Tag: Europe

Martin Luther | A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (arr. Don Hart + David Wesley)

“No hymn is identified with the Protestant Reformation more than Martin Luther’s ‘A Mighty Fortress,’ (UMCDiscipleship.org). Luther (1483-1546) left a body of congregational songs that both defined the Lutheran confessional tradition and became truly ecumenical in influence … In addition to skills as a writer, translator and preacher, Luther was an amateur musician. His thirty-seven hymns stand alongside his theological writings and his translation of the Bible into German as testaments of his creativity and intellectual ability.

United Methodist Hymnal editor Carlton R. Young summarizes well Luther’s contribution to hymnody: he ‘wrote several original hymns and melodies, revised many Latin hymns to German texts set to adaptations of plainsong and folk melodies, and encouraged the composition of new texts and rhythmic hymn melodies. His 37 hymns and paraphrase are cast in simple, plain, and sometimes rough phrases and striking metaphors, qualities that are for the most part lost in English translations.’ Over 100 English-language versions of Luther’s hymn exist.”

An excellent example of the virtual/online choir trend which grew exponentially during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the contemporary arrangement for chorus, piano, brass, and percussion shifts up a whole step at 2:56.

Caro Emerald | Coming Back As a Man

“Coming Back As a Man” is featured on Dutch singer Caro Emerald’s 2013 album The Shocking Miss Emerald. “Caro is certainly the sort of performer who you could imagine giving a knowing wink in between a cheeky lyric or two and the voice has a twirl that makes you smile,” said critic Stephen Unwin in his review of the album for The Daily Express. The record debuted at #1 in the Dutch and United Kingdom album charts, selling over 600,000 copies.

The track begins in G# minor and modulates up a half step to A minor at 2:43.

Petula Clark | Geh in die Stadt (Downtown)

“Downtown,” Petula Clark’s signature song, reached the #1 slot on the Billboard charts in January 1965. In that era, it was common for singers to create cover versions of their own English-language songs in other European languages, often using the same backing track.

Famously, the Beatles recorded German-language versions of “She Loves You” (“Sie Liebt Dich”) and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (“Komm gib mir deine Hand“).  Other German covers of that time include the Honeycombs’ “Have I The Right” (“Hab Ich das Recht“) and Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By” (“Geh’ vorbe“). This German-cover thing, it was a thing.

Besides the version heard here, Clark (a UK native) also recorded French (“Dans le temp”) and Italian (“Ciao ciao”) versions of “Downtown”. She also recorded songs in French, Italian, German, and Spanish that were not covers of her own hits, though some were covers of hits for other artists.

The familiar half-step upward modulation appears at 1:53.

Sanna Nielsen | Undo

“Undo,” written by Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, and Hamed “K-One” Pirouzpanah, was recorded by Swedish singer Sanna Nielsen and selected as Sweden’s entry in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. Nielsen later included the track on an EP, also released in 2014.

The song begins in Eb minor and shifts up a half step at 2:21.

September | Can’t Get Over

“Can’t Get Over” was recorded in 2007 by the Swedish pop singer September (her stage name) and featured on her third studio album Dancing Shoes. The song, written by Anoo Bhagavan, Jonas von der Burg and Niklas von der Burg, reached the #14 spot on the UK charts. It modulates from D up to E for the final chorus at 2:32.

Gustav Mahler | Symphony #5, movement 4: “Adagietto”

“The Adagietto is undoubtedly the single best-known piece of Mahler’s music,” (MahlerFoundation.org). “Its popularity skyrocketed primarily as a result of its use as background music for Visconti’s film Death in Venice. There was some controversy, however, about what Mahler intended the adagietto to communicate. Villa Mengelberg, an intimate friend and colleague of Mahler and an early champion of his music, claimed that Alma Mahler had confided to him that Gustav sent a manuscript of the finished work to her as a love letter when they were courting. Certainly, the romantic nature of the music can support this contention … like an orchestral song without words … Mahler’s work orchestration is spare, employing only strings and harp to enhance the music’s lyricism and give it a serenade-like quality … “

The Mahler Foundation continues: “Inner harmonies are subtle and harmonic progressions are frequent for such a short movement … Mahler uses overlapping sustained tones in transition passages … The stream-like atmosphere begins with vague harmonies that lend a sense of weightlessness, and end with a long suspension of sustained chords that very slowly progressed to closure, creating a feeling of endless time.” It’s difficult to overstate the prominence of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony (1902) within the composer’s overall body of work. It’s “sometimes compared with Beethoven’s own of that number,” (The Guardian).

