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Walking in the Air
Being an American, I was completely unfamiliar with the Christmas song Walking in the Air. I’d never heard of it! After listening to it a few times on the CHRISTMAS album, it has jumped out to be my favourite song on the album… and is a candidate for one of my favourite Christmas songs ever!
Still, being so unfamiliar, I decided to Google the song and learned that it was from the 1982 animated film The Snowman, and was the only worded portion of the movie. After listening to the choirboy Peter Auty sing this original version from the movie, I found it to be somewhat sad… and almost depressing.
After hearing the original version, I love the MLT rendition even more! The music is perfect, and perfectly fits Mona and Lisa’s incredible vocals!!!
Again… My favourite song on the CHRISTMAS album!!!
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17 Replies
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Well Paul, not only American but Canadian as well, I too hadn’t heard of or was not familiar with the song and Google it too… And we’re not alone, there are others too whom aren’t familiar /not heard before of this song either… maybe/perhaps it’s a generational thing… Lol…Not sure… Lol… Anyone over 40 seems to be not familiar/know of it before now Lol… I was a a teenager in the 80s but don’t recall this movie or if I had seen it, I don’t remember… But I will agree in that I love MLT’s version best.!!
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Oh yeah Paul, agree totally. I can’t get enough of “Walking In The Air”. When it comes on, I have to stop what I’m doing and just listen and feel every sweet sound. It is magnificent! I love how Mona and Lisa sing this one. The singing, guitar sounds, it’s all beautiful perfection. It’s classical meets MLT magic.
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Yes, I agree… The enchanting kind of beautiful hauntingly echoing of their harmonies once again eminates incredibly effective on this song, the simplicity of the sound with more vocals then instrumentation emphasis just perfectly intertwines…
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I’m in the US and have never heard Walking In the Air before.
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Walking in the Air is a classical song. That’s why I’m not surprised many here are not familiar with this song. Some artists did classical renditions on some classical music CDs, including a beautiful piano instrumental version by George Winston, and is not necessarily limited as a Christmas piece. The classical renditions both vocal and instrumental I’ve come across were not done as Christmas music, although the origination is from a 1982 soundtrack for a Children’s Christmas animation movie called The Snowman. The MLT rock version is so fantastic and out of this world, easily eclipsing all the classical versions I’ve ever heard. MLT made this one truly their own. I think it could easily stand as a hit single not just as a Christmas song, but for all year round. The beautiful melody mated to MLTs magnificent vocals and harmonies, and the awesome guitar arrangements in a superb 60’s flavor, is a killer song. My spirit soars whenever I hear Mona and Lisa’s Walking in the Air! The original classical version is sublime, but transformed by MLT through their magic into a rock piece with their harmonies, well I fell out of my chair when I heard it. It is even more sublime and stellar.
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You’ve lost me here Jung. “Walking in the Air” isn’t a classical song.
“’Walking in the Air’ is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs’ 1978 children’s book The Snowman. The song forms the centrepiece of The Snowman, which has become a seasonal favourite on British and Finnish television. The story relates the fleeting adventures of a young boy and a snowman who has come to life. In the second part of the story, the boy and the snowman fly to the North Pole. “Walking in the Air” is the theme for the journey. They attend a party of snowmen, at which the boy seems to be the only human until they meet Father Christmas with his reindeer, and the boy is given a scarf with a snowman pattern. In the film, the song was performed by St Paul’s Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty, and reissued in 1985 (on Stiff Records) and 1987.”
The reason it is so obscure for so many of the MLTs many ‘senior’ fans is because it is more relevant to much younger people. I suspect Mona and Lisa as infants may have seen the book and movie.
As far as classical interpretations go, this doesn’t make what was essentially written as a Christmas song, for a Christmas movie, a classical song.
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Howard, Howard Blake is an English composer, conductor, and classical pianist. The obscurity of “The Snowman” movie and children’s book may be as you say, although the book was published both in the UK and US and the movie was Oscar Nominated. Still the song itself is more classical influenced than anything else in my opinion, and covered by mostly classical musicians over the years, in the case with George Winston, he is a new age pianist. That is why I was saying perhaps if you are not into classical music, you likely would be unfamiliar with this song.
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It also wasn’t shown much in North America, I suspect because we have so many other Christmas shows and movies! It certainly is an interesting show. By the way, Howard Blake wrote and orchestrated the entire soundtrack. As I said, I read up on it (I tend to do that when I’m unfamiliar with something, LOL). I agree that the song should be a single release! I’d surely buy it!!!
