bridger15 wrote:http://busycatholic.blogspot.com/2010/1 ... cally.html
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Liturgically Correct
Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah can be a guilty pleasure. It's beautiful, poetic, and rich with Biblical symbology, yet the lyrics are ambiguous to say the least. Which is why Kelly Mooney, a singer/songwriter/musician from Charlottetown, wasn't sure about singing it at Easter Mass when her parish priest asked her to.
Instead, she decided to adapt the song's lyrics to the Easter story. Then, she bravely asked Cohen's publishers for permission to perform the revised version. They granted her request, and she's now preparing a CD that will include the piece.
Here is the world video premiere of the revised song, sung by Mooney and accompanied by the Chorale Voce dell' Anima led by Monette Gould June 1, 2010, at the Monument Lefebvre in Memramcook, N.B.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guhr0Vh2hE0
Kelley Mooney tells a lovely backgeound story about this at the beginning of the video.
---Arlene
Hi Arlene.. (I'm keeping to the larger font, just for you.. only I feel like I'm writing in someone else's hand now).. (it's a long story)..
ANYWAY.. I am glad you started this thread.. I've often wondered about the covers of this song, as there is a certain kind of "sacredness" I find in how they seem to come off.. (not that I consider myself a cover expert, as regards this song). Actually, to tell you the truth, the only rendition of this song that makes any kind of sense to me at all is Leonard's. I don't know if the word I'm looking for is "ironic" or not, but something in how Leonard does the song gives meaning to its at times confounding seeming sophistication, whereas most versions seem to be taking their cue from what's normally conjured by the word "hallelujah," which is rather limiting, to say the least.
BUT NOW.. to have this come full circle, as it were.. to have the song cleaned up for liturgical purposes.. (I couldn't listen past the first line, truth be told).. I mean, yikes.. me no get it.. (me no like it very much).. (then again, I'm still missing crack and anal sex-- uh, the lyrics, I mean).. (I did mean the lyrics)..
v. x.. (I still get to use the smaller font for signing, don't I?)..
later edit: I should never re-read my old posts.. I'm always finding errors.