Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Down in the River to Pray--Take 2

It's difficult to decide which version of this I like best. Posted one by Allan Hall here.

Here is Alison Krauss's version from a concert of the music from O Brother, Where Art Thou?. (Embedding disabled on the video.) Alison's voice is perfect. It's just...there.

There's something about this song that gets to me. It reminds me of the Flannery O'Connor story "The River." A disturbing and powerful story about a little boy who gets baptized.

Looks like a great concert (though I haven't had time to watch it) is available here on Youtube with all the music from O Brother. (Strange-looking movie, but wonderful music.) (Link HT: Southern Gospel Yankee)
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6 comments:

  1. William Luse4/28/2011 4:46 AM

    That Southern Gospel Yankee is really on top of things.

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  2. Alex4/29/2011 2:39 AM

    Down in the River to Pray is a beautiful religious song. It's included on a DVD entitled Down From the Mountain, which I bought a couple of years ago. (This is a film of a concert given in the Ryman Auditorium Nashville by the musicians of O Brother, Where Art Thou.)

    Alison Krause is one of my favourite singers; she has a lovely voice and her repertoire appeals to me strongly.

    Other songs on this DVD that I enjoyed immensely are, I Am Weary (Let Me Rest) and the traditional, Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown - both performed by the Cox Family. Suzanne Cox, the lead singer in this ensemble, also has a lovely voice and her family are wonderful musicians.

    I haven't seen the movie in which this music is the soundtrack.

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  3. William Luse4/29/2011 8:35 PM

    Saw the Krause video. Sweet.

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  4. Lydia McGrew4/29/2011 9:35 PM

    Alex, the "Down From the Mountain" concert is in the second Youtube link. I thought the movie looked pretty strange, but it's amazing the way so much good music turns out to have been on there.

    Bill, yeah, there's something about her. Thinking it over, I am coming to have a slight preference for the Hall arrangement, but that's because I like the richer harmony.

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  5. Kevin J. Jones5/02/2011 1:14 AM

    Wonderful songs on that soundtrack. They are far more memorable than the movie.

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  6. Gina M. Danaher5/02/2011 9:10 AM

    I do have the DVD of the concert because I loved the soundtrack to that movie. I thought the movie was very enjoyable.

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