A modest stack of new Bach CDs has been piling up on my desk over the last several months—when you’re a Bach-lover it’s hard for this not to happen periodically. There are keyboard sonatas (David Fray), violin sonatas (David Grimal), The Art of Fugue (Pierre-Laurent Aimard), two- and three-part Inventions (Till Fellner), and even a version of the Goldberg Variations played on harp (Catrin Finch). There are lots of cantatas—BWV numbers 6, 12, 21, 41, 60, 68, 99, 117, 172, 182, 197, sung by people like soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Barbara Schlick, Andreas Scholl, and Christoph Prégardien.
And there are three recordings of the cantata “Ich habe genug” (BWV 82), whose subject is the wish for death, sung in shades from mournful and wistful to resigned and frenzied. Over time, this has been one of the most popular cantatas performed or recorded—it probably won’t ever approach the reportedly 200+ covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” but it’s impressive nonetheless. Especially in the context of a business—the record industry—that has shrunk to just a sliver of its former self. read more
If you visit McGovern’s website, the first thing you’ll see is a header in huge, red, loopy script, “THE STRADIVARIUS VOICE.” At about the same moment, you will will be hit with the sound of that instantly recognizable voice ringing out—her cover of a Bob Dylan tune, “The Times They are a-Changin’.”
That song is part of McGovern’s latest show, “A Long and Winding Road,” which is named after her latest CD; she’s been touring the show following that recording’s release last summer. The songs are some of McGovern’s early favorites from her years growing up, including songs by Joni Mitchell (“The Circle Game, “The Fiddle and the Drum”) Lennon & McCartney (“Let It Be,” “Rocky Raccoon”), Jimmy Webb (“MacArthur Park,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress”) and Carole King/Gerry Goffin (“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”). These represent her roots as a folk singer; the songs are what she listened to as a girl and teenager before she rocketed to fame as the “Morning After” singer from The Poseidon Adventure. The photo on the CD cover is current, but inside there’s a photo of a 20-year-old McGovern, with long hair and guitar, taken in 1969.
This winter, McGovern chatted during a New York visit about life at her own pace—she lives full-time in her home state of Ohio, when she’s not on the road. read more
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