I recently bought a converter box allowing me to take old VHS video footage and dump it into the computer. This was my first experiment.
Ten years ago when I was living in Chicago I performed an "Orchestra Show" using strings, oboe, and a full gospel choir. It was a huge undertaking with lots of arranging and rehearsals, but it turned out well, we had a great crowd, and the music was quite fun to perform.
Since this song was played this week on Radio Suomi in Helsinki, Finland, it seemed appropriate to post a live version of it. The studio version of "When Rising..." appeared on my album Recital back in 1997, and with my band at the time (Andy and Benji) we performed the song pretty regularly. In retrospect, it seems like a weird song to put in the set list. This orchestra version was the coolest way it's ever been played. I don't think I've performed the song in concert since then!
It's one of only two songs that I've written using pre-existing lyrics (the other song being "A Farm In Minnesota" from a poem by Lewis Simpson, and music by me and my cousin Bruce). Thomas Tallis is a bigshot writer in the sacred and classical fields from a few hundred years ago, and his lyrics for this song are serious business.
Here are the credits:
"When Rising From The Bed Of Death"
lyrics by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), music by Jonathan Rundman.
Performed by the Jonathan Rundman Orchestra, March 25, 1999, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Oak Park, IL.
MUSICIANS:
Jonathan Rundman: acoustic guitar, vocals;
Andy Deitrich: drums;
Benji Derrick: bass guitar;
Matt Marohl: pedal steel;
Kym Spilker: violin;
Charity Caldwell: viola;
Jane Deitrich: upright bass;
Christopher Warmanen: oboe;
Scott Aaseng: piano;
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Gospel Choir: vocals;
The studio version of this song appeared on the 1997 Jonathan Rundman album "Recital," and a remixed version appears on the 2006 Jonathan Rundman album "Protestant Rock Ethic."
Friday, February 6, 2009
"When Rising From The Bed Of Death" performed 10 years ago!
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3 comments:
The first time I met/saw you perform was at a Chicago Congress in 97 or 98 so this was right around that time. [do you miss the long hair?] I never really felt that I totally "got" this song, but I guess since the lyrics were written 500 years ago, it's not that surprising. I enjoy the line "the timely tribute of your tears..." I like the orchestra and choir version. Thanks for sharing.
There's an error in your blog that you should correct. The English hymn "When Rising from the Bed of Death," has words by Joseph Addison, not Thomas Tallis. When he was editing the English Hymnal, early in the 20th century, Ralph Vaughan Williams took the tune of a hymn by composer Thomas Tallis ("Why fum'th in fight the Gentiles spite", from 1567) and published it with Addison's words. So the song you have created, isn't really by Tallis at all. Vaughan Williams later used Tallis' melody as the basis for his famous orchestral work, "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis."
Thanks, Anon, for the clarification about the lyricist! I wish I would've known this earlier because I credited Tallis in the CD liner notes. It's really cool to know the backstory on that text.
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