Christmas memories of childhood...
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This brought back memories… When I was a mere little kid, I’d get hauled to church frequently, and the 10.30pm candlelight service on Christmas Eve was mandatory, and although I would've never admitted it, pretty cool actually. At some point, the lights would slowly dim, and one alter candle lit several, which in turn lit a candle held by each person in the church. Within maybe 5 minutes, the entire old gothic church was lit just by the tiny flames of about 700 little candles. Then the organ would start softly playing the intro to this hymn, the congregation would begin to stir uneasily in anticipation and dread of what they knew was coming, and then the choir’s soloist, a woman with a voice like Aunt Bea and a vibrato that ranged for an octave either side of whatever note she chanced to land on, would begin the Oh Holy Night Massacre. The poor organist would struggle to stay within a few measures of wherever she wandered, and the admittedly very amateur choir of volunteers (and several who were obviously drafted) basically hummed in uneasy bewilderment behind her. When she got to that big ending, and that long, high "Noel" at the climax, it would actually seem to make your eyes vibrate, and you felt something moving in your ears kinda like when a bug gets up in there. It was an annual Christmas tradition that we actually looked forward to…as children, it was hard to keep from laughing out loud, and I often saw Mom & Dad struggling to remain composed. Even the pastor at times put his head down and his hands to his face, maybe praying, maybe wiping tears, maybe pushing the earplugs further in, maybe wondering why he hadn’t followed up on that football scholarship way back when. When it was mercifully over, there was a long moment of uncomfortable silence as everyone composed themselves before getting back to the task at hand.
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This little 7-year-old does an enormously better job on a difficult song, which in spite of that childhood trauma, remains one of my favorite pieces of Christmas music, and she gets better as it goes on. In spite of a slightly shaky start, from about 3.30 she seems to ascend to another level, and she gives me the chills. Her final "Noel" at 4.10 is nothing short of breathtaking. She is magnificent.
I hope she volunteers at her church!
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