In addition to several transient key-of-the-moment passages, the overall key of F major shifts to C major at 7:47 before reverting at 8:13 to F for the movement’s dramatic ending.

for Marje

Dirty Loops + Cory Wong | Thriller

Swedish pop/funk/fusion phenoms Dirty Loops could have just done the bare minimum with its 2021 cover of Michael Jackson’s global smash hit “Thriller” (1982) They could have re-animated the original’s 16th-driven groove with an effortless fast 12/8, replete with off-kilter kicks and the frisson of their trademark re-harmonizations. They could have limited their scope to their usual keys/bass/drums trio sound. All of these options would have sounded amazing and garnered hundreds of thousands of views nearly overnight — a feat the band has accomplished consistently.

But Dirty Loops, who first gained a following by posting innovative pop covers on Youtube in the mid-2010s, have evolved over the past few years. The band now has the support of Quincy Jones, the producer of the original “Thriller.” Jones describes Jonah Nilsson, the band’s lead vocalist and keyboardist: “‘He’s got the perfect balance of right brain creativity and left brain music theory. It’s in his blood. He’s got soul, with one of the biggest ranges I’ve ever heard,'” (OrcaSound).

Not content to build incrementally on past accomplishments, the band adds a horn section and guitarist Cory Wong (perhaps best known for his work with the American band Vulfpeck) to its already wide-ranging gallery of textures. Starting at 3:20, there’s a quick turn into uncharted territory, leaving the original key of C# minor behind. After a transition, 4:04 brings a horn section feature in F# minor; 4:20 features a surprising summation in D# major; finally, an outro at 4:49 doesn’t go very far towards resolving much of anything — just have a listen. (In case you missed the band’s jump from DIY darlings to musical juggernauts, the tune is followed by a full 2.5 minutes of credits.)

ALDA | Fen-Fire Polska

From the website of Finnish traditional acoustic trio Alda: “The story of ALDA started in January 2018 on a late night at a folk music festival somewhere outside Helsinki, Finland. We had all met and heard each other play before, but never really had the opportunity to play tunes together – until now. It turned into a five-hour wild mayhem of energy, grooves, improvisations, crazy harmonies, and lots and lots of tunes …

ALDA was born in the aftermath of that session. – ‘We have to do this again!’ we thought to ourselves. So, we started composing and working on new music for the combination of saxophone, violin, and piano. The music that we have created is, just as its musicians, deeply rooted in the rich musical traditions of Finland and Sweden, based on traditional types of tunes such as polskas, polkas, schottisches, and waltzes … The energy of that first session is ever-present in what we do. Even as a band we regularly get together for sessions to remind ourselves why we fell in love with playing together in the first place.”

After a start in Bb major, the 2021 tune “Fen-Fire Polska” morphs into G major at 2:59, then reverts to the original key at 3:51, never losing its strong 3/4 drive.

please click on the image to hear the tune!

Frédéric Chopin | Prelude in C Minor, Opus 28 #20 (“Funeral March”)

“Chopin’s preludes are compositions of an order entirely apart. They are not only, as the title might make one think, pieces destined to be played in the guise of introductions to other pieces; they are poetic preludes, analogous to those of a great contemporary poet, who cradles the soul in golden dreams, and elevates it to the regions of the ideal,” (ChopinMusic.net). In 1841, this high praise was the assessment of Chopin’s contemporary, fellow pianist/composer and close colleague Franz Liszt.

The Prelude in C Minor (Op. 28 #20), published in 1839, moves through many key areas, but begins and ends at the same point. The dense accidentals throughout tell the tale. ChopinMusic.net continues: “It is known that Chopin studied thoroughly the works of Bach before writing his preludes. He admired a lot the perfection of form and harmony in Bach’s music. In spite of this example, however, Chopin created something completely new. Originally the French word prélude means nothing more than ‘introduction,’ but in this form Chopin let the 24 preludes develop into independent pieces of music.”

Robyn | Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)

“Robyn Is Here (1997) was a generic album in the best sense, proof that this budding newcomer could tackle a bunch of different things without making a big show of it, despite the obviously formidable acrobatics in her voice and the less obviously steeled songcraft, which is as listenable and lightly touched as anything Blige or Brandy themselves has ever done,” (Billboard). “It doesn’t feel like a great album — that smallness to it really is a double-edged sword — but there isn’t a speck of filler on it either … There are also surprising touches, like the (sampled?) Mellotron that cues up the awesome Swedish Top Ten hit ‘Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect),’ like it’s ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ or something.”

Produced by Max Martin, a fellow Swede, just as his production and writing career was breaking wide open via his work with acts such as The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Westlife, “Do You Really Want Me” bears Martin’s trademark sheen, vocal-forward mix, and eminently singable choruses. In fact, the opening notes of each chorus resemble a singsong schoolyard taunt, an effect only magnified by Robyn’s girlish vocal timbre.

After a start in C major, the tune shifts up to Eb major at 3:17, jumping downward to a surprise key change into Db major at 3:36 for a last runthrough of the chorus before the fading outro. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!