Tonight I played Gula Gula by Mari Boine to my gf and a friend and they both adored it. So then my friend came out with Possibility by Lykke Li(which of course I recognised) and Gorecki by Lamb (a new favourite).

As it's very nice to 'introduce' music to people, I thought I'd come in here and pick your brains.

What is the most beautiful music you have, either in your collection or in your head? It doesn't have to be as soppy as mine, just something you find beautiful.

Here ya go..

1. 16th century Spanish/Iberian renaissance:
Folias and Canarios - Jordi Savall and Hesperion XX

2. Early French baroque viol:
Masterworks: Marais/ Sainte Colombe - Spectre de la Rose

3. Anonymous 4 - any disc, my favorite is On Yoolis Night

4. 16th century England:
All in a Garden Green, the Music of John Jenkins - Hesperion XX


You may notice that none of this stuff has an electric anything in it. Though I love, to death, modern music, there's nothing quite like this stuff for beauty. It's different than what we have in our age and worth looking into.

Brahms Requiem (The version I listen to is Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmoniker)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXHxKTtCMfg

Beethoven's 7th symphony, 2nd movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs5pH4GKYkI

Edvard Grieg, Åse's Death from the Peer Gynt Suite. (for when I'm feeling dramatic!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB4m885sTeE

Beethoven, "Moonlight Sonata" (Piano Sonata #14 In C Sharp Minor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2cFEHM9yMw

Runner up: Satie, Trois Gymnopedies (#1: Lent Et Douloureux, or just take your pick!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAR0WkIQ6mg

Ok, ok a bit of the Mozart! Personally, I find him a bit "cold".

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9, 2nd movement (with Mitsuko Uchida)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlQzg0FKK6E

EDIT No. 3:

Elgar, Enigma Variations - Nimrod
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUgoBb8m1eE

Lakmé (damn you British Airways for overusing it in your ads!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qx2lMaMsl8

Nessun Dorma (YMMV!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awoFsd0q0EY

Aram Khachaturian, Gayane suite (the haunting string music from 2001 & Aliens FYI)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6ZBSdjzKfk

Debussy, Clair de lune (fuckity fuck fuck. Twilight alert!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKd0VII-l3A

Puccini, Madame Butterfly "Un bel di vedremo"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpW8Jvl9low

-LS

Wow, thanks guys

Most beautiful music, hm?

My tastes go along with Letalis's: some of the most beautiful music I've heard are classical pieces or from operas, as well as some traditional Christian hymns.

"Rorogwela", a.k.a. "Sweet Lullaby" by Deep Forest (the former is actually the original, without the synths; it is a recording of a native woman from the Solomon Islands by a ethnomusicologists some decades ago)

"Intermezzo Sinfonico" by Mascagni from Calleveria Rusticana

"Nessun Dorma" by Puccini from Turandot

"Song to the Moon" by Dvorak from Rusalka

"Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13" a.k.a. "Sonata Pathetique" by Beethoven

"Vittoria" by Verdi from Aida

"Veni, Veni, Emannuel" traditional

"Gaudete" traditional

"The First Noel" traditional

Mozart
Tchailkovsky
Johann Strauss
Johann Struass Jr.
Beethoven

Also, the MOST beautiful music i have ever heard in my life comes from Bruce DeBoer

He is a celtic new age instrumental composer. I listen to him and EVERYTHING melts away. He has a song called Fairy Dance and you can honestly see the faeries dancing around. His music really is too pure for words (my opinion).

One of his songs on YouTube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTNGbUZ4cFM

Fairy Dance by Bruce Deboer on Youtube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIB82o16IVU

If you go to his site, it will let you listen to whatever song you wish. Personally Fairy Dance is one of my favorites.

www.brucedeboer.net

I also think that Blackmore's Night is very beatiful.

This is their song Ghost Of A Rose from Youtube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb7Pyi9cNAw

Now, if we are going into contemporary music, most of it actually falls under new age, ambient, and world (including celtic) for me.

"Sweet Lullaby" would be considered contemporary, I suppose, since the electronic/ambient version was released in 1992. I agree with Medieval Fantasy that "Ghost of a Rose" by Blackmore's Night is a very lovely song.

