Cirocco Jones

Um... I could write about my day, I guess.

Got up, Chris went to work, boys stayed home, chatted with ninja_kat (who's still pregnant), biked to Guy's house to bring him lunch stopped at the library for French books on the way there and at Malabar's for ballet shoes on the way back and at the park where we got a nasty shock because the trees ringing it have been torn down and replaced by bulldozers and after the shock I read my articles while Daniel did some math & English and Justin ate and then they played and chatted with ninja_kat (whose younger sister is no longer still pregnant - baby boy born today!) and then we left our bikes locked up together because Daniel's wheel was loose and my chain had come off (again - gotta get a new bike) so we walked to Fabricland and got the Halloween costume fabrics and off to the grocery store and lugged our food home then stopped at home for 30 min so the kids could play on the computer and then it was off to school for Meet The Creature Night and then to Beavers to drop off Justin then back home to do more of my readings, get Daniel to finish his Social Studies work and make dinner and then off to choir while Chris took Daniel to pick up Justin and came home after they were all asleep.

***
Or I could write about how, on Monday, I had the kids all day and then kept them with me for most of the evening after Chris had come home from work, and made dinner while he studied, because I was going to attend the HBLN parents' get-together at 7PM.

And then I could write about how, on Tuesday, I had the kids all day and then kept them with me for most of the evening after Chris had come home from work, and made dinner while he studied, because I was going to visit with a couple of other home schooling moms around 8PM.

Or reiterate that today, I had the kids all day and then kept them with me for most of the evening after Chris had come home from work, and made dinner while he studied, because I was going to attend choir at 7:30.

***
But I'd much rather share a totally gorgeous song we're learning in choir, about the Maritimes. It's actually two separate songs, one sandwiched into the other, both beautiful. The bread part of the song is very simple and sweet, the filling is a multi-part rolling thing that really makes you think of the ocean. Which is convenient, seeing as how it's about the Maritimes. A little sad, in that it mourns a way of life that's disappearing, but somehow it's uplifting too.

Great fun to sing, too :)

All Too Soon, Traditional Celtic Tunes, Stephen Hatfield

No one's in doubt that the children singing
All too soon shall be women and men
And the bonny new land
That we shaped with our hand
It'll roll to the ocean again.
( More lyrics )

Long day.

Ended with choir performance for the South African High Commission at the National Archives. We weren't the main event, just guests. Sang three anthems by ourselves (Canadian, South African, African Union) and then were joined by the main performers, the South African Rainbow Association, made up of kids and teenagers from Africa. And it was... um. Well. Amazing, actually. Can't really describe it other than to say it was unbelievably moving. We provided the 'professional sounding' melody and harmony, they provided the heart and oomph and movement. And the audience was cheering before the end, which is an amazing thing to experience, even though it wasn't directed at us - it was for the kids on stage, who ended the song with a slow crescendo to a shouted a capella "Abantwana be AFRIKA!" (we are children of Africa) ending with all their fists raised proudly into the air.

Here's a link to the music (not us singing) but it doesn't do tonight justice. You kind of have to imagine 30-40 mostly white, mostly middle-aged folks arranged down the steps of the stage and on the wings of the auditorium, and god how many - 30? 40? 50? mostly black kids aged 5-20 or so on stage, like this:



Old folks (that's us) singing and occasionally swaying whitely, and the kids singing their hearts out, dancing and swaying with the music, clapping, etc. And ending in a shout, not a drum roll as this version does.

http://s12.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=05DB2QHWMJUAG3P1Y0XQ8Y202J

We also got a wonderful response to our African trilogy, in which our guys got a chance to shine as male voices so rarely do, with their very own section in the first part (Somagwaza), which they belted out somewhat more... manly than the recording I have for it. We all did pretty well on the next two sections, Aman sia kadumi sa and Siyahamba. We even ended it with a shout in time at the end, which the audience seemed to really like, if their clapping and cheering was anything to go by.

http://s12.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=37JL78KWRNGUC2GASQLSU7ZHKT

I must say African audiences leave Canadians in the dust. Where Canadians provide polite, friendly applause and an occasional woo-hoo!, African audiences clap and sway with the music, cheer, stamp, and scream their hearts out. I wonder if our director has considered hiring African audiences to accompany us to all our concerts.