Madness
TGIF. Can I get an "Amen" over here? Today was hellacious, but next week will be even worse--mainly because I didn't make it hellacious enough for myself this week. *sigh*
So, the Feast in Colorado was pretty much amazing. The choir was better than many church ones I've been in, but the director was a trumpeter. I don't seem to really know any trumpeters who can either sing or direct a choir exceptionally well. Whatever. He did pretty well, except he had an inconsistent / weird conducting pattern and never commented on vocal technique. The woman who sang most of the soprano solos seemed pretty skilled, but she had quite a lot of vibrato. I mean, a lot. I wonder which classical solos she's sung. Anyway, no performance of ours really stands out in my mind, but we did get better as the week progressed, of course. Also, the director asked for an unwritten high note at one point, but named it incorrectly (it wasn't the same high A-flat, which he called an A, he was thinking of--it was a B-flat). No one tried it. Oh well.
There was a "Fun" show one night. Two acts were from Les Mis. The less said about another trumpeter's "Bring Him Home," the better. "I dreamed a dream" was pretty good, but she seemed to want to do everything in a full belt and, not surprisingly, ran somewhat out of gas by the end. But you could tell she knew a few things about music and singing. Most amusingly, Mr. Kilough--President of the United Church of God--sang Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." He dedicated it to his wife and actually pulled it off. At the end, a conglomerated band played, for a sing-along, "Home on the Range," "This Land," and "Country Road." All the verses. Of each. Not quickly. There really needed to be one of those Vaudeville canes to scoop them offstage. I would've left if I'd've realized they were the last act.
Obviously, I wasn't in Colorado for the musical offerings. The sermons were excellent. My dad gave his Song of Solomon one, Mr. Damour gave one on reconciliation and forgiveness, and Mr. Kellers spoke about Africa and, famously, male-female relationships. Disturbing but amusing old person quote following.Just in case you, you know, don't want to read this part. Mr. Kellers talks about his wife quite a bit, and one time he was on a broadcast of sorts and, apparently, said, "When my wife comes in with the leather and chains, I know I'm in for a good time." O.o Yeah, he had a good talking-to from the Council of Elders after that. I think he was joking. I think. End slightly disturbing old person stuff.
Oh, and then there were the mountains. I went hiking with a group one evening and watched the sun set from up on a mountain surrounded by waterfalls. Wow. It was cold but worth it. And I went for a sunrise hike two days later. The hardest part was the first short leg. I don't know why, but it got so much easier after ascending a bit. My sister Heidi's friend Bonnie and I sat on a lift chair at the "top," giving us a better view (we could see around this obstructive building thing). I can't wait to get pictures developed--she took one of me sitting there with mountains in the background. Also, a grouse practically posed for me on the way back down, so I caught that on film, as well. On Friday, a bunch of us went horseback riding. Too bad the aspens had already lost their leaves--the scenery would've been even more amazing.
There were beverages of a refreshing nature, too. Six of us found this great Thai- / Asian-American restaurant / pirate-themed bar. After lunch, we walked out, came right back in, went up to the bar, and had our waiter as the bartender. We played Texas Holdem, betting with toothpicks and bottlecaps, and I finally sort of got the hang of gambling. Also, we had a few buckets of 7 beers for $7. Yay, Red Stripe! What good, loud, clean fun. And then I had my first shot ever--amaretto, SoCo, and cranberry juice, I think. Does anyone know what that's called? I looked up red-headed slut, but that involves jäger. I went back to the condo for dinner, where my parents brought pizza and ... beer. Hee, hee. Then we went to a rather dry Bible Study. Another night, I had my first tequila shot and Irish car bomb. Whee! I ate and spaced everything out enough so as to avoid stumbling back. But I didn't even get actually drunk (never have). Not to sound preachy, but it really doesn't have to be in excess to be enjoyable. In fact, I imagine it's more fun when you can remember it (and don't, like, barf). On that note, I turn 21 this Tuesday, but have two midterms on Wednesday. :( I guess I may have to wait until the weekend.
