I don't think I've ever posted a link to something which is "pop", and this isn't really "pop" either but....
Katie Melua is a (rather good) British-Georgian pop singer. Her family moved from Georgia in the early 1990s to Northern Ireland.
On her latest album, "In Winter", she sings the Nunc Dimittis from Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil, Op.37. And it's absolutely wonderful, nothing remotely "poppish" about it. She sings it together with the Gori Women's Choir (Gori is a town in Georgia).
I would say it's "unsung" to many here in terms of the format, and the singer involved. But since it was brought to my attention 2 days ago, my Ipod tells me I've listened to it 94 times :-[
So I just thought I would share something that is bringing me a lot of pleasure..!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBgcFC-m4AU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBgcFC-m4AU)
or here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e3blI5xn5Q (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e3blI5xn5Q) - sound is clearer but you don't get to see her in the Orthodox Church with the choir.
(Her rendition of Adolphe Adam's "Holy Night" on the same album, with the same choir, is also beautiful.)
Nothing remotely poppish? Well, it's mainstream crossover (classical>pop) territory, I'd have thought - the sort of thing you hear on ClassicFM all the time. Can't stand it done that way myself (too schmaltzy by half), but there we are...
Here's something much more authentic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8M_IupMqdM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8M_IupMqdM)
or here - much swifter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ3ASt9c4Wk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ3ASt9c4Wk)
Lovely music - when not mucked about!
Sorry, Christopher. I wanted to like it since it has obviously given you so much pleasure, but I rather felt it was like wading through Turkish Delight! Still, if it encourages people to get to know Rachmaninov's original that's fine - but it's not for me, I fear. But thank you anyway for posting the links.