Maranatha!
Dec. 3rd, 2005 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
celticdragonflyYay! I have performed with the choir and lived. Huzzah.
Honestly, I think we may have been singing better on Wednesday. Well, I think I was singing better on Wednesday, anyway. But it still went reasonably okay.
Got there, got the music I'd copied hole-punched (decided having part of it in booklet, fall-out-of-my-folder form was a Bad Idea), got up to the choir loft. Got some last minute notes from Viktor. Here's the big program folder. Oh, "Come, Lord" isn't in it, but we sing it where planned. "Wake, Awake"? Ta-da, we have an extra verse. (I can't sing that darn thing properly anyway - time to lip sync) "Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming" - also a surprise extra verse. Great. And we got to watch the dancer rehearse his dance with the CD, so we could all watch. He'd been robed, but slips out of the robe early in the dance - so I figure well, I'll have to at least peek to see what costume he'll be wearing.
Surprise and shock - they have 'credits' in the back of the program. With the different choirs (handbell, children's, main). And I'm listed as the last alto. Whoa....
So we start, going reasonably well. Viktor was fiddling with one of the spotlights during the bell choir bit, but it was great anyway. I noticed one of the main 4 readers was missing - he showed up a half hour late, Viktor shooed him downstairs to robe and slip in, apparently he had the time wrong. The Advent Chant bit seemed to drop out of the program - perhaps the guy who came in late was supposed to do that. "Come, Lord" and "Lost in the Night" went reasonably well.
Then came the 'processional hymn' - "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel". We scurry downstairs and to the narthex, lined up behind our leads - me 2nd behind Morgan on the alto/bass side. Viktor and the bell ringer started down the aisle, he had to gesture rather forcefully to get the leads started. We followed down the center aisle after them - I had my calm serene performer face and posture and walk down perfect, it went quite smoothly. Down the center, around to each side, back to the side walls, we remembered to bunch up two by two, by then the men were finishing verse 1. Verse 2 was the women, verse 3 the men again, verse 4 this lovely thing in parts with our side and their side combining beautifully with an echo effect. Lovely. Verse 5 was supposed to be choir and congregation in unison again, then verse 6 instrumental for us to walk gracefully back to the lobby, then scurry upstairs and get back into places in the loft to sing verse 7 in unison.
Except - as verse 4 finished, Viktor started walking down from the front, and as he came to the back the two leads followed him. So naturally I followed Morgan as if this was planned, and so did the others. When we got upstairs we joined in on the rest of verse 5, then stood there through 6, and sang 7. Sigh. Well, I suppose they didn't know how it was planned, so if all of us kept the calm expression on, no major harm done.
Anyway, more readings, the long festival version of the gospel liturgy that Viktor assumed we all had memorized (which I'd never seen before until just before we started, sigh) the girls' choir did well, more readings, another song in parts went well, more readings, another song, more readings, that awful Wake, Awake that I lip sync'd. They had moved up once when we were to go down for communion, then he waved us to go downstairs even earlier, so we were standing in the back for quite a while. Then going up to be first so we could scurry back up to sing - and it was a different musical setting for the Agnus Dei. There I was standing in the aisle waiting in line, sight reading off the program in the lap of the lady sitting next to the aisle...
Then back upstairs for "Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming" and "Unexpected and Mysterious" (which amazingly did NOT have another surprise verse). Blessings, more readings.
Then we were watching in horror as Viktor was over adjusting that one spotlight again - it was apparently going too low, so there he was balancing a metal doumbek on the wide railing, and balancing the light on top of it. O.O It looked like a terrible accident just waiting to happen. We were terrified the doumbek would roll off and land on someone's head. Melissa was over on the soprano side waving frantically to Viktor to come over and play the piano for her Magnificat solo. He got over there just in time, did it, then we somehow segued into our Magnificat with Viktor still over at the piano - a little terrifying, since I was waiting to watch him for how many times we were to do that one? Well, once apparently - I'm not sure if that had been decided and I missed/forgot it, because there the people in the procession were going out, and OMG we have to be into Sanctum Nomine now, and somehow we were, it almost feels like some sort of collective group telepathy is necessary at times. The dancer is dancing - and under the robe he has... pants, and a blue button-down shirt over a white undershirt. Do not ask me what the meaning/point of this was, it just looked totally modern, if there's something I'm supposed to get I didn't get it.
Anyway, when he was done and walks out solemnly on the end of the music, the lights are down, and it ends in silence. People get the hint shortly and start to get up to leave - and then we got applause from everyone, so Viktor popped back to the front of the loft and we all stood politely to receive it. That's nice.
Our pastor, who loves to cook, had done a big dinner for those who'd signed up ahead of time before the service, and we'd been told he'd be feeding us afterwards. It was 7:30 when service finished, so it was a welcome idea by then. We had a nice dinner. I asked what we owed for our dinner, since those at the earlier dinner had paid, and Pastor Phil said nothing, we'd sung for our suppers. I liked the sound of that. I got to chat with some of the choir people while eating, that's nice, I'm trying to get to know people. Now if I just knew their NAMES. One was a mother, with two daughters - Abigail is in Maggie's class, and Amelia is in 4th grade. (Yes, Aristocats and the two geese were mentioned). Another older lady gives piano and music lessons, she's going to get me more info on the programs she does for the youngest kids.
Overall a good evening. I feel reasonably thoroughly part of the choir now. The newbie, unskilled part, but that's okay.
