A Choral Line
Feb. 8th, 2006 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciroccojHaven't written about choir in a long time, not sure why.
So we're fully into rehearsals for our February concert, which will have the theme "Black History Month". Kind of a funny theme for a choir consisting mostly of middle-aged Ontarian Aryans, but you won't hear me complaining. We've got African songs, gospel songs, spirituals, you name it - if it's got a beat, we've got it.
Even we have a beat. Of sorts.
Mbinguni Kule -- arr. James Wright
3 South African Freedom Songs (Gabi, Gabi, Singabahambayo, We Shall Not Give Up the Fight)
Swing Low Sweet Chariot -- arr. Christopher Askwith
Amazing Grace -- arr. Stephen Hatfield
Feel Good
Ride the Chariot
Hombe
Dubula -- Stephen Hatfield
Worthy to be Praised
Let the Heaven Light Shine on Me -- Moses Hogan
Peter on De Sea -- Ouchterlony
Nigra Sum -- Pablo Cassals
Nkosi Sikeleli -- arr. Nick Page
Praise His Holy Name
And today we got to practice a few of our songs with a group of drummers, which... um, wow. Songs that had been kind of "Yeah, that's pretty good, nice little beat" abruptly turned into "Holy ****!!" Like, I had an extended atheist-touching-the-face-of-god moment. Mbinguni Kule, which is sweet but a little repetitive on its own, totally grew wings with the drums backing us up.
::happy sigh::
Oh and I dropped my Cheerful Idiot facade at one point in the rehearsal. I think one of the reasons I haven't written much about choir lately is that I'm much less frustrated these days after a rehearsal. I attribute this wholly to a seating rearrangement which has put me a few seats away from my previous neighbour, whom I shall politely callMoaningWhiningJustShutUP! TroubledSoul. TroubledSoul spends the better part of most rehearsals complaining about everything. Her feet hurt, she's too old to stand up, and the music sucks. All of it. All the time. Especially "this type of crap" - crap being defined as anything un-WASP-like. So the whole black-themed set? Not her cuppa. I had fond hopes that she'd drop out, as she's been threatening to ever since she joined, at least until after the February concert. But no. She shows up every week and bitches as if bitching were an Olympic sport.
Anyway, like I said, I'm not next to her any more, which makes choir infinitely more enjoyable. But I still get to hear her when there's a lull. And today, as we paused in between parts of Peter on De Sea, she moaned once more "I hate this crap," and I said, "Yes, we know." Which made a few people turn around - not that I was being rude or loud, I just said it very clearly and I normally don't say much in rehearsal.
TroubledSoul looked at me, really surprised, and said, "You actually like this thing?"
"Yes, I do," I said, and TroubledSoul looked rather insulted for about an hour.
But hey, she didn't complain about the songs. Score!
What was funny was that Peter on De Sea is the only song on our list that I actually don't like.
There was at least one song that she likes in our program. Nigra Sum, by Pablo Casals, the only women-only song we've ever done in this choir, though Kurt normally gives the men a song or two on their own. I guess he figures the women get enough exposure, and he's right. Still, it's neat to be on our own for once, especially for a song as lovely as this one.
It's not terribly Black History-ish, though, other than the title, "I Am Black". The lyrics are in Latin, and from the Song of Songs, and it was written by a (white) Spanish dude, and the melody doesn't say much that's African. But still. Gorgeous song. And we do it well.
So we're fully into rehearsals for our February concert, which will have the theme "Black History Month". Kind of a funny theme for a choir consisting mostly of middle-aged Ontarian Aryans, but you won't hear me complaining. We've got African songs, gospel songs, spirituals, you name it - if it's got a beat, we've got it.
Even we have a beat. Of sorts.
Mbinguni Kule -- arr. James Wright
3 South African Freedom Songs (Gabi, Gabi, Singabahambayo, We Shall Not Give Up the Fight)
Swing Low Sweet Chariot -- arr. Christopher Askwith
Amazing Grace -- arr. Stephen Hatfield
Feel Good
Ride the Chariot
Hombe
Dubula -- Stephen Hatfield
Worthy to be Praised
Let the Heaven Light Shine on Me -- Moses Hogan
Peter on De Sea -- Ouchterlony
Nigra Sum -- Pablo Cassals
Nkosi Sikeleli -- arr. Nick Page
Praise His Holy Name
And today we got to practice a few of our songs with a group of drummers, which... um, wow. Songs that had been kind of "Yeah, that's pretty good, nice little beat" abruptly turned into "Holy ****!!" Like, I had an extended atheist-touching-the-face-of-god moment. Mbinguni Kule, which is sweet but a little repetitive on its own, totally grew wings with the drums backing us up.
::happy sigh::
Oh and I dropped my Cheerful Idiot facade at one point in the rehearsal. I think one of the reasons I haven't written much about choir lately is that I'm much less frustrated these days after a rehearsal. I attribute this wholly to a seating rearrangement which has put me a few seats away from my previous neighbour, whom I shall politely call
Anyway, like I said, I'm not next to her any more, which makes choir infinitely more enjoyable. But I still get to hear her when there's a lull. And today, as we paused in between parts of Peter on De Sea, she moaned once more "I hate this crap," and I said, "Yes, we know." Which made a few people turn around - not that I was being rude or loud, I just said it very clearly and I normally don't say much in rehearsal.
TroubledSoul looked at me, really surprised, and said, "You actually like this thing?"
"Yes, I do," I said, and TroubledSoul looked rather insulted for about an hour.
But hey, she didn't complain about the songs. Score!
What was funny was that Peter on De Sea is the only song on our list that I actually don't like.
There was at least one song that she likes in our program. Nigra Sum, by Pablo Casals, the only women-only song we've ever done in this choir, though Kurt normally gives the men a song or two on their own. I guess he figures the women get enough exposure, and he's right. Still, it's neat to be on our own for once, especially for a song as lovely as this one.
It's not terribly Black History-ish, though, other than the title, "I Am Black". The lyrics are in Latin, and from the Song of Songs, and it was written by a (white) Spanish dude, and the melody doesn't say much that's African. But still. Gorgeous song. And we do it well.
