Song of the Week

"Full of Grace" by Sarah McLachlan

I had such a hard time choosing the song for this week. I knew that I wanted to feature Sarah because anyone who knows me knows that Sarah and I are tight like that (or at least we WOULD be if she knew me), but choosing my favorite Sarah song is like trying to choose a "favorite star in the heavens." I finally decided on "Full of Grace" b/c I feel like it's a prime example of all that I love about Sarah. I love how her music is just right, whether I'm up or down. I've listened to her ever since she was an underground Canadian hit, and I've always felt like her music perfectly fits my mood. Some people have a hard time listening to Sarah for a long time, but that would definitely not be me. Her music is so lush with harmonies and melodies that it's easy to get swept away in. My favorite feature about Sarah's voice is how she can shift from chest to head voice and back so seamlessly. Listening to her voice as she effortlessly moves up to hit those high notes with such clarity is like listening to Gil Shaham as he moves up the fingerboard of his violin; I'm completely carried away in the moment and I feel as if I, too, am rising up to some celestial home. It might sound a bit dramatic to you, but music like Sarah's has such a powerful effect on me. Though I would never put her in the same class as some of my favorite opera singers (TeKanawa, Bonney, Von Stade, Fleming), the effect that her voice (and music) can have on me is very similar to what I might experience while listening to one of them.