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Abraham wrote:Nessun dorma from Puccini's opera Turandot - for me, most especially, when sung by Pavarotti.

It's available on the internet and will bring tears to your eyes. It's only 3 minutes and a few seconds long.

As a younger guy, I thought opera was a whole lot of jittery screaming and yes, some of it is, but not Nessun dorma.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=VATmgtmR5o4[/youtube]

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend a recital by the Maestro. What a tremendous gift he was to the world of music.
This vid is from the time I call "young voice" Pavarotti, he was at his technical peak, breath, resonance, projection, control, spot on. He did develop an almost lyric tenor warmth in his "mature voice" period, but for me his power is truly on display here.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z2b5BqTbvo0

Wild Bill thanks for breathing new life into this thread, I wasn't yet a member when it began. Music speaks to all of us, it is the universal language.
Our hopes, prayers, fears and joy all conveyed on a sonic highway to our hearts. So many great tunes have been posted, many are favorites of mine.
Thank you all for contributing and reminding me of the many times that music spoke to me.
The confusion and remorse from a lost attempt at love:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p8_FOQ7-P30

I had the biggest crush on Bev!
Moving on:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8_f16t1JGHo

A virtuoso performance of the 1st movement of Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto.
When clouds are threatening, this brightens up my day:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=StNAG4gCIxY

Wagner!, Gotterdammerung!, Siegfried's Funeral March! The only reason Wagner mightn't be roasting in a particularly dark place, would be the redemptive quality of this piece of music. I just found this wonderful performance, wholly lacking in the overly brassy bombast some conductors believe it requires. Heck, even the percussionists were paying attention, although I could hear Christopher Walken saying "I need more Glockenspiel!"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=epnKO1NEzto

We've all suffered through "expressive interpretations" of our national anthem the "Star Spangled Banner".
Although the sound quality of the recording isn't very good, here's how Professionals do it right.
The President's Own performing the J.P. Sousa arrangement of the "Star Spangled Banner"!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YS9vpYL4eIk

For me probably the most heart wrenching version of our anthem was performed by the Coldstream Guards
during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace 09/12/01.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mQOQWAKnB1Q
My wife and I were there, I was getting fitted for a new gun. They'd marched in to a variety of American Marches,
I love the "Stars and Stripes Forever", before playing the our anthem. You can't hear it on the first vid, but on this
one you can hear the crowd singing. I'll never think of the Brits as other than our greatest friends after that day.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tV_2P7Z7mOw

Eva Cassidy "Over The Rainbow" .

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kdEQezu4aqg

Willie Nelson was broke when he sold this song to Patsy Cline for $500.

I think she got her money's worth.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2OVtpnpCOKM


http://youtube.com/watch?v=MwS6FL_WgoI

The Quebe Sisters perform "Georgia On My Mind"

I saw them at the Stafford Center a couple of years ago performing with Marty Stuart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC6GpzAcIDE

Some local young men Kingwood HS, Nick, Devin and Danny.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X3yDRw1V0-Y
2 million YouTube hits.

Livingston Taylor and Leah Kunkel perform "Loving Arms"

Leah Kunkel is [Mama] Cass Elliot's sister.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=THjcBCzUGmE

Cass Elliot sings "It's Getting Better"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xqOMuR5Z530

Mark Knopfler - "Romeo and Juliet"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iAWIF7XewEI

Edie Brickell sings a Bob Dylan song - "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha6zL1gtFbU

Who can forget the epic opening to Stanley Kubrick's classic?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Szdziw4tI9o
As an aside, conductors bring new meaning to the word performance!