MD and I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. I’ve figured out (with the help of my web guy) how to embed audio files. Below are some cuts of MD’s group performing Handel’s Messiah at the Santa Barbara Christmas program last year. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do and as much as MD did performing it.

We’ll start with the first chorus of Part I.

And the glory of the Lord

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I got up early this morning, which was a major deal because I was kept up last night by a loud party down the street. When we’re in Santa Barbara we live about 0.4 miles from Oprah on the same street she lives on. You probably read about her big fund raiser last night for Barack Obama. Well, it was loud (especially Stevie Wonder) and mildly annoying. Anyway, I got up early and dealt with ALL the comments that have been stacking up. So, if you’ve had a comment languishing in comment Purgatory, it’s now up. Sorry for the delay, but I’ve been covered up with other projects. I’ll try to do better.

Here is a an article in the LA Times by Matt Welch, one of the bloggers I read daily. Matt writes for the Times, but he also has a quirky blog on the stuff that interests him along with insider Los Angeles info and a lot of funky music videos that I really enjoy. The times article deals with the law of unintended consequences (one of the most powerful laws in the universe that few people ever think about) as related to passports and fathers who run out on their child support.

A great YouTube video of Luciano Pavarotti singing a duet with Bryan Adams. Shows just how weak the voices of the mega rock stars are when compared to someone who really has a voice.

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Luciano Pavarotti succumbed to pancreatic cancer a couple of days ago. I posted on Mr. Pavarotti’s condition a few months ago and feared the worst. It’s difficult to come back from pancreatic cancer.

The world of opera has lost a true giant. Probably no one since Enrico Caruso has so electrified audiences the world over. He will be missed.

(Link to the LA Times obituary for a mini biography of Mr. Pavarotti.)

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I woke up this morning with my favorite Iris Dement song Sweet is the Melody rolling around in my brain. And I couldn’t (still can’t) get it out of my head.  I was humming it as I was drinking my coffee and reading the paper. Then MD picked up on it and got in her brain and we were both humming/singing it in harmony.

As you may remember from a previous post, Iris Dement is a singer/song writer from Arkansas who has made good on the folk and bluegrass music arenas with a little crossover into country and pop.

So that you can get this song in your brain, here is a YouTube of sweet-faced, sincere-sounding, crystalline-voiced Iris singing Sweet is the Melody. Enjoy.