A few years ago, during a concert of the Nidarosdomens Guttekor, I heard an instrumental organ piece for the first time, which entirely enchanted me. It turned out to be the 19th century hymn "There is a Happy Land" (composer Leonard P. Breedlove) in an arrangement by George Shearing. Never heard of it, and while searching for this arrangement online, I came across a big variety of other versions. However, none of them came even close to the strong effect that the Shearing arrangement has on me.
So, I would love you to post more examples of such "reinvented" music. I know there exists plenty of that, but which ones do you particularly like or which one do impress or affect you the most?
Now here we first have that wonderfully dreamy George Shearing version of "There is a Happy Land", and below there's an example of the song with just plain harmonies. (Only posting two extremes - there are many other versions to be found online.) What a difference! If I had come across such a plain version first, it wouldn't have drawn my attention at all. But with those unusual harmonies, the song has become a favourite of mine which comforts me in an extraordinary way.
That said, I am not saying that a harmonically more colourful arangement necessarily has to be the more attractive one! We may also prefer the simple version due to this very simplicity, because at times more complexity doesn't seem to match it a certain song in our minds. A very personal choice, I beieve, and highly interesting.
Shearing (it's the first one of two and the audio is a bit low, but I chose it, as this version comes closest to what I experienced live, very sensitively played):
And a choral arrangement with the plain harmonies:
An example of simple harmonies sheet music:
https://hymnary.org/text/there_is_a_hap ... r_far_away
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A second example I recently found is Jan Sandström's arrangement of the carol "Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen". Like I said here, I'm just toooo familiar with this traditional song up to being bored and very glad now to have found something fresh.
This is the old one, in the very popular arrangement by Praetorius:
(Note that I'm not assessing the musical quality. It's only about the difference of a for me overly heard song vs. its new and surprising appearance.)
And here is the ethereal Sandström arrangement, just mesmerising. It has indeed renewed the song for me.
