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I found the album version of Crescent Noon maybe a bit too monotone and serious. I'm not talking about Karen's voice though... The song just needs more music to enhance it in my opinion. The CSULB version on the other hand is simply magical and I love it! It reminds me of Walking in the Air for some reason.
Karen’s lows are at their best here. And her voice still has a touch of the immaturity from Offering in it at this point too, its in a nice transitional place here.
Aha! Thank you!“Noon” means 12 p.m. midday. Sometimes you’ll hear “12 noon”. 1 minute after 11:59 a.m.
I have always loved this song. It has a fall weather type vibe to it. IMO.
What does “Noon” mean?
I asked my English teacher but she didn’t knew it....
What does “Noon” mean?
I asked my English teacher but she didn’t knew it....
If your English teacher didn’t know maybe she needs to go back to school!
Yet, Another Song qoutes GF Handel directly from The Messiah w/ different words!I've liked this song and recording a lot since I first heard it in the mid-70s. I especially like the harmonies when they appear and, of course, Karen's lead vocals.
The chords on this song do have a resemblance to a well-known classical composition, Gymnopedie No 1, composed by Erik Satie. By the way, another artist who couldn't be more different from Carpenters, Kate Bush, used Gymnopedie No 1 to set up one of her songs, 'Symphony in Blue', in live performances and tv specials in the late 1970s.
Richard used the exact melodies from classical compositions in 'Invocation' and 'Intermission', so this seems to be something that he was into, at that time. I'm not sure how he got around copyright on these. It must be to do with the rule that copyright only exists for seventy years after the original composer's death.
There are other artists who have used sections of classical melodies or chord progressions for pop compositions. Eric Carmen springs to mind with 'All By Myself' and 'Never Gonna Fall In Love Again'. Procol Harum's ''Lighter Shade of Pale' shows some resemblance to Bach's 'Air on a G String'. I think the opening of their 'Conquistador' is taken from a classical piece. 'Midnight Blue' by Louise Tucker uses the melody of the second movement of Beethoven's 'Sonata Pathetique'. ('Midnight Blue' was a hit all over the world, with peaks ranging from Number 1 in some countries to Number 46 in the US and Number 59 in the UK). And there are sure to be lots of others.
Richard's composition being discussed here is not directly taken from Erik Satie's piece but appears to have definitely been inspired by it.
I also particularly like Karen's vocals on the CAL State Choir version of 'Crescent Noon'.
I think that other posts on here might allude to the reasons why 'Crescent Noon' might not have appeared on anthologies. The reasons WOULDN'T have anything to do with Karen's voice or performance. Whichever way you look at the song, her voice and performance are stunning.
'Crescent Noon' would have appeared on my Top 10 list that I posted, I think.
Richard was basing “Intermission” off of the “Crucifixius” by Antonio Lotti (b. 1667 AD d. 1740 AD), so by the 1960’s/70’s, “Crucifixius” was over 220 years old, looooooooooooong past any copyright coverage for the original composition (more modern arrangements would’ve been under copyright, but not the original). It’s just like “Silent Night”, or when you think of English playwrights writing plays based on the Nativity or Jesus’s death and resurrection (or even just having a character quote a Bible verse) they use the King James Version of the Bible because it was published in 1611 AD, and aside from its Royal Copyright in the UK, the King James is public domain in the rest of the world and anyone is free to use it.I've liked this song and recording a lot since I first heard it in the mid-70s. I especially like the harmonies when they appear and, of course, Karen's lead vocals.
The chords on this song do have a resemblance to a well-known classical composition, Gymnopedie No 1, composed by Erik Satie. By the way, another artist who couldn't be more different from Carpenters, Kate Bush, used Gymnopedie No 1 to set up one of her songs, 'Symphony in Blue', in live performances and tv specials in the late 1970s.
Richard used the exact melodies from classical compositions in 'Invocation' and 'Intermission', so this seems to be something that he was into, at that time. I'm not sure how he got around copyright on these. It must be to do with the rule that copyright only exists for seventy years after the original composer's death.
There are other artists who have used sections of classical melodies or chord progressions for pop compositions. Eric Carmen springs to mind with 'All By Myself' and 'Never Gonna Fall In Love Again'. Procol Harum's ''Lighter Shade of Pale' shows some resemblance to Bach's 'Air on a G String'. I think the opening of their 'Conquistador' is taken from a classical piece. 'Midnight Blue' by Louise Tucker uses the melody of the second movement of Beethoven's 'Sonata Pathetique'. ('Midnight Blue' was a hit all over the world, with peaks ranging from Number 1 in some countries to Number 46 in the US and Number 59 in the UK). And there are sure to be lots of others.
Richard's composition being discussed here is not directly taken from Erik Satie's piece but appears to have definitely been inspired by it.
I also particularly like Karen's vocals on the CAL State Choir version of 'Crescent Noon'.
I think that other posts on here might allude to the reasons why 'Crescent Noon' might not have appeared on anthologies. The reasons WOULDN'T have anything to do with Karen's voice or performance. Whichever way you look at the song, her voice and performance are stunning.
'Crescent Noon' would have appeared on my Top 10 list that I posted, I think.
Yet, Another Song qoutes GF Handel directly from The Messiah w/ different words!
And he plays, Bach, if I remember, Prelude in C Major under the jazz tune, From This Moment On, by Cole Porter; two musics that should’ve not worked together.
The depths here are just kinda unbelievable.
Richard was basing “Intermission” off of the “Crucifixius” by Antonio Lotti (b. 1667 AD d. 1740 AD), so by the 1960’s/70’s, “Crucifixius” was over 220 years old, looooooooooooong past any copyright coverage for the original composition (more modern arrangements would’ve been under copyright, but not the original). It’s just like “Silent Night”, or when you think of English playwrights writing plays based on the Nativity or Jesus’s death and resurrection (or even just having a character quote a Bible verse) they use the King James Version of the Bible because it was published in 1611 AD, and aside from its Royal Copyright in the UK, the King James is public domain in the rest of the world and anyone is free to use it.
Just listened to this again today, and probably haven’t listened to it at all in 10+ years because it was not a favorite. But wow, how impressive! I guess age helps refine your taste. Karen’s lows are at their best here. And her voice still has a touch of the immaturity from Offering in it at this point too, its in a nice transitional place here. Discovered the choral version on You Tube as well, and again, quite impressive but I prefer Karen’s vocals on the CTY version. Very beautiful!
Incredible description!I listened to this 3 times with headphones just now - first time I've heard it in a long, long time - it's not a song I would listen to often, but I wouldn't want to be without it - there's a time and mood for it - whatever else one could say about how much of an "art song" it is (whatever that is exactly) or the somber mood (some would say peaceful or thoughtful mood) it may or may not engender, and the strangely appealing drone-like tempo, and the lovely, layered vocal accompaniment, this much is true: any chance at all under the sun to hear Karen roaming around so gorgeously in her lower register, weaving in and out of those awesome low notes for 3 or 4 minutes is an opportunity to be treasured - and her execution of the following passage is simply amazingly beautiful (I had to run it by a couple of extra times), even if it is so fatalistic:
You and I were
Born like the breaking day
All our seasons
All our green Septembers
Burn away
Slowly we'll fade into
A sea of midnight blue
And a falling crescent noon
John