Another day of gloom
Well, my weather app, which for the past two days failed to predict any of the preciptation we got, seems to have made a tweak that acknowledges that drizzle is still rain. However, it seems to have gone a bit too far in the opposite direction, because I walked the dogs in "precipitation for the next 120 minutes" and the mist was so light that the sidewalks remained dry. This June Gloom is starting to get old, so this is me right now:
Last night's Mozart rehearsal was strenuous but rewarding. We got the final chorus nearly to where it needed to be tempo-wise (read: blisteringly fast), but oh man, the moment you put a bit of weight on the voice for a louder dynamic, at-tempo agility flies out the window. AL did a remarkable job of getting us to sound more buoyant and bouncy within the longer phrases, which I dearly hope will stick for when we sing for Maestro Francis next Monday. I know I myself will need to revisit a few things. I think the most memorable comment of the evening was AL reminding the sopranos to pull back a bit on the final note of a measure before blooming on the next note, because otherwise, she said, "It sounds like you're trying to pull a sock out of vacuum cleaner." *giggles*
In other music news, RV wins all the points for sending us PDFs for all the music for this weekend (morning service, Evensong) as of yesterday, plus music for the funeral on the 22nd. I feel less antsy about all of that now. We've also got our choir potluck tomorrow night, and I need to hit the Persian market for some dolme and pastries. Honestly, I could probably survive an embarassingly long time on dolme. JBH is hosting, and she's awesome, so it should be a good time. RV mentioned she has a hot tub that people were invited to use, if we felt like... well... here he trailed off.
"Divesting?" I suggested.
"Well we won't be in cassocks," commented one of the gentlemen.
"You mean you don't have a bathing cassock?" I asked.
Here RV told us a Healey Willan anecdote (he has many), in which there was a heat wave in Toronto and he encouraged the choir to wear "as little as possible" at rehearsal, while bearing in mind thoughts of modesty. Heeee.
He also let me watch a video in which one of Willan's former choristers related one of the maestro's favorite limericks:
On the bust of a barmaid in Sale
Was tattooed all the prices of ale.
And on her behind,
For the sake of the blind,
Was the same information in Braille!
So yes, I'm looking forward to hanging out with my church music friends. Part of me is looking forward to being able to sleep in on some Sundays over the summer, but a not insignificant part of me is going to miss singing with this bunch of excellent folks for the next couple of months. I'll hardly be idle, between three different sets of rep for Bayside Summer Nights with the symphony, 2 Sundays and a possible wedding with the RSF Catholics, plus summer Evensongs with the Cathedral Schola, my writer's retreat AND OH YEAH friends visiting AND Comic-Con. And before we even get that far, there is Mozart and my family visit and I am getting so so so so so excited! I have a pressie for Mom's birthday, pressies for Mr. 42's birthday (2 days after Mom's), but I still need to figure out a Father's Day pressie for Pop, but I have some ideas and hope to make some progress on that this evening.
And though I have done very little for work today, I'm pleased to report that I've managed to get my vacation requests in order, get several things in order for next week, accomplished a spot of self-promotion, wrote some needful emails, and double-checked my rehearsal calendar to make sure I haven't missed anything. *nods*
OK, off to grab some noms, then distribute exams for a couple of hours and spend some minutes in quiet contemplation and/or watch cute dog videos.
Smooches to All!
Mun42
Last night's Mozart rehearsal was strenuous but rewarding. We got the final chorus nearly to where it needed to be tempo-wise (read: blisteringly fast), but oh man, the moment you put a bit of weight on the voice for a louder dynamic, at-tempo agility flies out the window. AL did a remarkable job of getting us to sound more buoyant and bouncy within the longer phrases, which I dearly hope will stick for when we sing for Maestro Francis next Monday. I know I myself will need to revisit a few things. I think the most memorable comment of the evening was AL reminding the sopranos to pull back a bit on the final note of a measure before blooming on the next note, because otherwise, she said, "It sounds like you're trying to pull a sock out of vacuum cleaner." *giggles*
In other music news, RV wins all the points for sending us PDFs for all the music for this weekend (morning service, Evensong) as of yesterday, plus music for the funeral on the 22nd. I feel less antsy about all of that now. We've also got our choir potluck tomorrow night, and I need to hit the Persian market for some dolme and pastries. Honestly, I could probably survive an embarassingly long time on dolme. JBH is hosting, and she's awesome, so it should be a good time. RV mentioned she has a hot tub that people were invited to use, if we felt like... well... here he trailed off.
"Divesting?" I suggested.
"Well we won't be in cassocks," commented one of the gentlemen.
"You mean you don't have a bathing cassock?" I asked.
Here RV told us a Healey Willan anecdote (he has many), in which there was a heat wave in Toronto and he encouraged the choir to wear "as little as possible" at rehearsal, while bearing in mind thoughts of modesty. Heeee.
He also let me watch a video in which one of Willan's former choristers related one of the maestro's favorite limericks:
On the bust of a barmaid in Sale
Was tattooed all the prices of ale.
And on her behind,
For the sake of the blind,
Was the same information in Braille!
So yes, I'm looking forward to hanging out with my church music friends. Part of me is looking forward to being able to sleep in on some Sundays over the summer, but a not insignificant part of me is going to miss singing with this bunch of excellent folks for the next couple of months. I'll hardly be idle, between three different sets of rep for Bayside Summer Nights with the symphony, 2 Sundays and a possible wedding with the RSF Catholics, plus summer Evensongs with the Cathedral Schola, my writer's retreat AND OH YEAH friends visiting AND Comic-Con. And before we even get that far, there is Mozart and my family visit and I am getting so so so so so excited! I have a pressie for Mom's birthday, pressies for Mr. 42's birthday (2 days after Mom's), but I still need to figure out a Father's Day pressie for Pop, but I have some ideas and hope to make some progress on that this evening.
And though I have done very little for work today, I'm pleased to report that I've managed to get my vacation requests in order, get several things in order for next week, accomplished a spot of self-promotion, wrote some needful emails, and double-checked my rehearsal calendar to make sure I haven't missed anything. *nods*
OK, off to grab some noms, then distribute exams for a couple of hours and spend some minutes in quiet contemplation and/or watch cute dog videos.
Smooches to All!
Mun42