Kamli Wala Mohammed, by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
The qawwali songs and chants of the Sufi Muslim tradition are expressions of generosity, compassion, love and ecstasy -- the very antithesis of the intolerance, hatred and violence of the 9/11 attackers and their supporters, and equally the antithesis of benighted anti-Muslim reactions in America and abroad. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani qawwali composer and singer who died in 1997.
Ken Braun
Peter Gabriel’s version of Waterloo Sunset (Oxford London Temple Version)
While this song has been called the “Anthem of London”, hearing this version for the first time within these past months, I think of it as an “Anthem of New York City” substituting the Hudson River for the “Dirty Old River…” the Thames, and the World Trade Center Station for London’s Waterloo. “Terry and Julie” are metaphors for the friends I’d lost on that day, and I find solace in the lyric, “As long as they gaze at Waterloo Sunset, They are in paradise…”
JACQUELYN
"If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" (Sting)
In the days and weeks after September 11, 2001, I watched my fellow New Yorkers being kind to each other, and being PATIENT and un-grumbling when the subway sat unmoving for long periods, and muddling through... and in my heart I sang and sang to them: "If I ever lose my faith in YOU..."
Marian Bock
Tchaikovsky's Andante Cantabile
The soulfulness of the cello reflects the solemnity of 9/11 and the mood of Americans in it's aftermath. A soothing piece of music to listen to.
Lynn Merklinger
Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum
It was the song that played in the car when I got picked up from High School in Manhasset, NY shortly after the towers were hit.
Francesca Capone
Lupe Fiasco - "Words I Never Said"
Reflects the way the impact of 9/11 was corrupted & distorted by the powers that be for political or financial gain. 10 Years of history boiled into 4 minutes of frustration and anger.
Vince G
Blood on the wire Jackson browne
Whatever the truth about 9/11, this song reflects my own feelings about our country's relationship with the world and the military industrial complex.
Jim Dirlam
Imagine, by John Lennon
It speaks of yearning for a peaceful world without the negative forces that helped to fuel both the 9/11 attack and the foolishness of the retaliation. We continue to pay in profound ways for both.
Last week when I was at the WTC site, "Imagine" happened to shuffle onto my mp3 player. The positive and hopeful feeling I felt when it played in that location is something others should also be able to experience.
Robert
Pavane for a Dead Princess - Ravel (the original Piano version)
Very evocative, the title says it all
Scott
"One" by Metallica
it epitomizes the teenage angst and rage I felt at the time, though it is truly a beautiful song about the atrocities of war.
Erik
Lupe Fiasco - Words I never said
I was in high school on 9/11... and since then I have seen my country voluntarily shred its constitution and pursue a war on terror which is full of holes. Policy has been marked more with a thirst for revenge rather than one for justice... and many have sat back and let this happen. I have had the honor of working with Americans who believe in peace and justice and have worked to make that a reality. This song illuminates the frustration we feel with opportunistic leaders who take advantage of tragedy to push a violent and unjust agenda.
Amy Braunstein
True Nature - Dance with Me (Acoustic Mix)
"It was a cloudless day
So I could better see
Impermanence of every rain"
Written shortly after (and about) 9/11, I think this song captures the confusion, the loss and regeneration following a horrific event.
Dave Zwieback
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3ZsBimsaUc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3ZsBimsaUc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_Zahra
What it means to me? Love for our City, resilience, resoluteness, patience, and purpose. kb
khadija Ouahmane-Boyd
Sir Edward Elgar's Nimrod
Although I am a native New Yorker, I was living in London on September 11, 2001 and was profoundly moved by the British reaction to the tragedy. I attended the changing of the guard on the Thursday following the attacks and the American rather than British National anthem was played - I believe that was a first. I also went to the memorial service at Saint Paul's Cathedral on the 14th of September where the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles were in attendance. It was a beautiful service. If I recall correctly, Sir Edward Elgar's Nimrod was played at both events. That song brings back all of the feelings of that sad time as well as evokes hope for the future. In my mind, that music will always stand for the solidarity of the UK and US.
Paula Kirby
America the Beautiful sung by Terry Sutton from the album American Road
I heard this a couple of weeks ago on Jonathan Schwartz's show and thought it was such a beautiful arrangement. Somewhat sad, since it's only the one voice. Earlier I'd heard the ad for what you wanted to hear on 9/11 and I thought about the various classical pieces that mean so much to me. And then when I heard this version of the song I thought it was exactly what I want to hear on 9/11.
The first week after the tragedy, I was often moved by how our country came together. Firefighters driving all night to get here from Texas, an outpouring of concern from people we barely knew, and the American flags flying everywhere. And how seeing those flags strenghtened my love for and belief in my country because I felt I wasn't alone. I realized that this is what the flag has always signified for the American people throughout history. We are strong because we are one whether we live in Alaska or Texas or New York. We support one another because we have a commonality and a committment to this country and what it stands for and what it means to be an American. What being an American has always stood for, for better or worse. To me, that's what hearing this song inspired in me when I heard it. I can't think of a better song, classical or not, to express the sentiments of patriotism without the chest thumping for the 9/11 broadcast.
Melissa McClure
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
A year after 9/11/01, my wife and I attended one of the first concerts of the new season of the NY Philharmonic. The first piece was Adams' "Transmigration of Souls" which was a searing, moving, cathartic piece that had me in tears. After intermission, the perfect antidote: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with its stirring, hopeful call to fellowship. It is often said of music that it is good for the soul, that it is uplifting and ennobling. That was certainly true that night in Avery Fisher Hall. I was very grateful to the orchestra for that performance, and very proud of being a small part of a city that could stand so tall after such a terrible blow.
Neil Purcell
Sinead O'Connor singing "Prayer of St Francis"
I heard this song performed live on the radio, from Dublin, on 9/12/01, or perhaps 9/13, in a special program broadcast by rte, Irish public radio, and carried live in New York on WNYC or possibly WNYE. I was alone in my apartment, grief-stricken by the events of the previous day. It was a hard week, but her beautiful rendering of this song of peace sounded right to me, touched a part of me that had gone numb, made me feel just a little hopeful when my very soul felt burnt and dark and empty. I wrote to rte and they sent me a cassette. I wish I still had it in my possession but it is still in my head and heart. It would be good to hear it again.
Neil Purcell
I Ain't Marching Anymore by Phil Ochs
Once again we allowed ourselves to be led into a pointless war. The tragedy of September 11th was used as an excuse for death and destruction. This song is a call for all of us to say, "no more."
Joy Goldsmith
The Sky Belongs To Dreamers - sung by Mary Courtney (written by Dave McGilton c 2007)
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mcourtney2
The lyrics and sentiment of this song always bring back the horrible memories of that day, but also give me hope for the future.
This song was inspired by the photo of Father Mychal Judge (RIP), Chaplain of the FDNY & first victim of Sept 11, being carried out on a chair by emergency responders. It is a gorgeous and haunting song, and Mary's voice is powerful. She also sang at Father Judges memorial service, so it is fitting that she further commemorates him and the massive loss of that day.
"...ring that bell of freedom, louder than the drums of war..."
Beth Higgins
"Dona Nobis Pacem" by Peteris Vasks
it is somber and mournful, like Barber's "Adagio", but unfamiliar in some ways. It does not end on a grand hopeful gesture but invites pondering. And the message "grant us peace" is what I have wished for fervently since that fateful day... I wish the US had become more peaceful as a nation instead of more warlike in the aftermath of 9/11.
Rev.Dr. Susan Veronica Rak