I flew back to Madison the morning of the Choral Collage, in which Concert Choir sang three pieces. According to the schedule, the crazy-high "Laudi" had to be memorized, so I furiously put that in my head during the layover. The randomly repetitive text combined with unintuitive chromatics made for quite a chore. When I showed up for the pre-concert rehearsal, I found out that the Laudi would be, of course, sung with music. At least I wouldn't have to look down so much. Second in the program was the Penderecki Agnus Dei, which is exciting to sing--especially when it reaches the fff 16-part divisi at quasi un grido. And then the rest stays around p, which makes for quite the breath support test with all the adrenaline flowing. Then we sang the Shakespeare songs. Fun!
Later in the week, though, each of us had to sing for Bev the hardest parts of each piece (about one on a part). Bleargh. I didn't do too terribly, I suppose, and she had to correct only one flatural I sang in the Laudi passage. Woot! Then on Thursday, she auditioned most of the baritones and basses for the solo in "Now Blue October" by Scott Gendel, my accompanist. I was kind of embarrassed for our section--almost no one seemed to click with it, each for a unique reason. I thought I did really well, except my low range just wasn't coming out. I guess I didn't deal with the "audition" nerves well enough with my breath ("I can sing C and below--really, I can"). Oh well. At least Joel seemed to sound all-around pretty right. So, Matt Haimovitz is coming in Monday--yay! Such an amazing cellist. Oh, and for good measure, check out this and the New York Times review here.
For some reason, "Always Be True" from Sir Oliver's Song popped into my head the other day. I guess it's impossible for me to be PMSing or anything, but it triggered such an emotional response in me. Part of it must be the beauty of its musical simplicity. Also, I love the line, "Love him / her like no other in all that you do." When we did that musical in the Milwaukee church, Carrie (who actually hated the song) sang it so beautifully, I have a hard time imagining it any prettier.
I recently received two Strauss opera recordings via la la! Die ägyptische Helena with Debbie Voigt and Celena Shafer and Die Liebe der Danaë with Lauren Flanigan and Hugh Smith. Both are outstanding, and both CS and HS were soloists in the Mahler 8 I sang here spring of last year. Woot.
But ... too long. Tschau.
So, the Feast in Colorado was pretty much amazing. The choir was better than many church ones I've been in, but the director was a trumpeter. I don't seem to really know any trumpeters who can either sing or direct a choir exceptionally well. Whatever. He did pretty well, except he had an inconsistent / weird conducting pattern and never commented on vocal technique. The woman who sang most of the soprano solos seemed pretty skilled, but she had quite a lot of vibrato. I mean, a lot. I wonder which classical solos she's sung. Anyway, no performance of ours really stands out in my mind, but we did get better as the week progressed, of course. Also, the director asked for an unwritten high note at one point, but named it incorrectly (it wasn't the same high A-flat, which he called an A, he was thinking of--it was a B-flat). No one tried it. Oh well.
There was a "Fun" show one night. Two acts were from Les Mis. The less said about another trumpeter's "Bring Him Home," the better. "I dreamed a dream" was pretty good, but she seemed to want to do everything in a full belt and, not surprisingly, ran somewhat out of gas by the end. But you could tell she knew a few things about music and singing. Most amusingly, Mr. Kilough--President of the United Church of God--sang Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." He dedicated it to his wife and actually pulled it off. At the end, a conglomerated band played, for a sing-along, "Home on the Range," "This Land," and "Country Road." All the verses. Of each. Not quickly. There really needed to be one of those Vaudeville canes to scoop them offstage. I would've left if I'd've realized they were the last act.
Obviously, I wasn't in Colorado for the musical offerings. The sermons were excellent. My dad gave his Song of Solomon one, Mr. Damour gave one on reconciliation and forgiveness, and Mr. Kellers spoke about Africa and, famously, male-female relationships. Disturbing but amusing old person quote following.Just in case you, you know, don't want to read this part. Mr. Kellers talks about his wife quite a bit, and one time he was on a broadcast of sorts and, apparently, said, "When my wife comes in with the leather and chains, I know I'm in for a good time." O.o Yeah, he had a good talking-to from the Council of Elders after that. I think he was joking. I think. End slightly disturbing old person stuff.
