Horne

This is one of those Holy Grail recordings: “Our Garden Of Hymns”, Marilyn Horne & Tennessee Ernie Ford sing all those good ole Southern Baptist hymns you remember from your youth. Well, that I remember, anyways. The two hymns included here are special to me. You see, they are the ones that my grandmother and I sang at all the funerals of our many octagenarian distant cousins, once removed. What is truly frightening, however, is that I can still remember … and sing … the harmony. And, those of you who only know Tennessee Ernie Ford from “I Love Lucy” are in for a treat —Tennessee Ernie had a beautiful singing voice. Who knew? Well, I did. As “Our Garden of Hymns” liner notes inform us:

Religious inspiration is in itself magnificent.

Artistic accomplishment is in itself enlightening.

An inspired combination of the two is an all-too-rare experience in what is genuinely thrilling.

Just such an experience is…

Marilyn Horne and Tennessee Ernie Ford

whispering “Whispering Hope”

garden “In The Garden”

Since at least one of readers is a Marilyn Horne fanatic like me, we’re gonna run with her.

audio Manuel de Falla’s “Siete Canciones Populares Españolas”. Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano. 1980. Duration: 15.37.

P.S. I’ve also included Tony Randall’s intro to the songs because (a) they’re informative and (b) they’re kinda campy.