Today, we went to a choir concert. It was a women's community choir and one of our church friends sings in it, so we tagged along to cheer… clap, from the audience. There are some things I would like to point out about choirs. First, although never intended, there are some things at choir concerts that can go dreadfully awry. Mostly these things are eyebrows, lips and nostrils. I know that everyone has a different style of singing and has been trained in different ways, but surely there is no reason for anyone to look so similar to a woodland creature before it becomes roadus killus. There are all sorts of funny things that you can do with your mouth, but it's probably better that you save them for while you're brushing your teeth or cajoling an infant into eating squished squash.
Although I am particularly prone to this fault, I don't advocate being the most expressive expresser who ever expressed an expression, especially in choir. But really, have a little humanity. I think some people are so keen on their musical excellence (valid enough) that their face goes on hold and unfortunate things happen. Be sure to tell your face what you're singing so it'll match. I maintain that Jessie S is the best balance of composure and expression I've ever seen in a choir singer. She doesn't feel the need to have her mouth wide enough to sail a ship through, nor does she crack her lips and make you wonder how any sound at all escapes, she just smiles and sings.
SG and I were talking this afternoon after we returned from the concert. We just love music, and choirs and concerts. I know I just wrote all that rot about horrible eyebrow shudders and mouths all awry, but I do love a good concert. They sang a whole range of pieces, from Blackbird by Lennon, to Someone to Watch over Me by the Gershwins, to Jesu by Bach. They even had a few spirituals. Never thought I'd hear an Australian women's chorus singing black spirituals. The effect wasn't quite the same, but it wasn't bad.
Listening to good music just makes me want to fly and run and dance. Sometimes I'll close my eyes and pretend I'm somewhere else. The somewhere else depends on the music, of course. When it's a waltz being done in a symphony, I'm usually swirling and swishing around a ballroom in a royal court. Today during You Raise Me Up, I was definitely walking the cliffs of Scotland… and it was windy. It's a pity because as I was looking around at the concert between eye-closings, there were few young people. I know it's a nerdy thing to say, but teenagers should be flocking to these things. Classical music is prime real estate for expressing all kinds of emotion, it's beautiful, and it's downright classy. Thankfully, there are people like this guy http://www.rzim.org/resources/read/asliceofinfinity/todaysslice.aspx?aid=10963 out there.
This next paragraph will be strange, skip if you'd like. Sometimes when I hear a lot about inclusivity, peace, love, healing, community, I want to go break something and shout angry shouts. I find this a bit odd, as all of those things are concepts that I believe to be important, Biblical, and even pleasant. They are things I would endorse, subscribe to the importance of and even teach about. But really, there are times that I feel like if I hear one more thing about a word that has soft and fuzzy connotations, a dinner plate is going to be flying like a saucer across the room. End of rant.
First night of work. Check, or as they would say in Australia, tic. I was on with C and E and it was a busy Sunday night. Sunday nights are supposed to be slow, but this one was not. I still like waitressing, and I still have my job. Tic, tic. I learned how to run the dishwasher for the glasses, but still haven't mastered running credit cards. I made my first mistake - forgot to put in the orange juice order for table 1. The girls were sweet and said I was doing well under pressure and picking it up quickly. As I wrote about when I was working at camp this summer, you come into an established situation and you kind of have to enter sleuth mode. Who's got what personality, what is the boss picky about, what are the unspoken rules that everyone except me knows. You start behind the rest of the runners, but I like a challenge. So far, so good.
Love from down under,
LMS
No comments:
Post a Comment