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To be fair, like Paul, though Canadian, I agree, I think this song is not as familiar to North Americans( USA & Canada) as it seems to be amongst Europe and elsewheres… I don’t recall ever hearing this song or seeingbthe movie it is from… I do recall other Christmas specials I saw as a kid back when that I still enjoy, but am happy that MLT’s version introduced it tothose of us who were not familiar with it.
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Hi… I’m going to be inclined to agree with Jung and accept his rationale on why this particular song/movie/book is obviously not as well known to all, as perhaps previously presumed (or whatever the correct wording is for this is, “presumed” is what came to mind but maybe another better word is out there to describe what I’m trying to convey/express) stated, I’m not a fan of classical music as such and therefore, I’d have no idea of its existence… But as per the way of things here, we All have our own opinions and can respectfully disagree /agree… I don’t believe in one opinion suits /fits all… We are all have equal say.
I just am finding it a tad humorous (in my view, anyways) how it is that some are flabbergasted at the thought that not all here were aware of this song /movie/book to begin with and hearing MLT’s version was a Groovy musical awakening, it strikes me as it was the consensus/thought that all here were aware of it but it’s clear now that that is not the case but it’s a beautiful discovery that I’m happy that Team MLT provided for to embrace and appreciate it thereof…
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“I’m going to be inclined to agree with Jung and accept his rationale”.
Of course you do Jacki. You Canadians stick together. For pedants like me, ‘Classical’ refers to:
“The term “classical music” did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to distinctly canonize the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Ludwig van Beethoven as a golden age. The earliest reference to “classical music” recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1829.”
We all know that Jung can see ‘classical’ music in everything, and especially the Beatles’ music which he perceives as a reinvention, or continuation of classical music. Nothing wrong with that though.
I think we can agree on one thing though Jacki. “it’s a beautiful discovery that I’m happy that Team MLT provided for to embrace and appreciate it thereof…”!
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Nahh Howard. We’re not sticking together. Canadians can be as disagreeable as anyone else. Just look at our politics. Jacki is expressing an opinion that happens to differ from yours, that’s all and as you said, that’s OK. I’m glad my classical analysis had an impact on you.
All the varying opinions is a wonderful thing.
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Walking in the Air knocked me off my chair. I had never heard of it, nor the movie. Certainly I didn’t believe my ears. It’s as if Johnny Cash rode into an Ennio Morricone movie with a choir of angels. The underlying rhythm of bass, guitar and snare is absolutely exquisite, gets you on the saddle, “Riding in the midnight blue” takes on a different meaning. And I LOVE all the guitars parts meticulously placed perfectly throughout the song. Christmas or not it’s one of my new favorites. I think it’s Mona that does the “Psshh” imitating cymbals towards the end. Love that touch.
Arranging songs this brilliantly, with this quality of engineering and recording, let alone the performance, is reserved for the big studios with the big budgets and top personnel, unless you’re the MonaLisa Twins. ?
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Nicely said Tomas! Walking in the Air just highlights how brilliant MLT are. The best of the best in music today!
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Beautiful song. I had never heard it or heard of it. I’d have to agree that “The Snowman” movie didn’t play much in the US. Yes, too many Christmas movies, comedies and commercial programs. Gone are the days of some of the classics and the annual viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life”. But we don’t absolutely need that movie anymore. We have Mona and Lisa to remind us how beautiful Christmas and this world can be. Great job MonaLisa team.
This album is like the “11” days of Christmas. Each day I open up a new song and enjoy the excitement of a new musical present. Much better than as a kid when my big presents were usually the no longer new skiing equipment I’d been racing on for two months – with a bow on it.
So glad they got that early snowfall and could do that wonderful video of their new original song.
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John, that sudden snowfall was a fortunate blessing for all of us so that we could enjoy that magnificent MLT video and the beautiful scene of Mona and Lisa walking in the snow singing “All I Want Christmas To Be”.
That scene in the movie, The Snowman, where the little boy is flying with the snowman to the music of Walking In The Air, is very beautiful and touching. (edited to add: MLT version take it a breathtaking notch higher in dimension and beauty into the stratosphere!) I never saw or heard of the Snowman movie before either until I looked up the song in Wikipedia regarding it’s origin here. I was only familiar with the song from the classical CDs I have.
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