"Ghost Love Score" and "Kuolema Tekke Taiteilijan" by Nightwish

"Kaipuu" by @Junkmail, a Finnish hip-hop group

"Colors" by Utada Hikaru

"Hesperos" by Hexperos

"Gaia's Lullaby" by Jaiya

"Evacuee" and "Exile" by Enya

"Two Horizons" by Moya Brennan

"The Story of the Swan"; I'm not exactly sure who composed the song, but if you ever watched The Joy Luck Club, you'll remember it.

"Valspena" by Cirque du Soleil

"Hijo de la Luna" I *think* it's traditional, but I'm not sure since I've heard several covers

"Suil a Ruin" again, I think it's traditional, but I've heard several covers, the first on being from Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance

"Scarborough Fair" now I know this is traditional

You see, I have a problem with classifying my music as either beautiful, mystifying, or sad, because some of them are all of the above, some songs that are beautiful are more sad, and some are mystifying, but not quite that brand of beautiful.

Mozart
Tchailkovsky
Johann Strauss
Johann Struass Jr.
Beethoven

i agree with that selection... but since im currently obsesed with the alternative metal band called SLIPKNOT... id say... Snuff, Vermillion part 2 (Bloodstone mix AND regular), Dead Memories... all by SLIPKNOT... Wait and Bleed, My Plague, Left Behind... to my opinion, the nine are great musicians...
but, to each his own...

I have never listened to Slipknot, at least i cannot remember listening to them, which is surprizing because i do tend to love most forms of rock and metal. However, i would hesitate to call most of the songs i listen to in the metal genre beautiful exactly. One of my favorite bands of which is Five Finger Death Punch and, yes, Disturbed.

When it comes to regular rock, metal or nu-metal, i think i tend to see Breaking Benjamin as beautiful (at least their song Evil Angel, it is practically a theme song of mine). You could say that Queen's song Who Wants To Live Forever is hauntingly beautiful, but i have yet to find any real metal (at least hardcore metal) as beautiful (at least that has a lead male vocalist. Nightwish is at times beautiful as well as Theatre of Tragedy). Then again, my views on beautiful can and might be different from yours.

I am however curious as to their songs now. I may go ahead and download some of slipknot's music.

Anything by the Yoshida Brothers. They're two Japanese brothers who play the Shamisen (Traditional Japanese Instrument) Except they add their own twist to it. Songs like Rising, Blooming, Arigatou, Shamisen Six.

Return To Innocence by Enigma

Forever Love by X-Japan

Tender Surrender by Steve Vai

Daniel Merriweather. Yeah, he's pop, and all that, but I think he's pretty deep.

Edit -

How could I have forgotten, White Shade by Lukestar
I think it's amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc76bMdZb5E

Child Cather - Joe Black. Dark Cabaret, absolutely great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-XE7LRP2FY

Annnnd, Lonely-Lonely by The Narrow (South African band, they're pretty rare, hard to find their music.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8RRJ0Hz_VU

I think this song is amazing: Gheorghe Zamfir - Pastorul Singuratic (The Lonely Shepherd) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53mwZJ3bmiY&videos=qJYCr5DKMv4&playnext_from=TL&playnext=1
Some people say it's japanese but it's actually romanian. It was featured in Kill Bill vol 1.

Yes, that is very lovely, Henry's Twisted Dream. I enjoyed listening to it.

I would have to say a well played classical cello solo piece. That may be because I'm a cellist, but most likely why I'm drawn to the cello in the first place...that deep, dark sound. Nothing like it's smaller cousins, and the bass always seems to be more for background purposes rather than carry a melody.

Hmm I'm not coming up with many at the moment, so I'll have to come back to this, for now I'll just say :
anything by Cocteau Twins
"Gorecki" by Lamb
"Tear Drop", "Protection" and "Black Milk" by Massive Attack
"Crestfallen", "Cherry", "To Sheila", "Tear", "For Martha", "Crush", "Speed Kills (Acoustic), "Farewell and Goodnight", "Landslide" "Sweet Sweet" and "Thirty Three" by The Smashing Pumpkins

Obviously though, what I consider beautiful, you may not.

Black Milk, I like your signature it's great