another day in the salt mines

 

The music at church went pretty well yesterday. I had chosen a very simple setting of “Now the Green Blade Rises” for the anthem. I did have one soprano arrive very late (after emailing me she was too ill to attend). She wandered around as we rehearsed and finally sat behind her section. When I asked her if she was going to sing, she said she felt much better. I told her that the warm ups (which she had missed) were one of the most important parts of the rehearsal. In my mind was the fact that I had very carefully warmed up the sopranos for their high notes for the day already.

She asked if she should leave. I kiddingly said yes. She asked if she should sing tenor (completely baffling me for a moment and continuing to waste valuable pre-service reheaersal). I seriously said no. After a bit, I moved some altos to make room for her.

She sat down and the rehearsal continued. But I could see she was getting more and more upset. Finally she left the room.

Oy. Sigh.

All in a morning’s work at church I guess.

I played the prelude by Couperin based on O Sons and Daughters pretty well. But I accidentally picked up the wrong copy of the piece (I had two of them). On Saturday I had carefully worked out a two manual version of Couperin’s three manual piece using the little buttons that one can push.

When I sat down to perform it, I was puzzled by the way the piece was marked. I remembered having worked out the registration changes but the ones on the piece were not the ones I needed. I hastily changed a few marks and then had to begin.

I was two thirds through the eight minute piece when I figured it out.

The piece still went well enough that the retired organist made a point of telling me she enjoyed it.

In the afternoon I had to attend a recital put on by members of the local AGO chapter.

I took pics and put them up on Facebooger.

The organ at the Western Theological Seminary where the concert was held is a van Daalan.

Maybe I’m listening a bit more critically since we are installing an instrument soon, but I thought the organ didn’t sound very good. I have heard it before while listening to my friend Rhonda air out some concert pieces. She is a good player and it’s probably a tribute to her abilities that I hadn’t noticed that the sounds of the instrument are not very attractive to me.

I sure hope the instrument we install sounds better!

Love, Death and Spaghetti – NYTimes.com

A sad well written story about a woman whose husband is dying. It asks the question what actions actually comfort the dying and what comfort the living at the dying person’s expense.

The Things I Carried Back – NYTimes.com

A phenomenal story by the retiring journalist John F. Burns.

2 thoughts on “another day in the salt mines

  1. Well, that’s not just your ears. There are many sub-optimal issues with that instrument… However, I take it as a compliment that they didn’t strike you when you heard me playing it! I work hard to draw attention away from less attractive features of an instrument.

    1. Thanks for the confirmation. I meant it as a compliment when I said that it hadn’t struck me when listening to your preparing for concerts.

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