Oh, and then there were the mountains. I went hiking with a group one evening and watched the sun set from up on a mountain surrounded by waterfalls. Wow. It was cold but worth it. And I went for a sunrise hike two days later. The hardest part was the first short leg. I don't know why, but it got so much easier after ascending a bit. My sister Heidi's friend Bonnie and I sat on a lift chair at the "top," giving us a better view (we could see around this obstructive building thing). I can't wait to get pictures developed--she took one of me sitting there with mountains in the background. Also, a grouse practically posed for me on the way back down, so I caught that on film, as well. On Friday, a bunch of us went horseback riding. Too bad the aspens had already lost their leaves--the scenery would've been even more amazing.
There were beverages of a refreshing nature, too. Six of us found this great Thai- / Asian-American restaurant / pirate-themed bar. After lunch, we walked out, came right back in, went up to the bar, and had our waiter as the bartender. We played Texas Holdem, betting with toothpicks and bottlecaps, and I finally sort of got the hang of gambling. Also, we had a few buckets of 7 beers for $7. Yay, Red Stripe! What good, loud, clean fun. And then I had my first shot ever--amaretto, SoCo, and cranberry juice, I think. Does anyone know what that's called? I looked up red-headed slut, but that involves jäger. I went back to the condo for dinner, where my parents brought pizza and ... beer. Hee, hee. Then we went to a rather dry Bible Study. Another night, I had my first tequila shot and Irish car bomb. Whee! I ate and spaced everything out enough so as to avoid stumbling back. But I didn't even get actually drunk (never have). Not to sound preachy, but it really doesn't have to be in excess to be enjoyable. In fact, I imagine it's more fun when you can remember it (and don't, like, barf). On that note, I turn 21 this Tuesday, but have two midterms on Wednesday. :( I guess I may have to wait until the weekend.
I flew back to Madison the morning of the Choral Collage, in which Concert Choir sang three pieces. According to the schedule, the crazy-high "Laudi" had to be memorized, so I furiously put that in my head during the layover. The randomly repetitive text combined with unintuitive chromatics made for quite a chore. When I showed up for the pre-concert rehearsal, I found out that the Laudi would be, of course, sung with music. At least I wouldn't have to look down so much. Second in the program was the Penderecki Agnus Dei, which is exciting to sing--especially when it reaches the fff 16-part divisi at quasi un grido. And then the rest stays around p, which makes for quite the breath support test with all the adrenaline flowing. Then we sang the Shakespeare songs. Fun!
Later in the week, though, each of us had to sing for Bev the hardest parts of each piece (about one on a part). Bleargh. I didn't do too terribly, I suppose, and she had to correct only one flatural I sang in the Laudi passage. Woot! Then on Thursday, she auditioned most of the baritones and basses for the solo in "Now Blue October" by Scott Gendel, my accompanist. I was kind of embarrassed for our section--almost no one seemed to click with it, each for a unique reason. I thought I did really well, except my low range just wasn't coming out. I guess I didn't deal with the "audition" nerves well enough with my breath ("I can sing C and below--really, I can"). Oh well. At least Joel seemed to sound all-around pretty right. So, Matt Haimovitz is coming in Monday--yay! Such an amazing cellist. Oh, and for good measure, check out this and the New York Times review here.
For some reason, "Always Be True" from Sir Oliver's Song popped into my head the other day. I guess it's impossible for me to be PMSing or anything, but it triggered such an emotional response in me. Part of it must be the beauty of its musical simplicity. Also, I love the line, "Love him / her like no other in all that you do." When we did that musical in the Milwaukee church, Carrie (who actually hated the song) sang it so beautifully, I have a hard time imagining it any prettier.
I recently received two Strauss opera recordings via la la! Die ägyptische Helena with Debbie Voigt and Celena Shafer and Die Liebe der Danaë with Lauren Flanigan and Hugh Smith. Both are outstanding, and both CS and HS were soloists in the Mahler 8 I sang here spring of last year. Woot.
But ... too long. Tschau.