to see Neil Diamond live. He's got a fantastic voice.

I started to like ND's music when I was 13 - (7 years before my partner introduced me to LC), because my favourite figure skater at the time skated to one of ND's songs. Since then I went to 3 ND concerts and every one was brilliant. In interviews he always seems very contained and almost shy but on stage he's a great showman.

[melody57105]

I should clarify what a diphthong (correct spelling ) is. In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek “diphthongos”, literally “with two sounds,” or “with two tones”) is a monosyllabic vowel or combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. While “pure” vowels, or monophthongs are said to have one target tongue position, diphthongs have two target tongue positions.

For example: the word ‘my’ is pronounced by sliding from ‘ah’ to ‘ee’. Give it a try. If you try to sing ‘my’ as a spoken, long vowel it constricts your throat and makes it hard to sing. If you sing it by holding the ‘ah’ until the note value is extinguished the ‘ee’ sound follows naturally. Or try the word ‘way’. The diphthong is ‘aa’ to ‘ee’ but it’s sung ‘eh’. Once you get the hang of hearing diphthongs you’ll gain a new appreciation (or perhaps dismay) for different singers’ styles. It's kinda fun too.

[lizzytysh]

Hi Osmachar ~

I've seen performers like the way you describe Neil, too . It's as though their singing and performing are their avenue for personal expression, moreso than their day-to-day personae. For me, it makes me feel happy that they've found their outlet. Just out of curiousity, who was your favourite figure skater and which of Neil's songs was it? Not to consider only "Hallelujah," but at least for starters, wouldn't it be awesome to watch a pair skate to it?


~ Lizzy