Honestly, I think we may have been singing better on Wednesday. Well, I think I was singing better on Wednesday, anyway. But it still went reasonably okay.
Got there, got the music I'd copied hole-punched (decided having part of it in booklet, fall-out-of-my-folder form was a Bad Idea), got up to the choir loft. Got some last minute notes from Viktor. Here's the big program folder. Oh, "Come, Lord" isn't in it, but we sing it where planned. "Wake, Awake"? Ta-da, we have an extra verse. (I can't sing that darn thing properly anyway - time to lip sync) "Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming" - also a surprise extra verse. Great. And we got to watch the dancer rehearse his dance with the CD, so we could all watch. He'd been robed, but slips out of the robe early in the dance - so I figure well, I'll have to at least peek to see what costume he'll be wearing.
Surprise and shock - they have 'credits' in the back of the program. With the different choirs (handbell, children's, main). And I'm listed as the last alto. Whoa....
So we start, going reasonably well. Viktor was fiddling with one of the spotlights during the bell choir bit, but it was great anyway. I noticed one of the main 4 readers was missing - he showed up a half hour late, Viktor shooed him downstairs to robe and slip in, apparently he had the time wrong. The Advent Chant bit seemed to drop out of the program - perhaps the guy who came in late was supposed to do that. "Come, Lord" and "Lost in the Night" went reasonably well.
Then came the 'processional hymn' - "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel". We scurry downstairs and to the narthex, lined up behind our leads - me 2nd behind Morgan on the alto/bass side. Viktor and the bell ringer started down the aisle, he had to gesture rather forcefully to get the leads started. We followed down the center aisle after them - I had my calm serene performer face and posture and walk down perfect, it went quite smoothly. Down the center, around to each side, back to the side walls, we remembered to bunch up two by two, by then the men were finishing verse 1. Verse 2 was the women, verse 3 the men again, verse 4 this lovely thing in parts with our side and their side combining beautifully with an echo effect. Lovely. Verse 5 was supposed to be choir and congregation in unison again, then verse 6 instrumental for us to walk gracefully back to the lobby, then scurry upstairs and get back into places in the loft to sing verse 7 in unison.
Except - as verse 4 finished, Viktor started walking down from the front, and as he came to the back the two leads followed him. So naturally I followed Morgan as if this was planned, and so did the others. When we got upstairs we joined in on the rest of verse 5, then stood there through 6, and sang 7. Sigh. Well, I suppose they didn't know how it was planned, so if all of us kept the calm expression on, no major harm done.
Anyway, more readings, the long festival version of the gospel liturgy that Viktor assumed we all had memorized (which I'd never seen before until just before we started, sigh) the girls' choir did well, more readings, another song in parts went well, more readings, another song, more readings, that awful Wake, Awake that I lip sync'd. They had moved up once when we were to go down for communion, then he waved us to go downstairs even earlier, so we were standing in the back for quite a while. Then going up to be first so we could scurry back up to sing - and it was a different musical setting for the Agnus Dei. There I was standing in the aisle waiting in line, sight reading off the program in the lap of the lady sitting next to the aisle...
Then back upstairs for "Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming" and "Unexpected and Mysterious" (which amazingly did NOT have another surprise verse). Blessings, more readings.
Then we were watching in horror as Viktor was over adjusting that one spotlight again - it was apparently going too low, so there he was balancing a metal doumbek on the wide railing, and balancing the light on top of it. O.O It looked like a terrible accident just waiting to happen. We were terrified the doumbek would roll off and land on someone's head. Melissa was over on the soprano side waving frantically to Viktor to come over and play the piano for her Magnificat solo. He got over there just in time, did it, then we somehow segued into our Magnificat with Viktor still over at the piano - a little terrifying, since I was waiting to watch him for how many times we were to do that one? Well, once apparently - I'm not sure if that had been decided and I missed/forgot it, because there the people in the procession were going out, and OMG we have to be into Sanctum Nomine now, and somehow we were, it almost feels like some sort of collective group telepathy is necessary at times. The dancer is dancing - and under the robe he has... pants, and a blue button-down shirt over a white undershirt. Do not ask me what the meaning/point of this was, it just looked totally modern, if there's something I'm supposed to get I didn't get it.
Anyway, when he was done and walks out solemnly on the end of the music, the lights are down, and it ends in silence. People get the hint shortly and start to get up to leave - and then we got applause from everyone, so Viktor popped back to the front of the loft and we all stood politely to receive it. That's nice.
Our pastor, who loves to cook, had done a big dinner for those who'd signed up ahead of time before the service, and we'd been told he'd be feeding us afterwards. It was 7:30 when service finished, so it was a welcome idea by then. We had a nice dinner. I asked what we owed for our dinner, since those at the earlier dinner had paid, and Pastor Phil said nothing, we'd sung for our suppers. I liked the sound of that. I got to chat with some of the choir people while eating, that's nice, I'm trying to get to know people. Now if I just knew their NAMES. One was a mother, with two daughters - Abigail is in Maggie's class, and Amelia is in 4th grade. (Yes, Aristocats and the two geese were mentioned). Another older lady gives piano and music lessons, she's going to get me more info on the programs she does for the youngest kids.
Overall a good evening. I feel reasonably thoroughly part of the choir now. The newbie, unskilled part, but that's okay.
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Date: 2005-12-05 01:37 am (UTC)Maranatha!
Date: 2005-12-05 02:02 am (UTC)