A new full-length work of classical music by Paul McCartney, “Ecce Cor Meum” (Behold My Heart), will be released on September 26 after eight years of work. The libretto is entirely in Latin.
McCartney said his hope was for “a choral piece, which could be sung by young people the world over in the same way that Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is.”
A worthy ambition, for sure. Let’s just do a quick comparison.
Handel’s best known chorus: Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, Hallelujah! The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever, Hallelujah! King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and He shall reign for ever and ever, Hallelujah!
Paul McCartney’s best known chorus: Na na na na na na na, na na na na, hey Jude.
Excuse me now, I have to go write a blog article, which could be read by people all over the world in the same way that James Joyce’s “Ulysses” is.
This post made me laugh. I’ve never been a Beatles fan or especially a Paul McCartney fan. It was bad enough when I had to tell people I was Gay, it was worse when I said I hated the Beatles.
The Beatles split up when I was in grade seven, my homeroom teacher came in and announced it to the class like some kind of eulogy. Everybody sighed like it was the worst tragedy to befall mankind. I knew I had to keep my mouth shut, but inside I was jumping for joy. Finally after so much radio dominance I could hear someone else, they had 40% of airplay at the time. To this day, if I hear Hey Jude, do not stand within striking distance of me.
And for all those Q107 listeners in Toronto, the Beatles were NEVER psychedelic rock, they were never more than freakin overplayed top 40. So there.