To laugh at onesself

[mundungus42]

Last week Pacific Women's Chorus had solo auditions. I was recovering from being ill and was hanging on to what remained of my voice for dear life and fighting through congested brain. I felt that I did reasonably well, considering.

The big work that everybody wanted a piece of was Franz Biebl's incandescent Ave Maria, which has three solos (alto

Comments

[ccwong]

"Mundungus42, soprano(??) solo"? Bah, these things usually has a lot more to do with the blending of the colors of the voices than anything else. Besides, it takes a stronger than usual musician to take on an alto solo!

[mundungus42]

You're entirely too kind :D I am excited about the solo. It's going to be pretty much the only time in the whole concert where I get to sing at full voice. Such is the lot of the high sop! :D

[camillo1978]

Ah, see now you've inspired a monster. My step-dad likes choral music (he's a good tenor in a very bad village church choir and parties grind to slack-jawed listening halts if there's kareoke).

I thought I'd make him an ITunes choral mix CD as a thoughtful but cheap Christmas pressie and the Biebl Ave Maria is just perfect for it. Thank you! So far I have:

Eric Whiteacre - Lux Arumque
Thomas Luis de Victoria - Oh Magnum Mysterium
Rheinberger Abendlied
Franz Biebl - Ave Maria

I don't suppose you have any suggestions? A few slightly merrier things might be good and I'm hopelessly uninformed.

I think the R&B thing sounds good, especially if it's really different for you. Rock on ;-)

[mundungus42]

I love this idea! For fun and upbeat, I wholeheartedly recommend choral tracks from the Spike Jones Christmas Album, which is the best novelty Christmas album ever recorded (and all choral arrangements are luscious, jazzy, and very, very funny (except for a few serious numbers). The Jingle Bells Medley is fabulous (there's even a bit in Pig Latin), and "Nuttin' for Christmas," sung by a childrens' chorus, is darling. It's hard to go wrong with Britten's "Ceremony of Carols" ("This Little Babe" is fast, martial, and freaking awesome, "Balulalow" is beautiful). Messiah is almost obligatory (a "Hallelujah!" sing-along is obligatory during Christmas breakfast at my parents'), though you could be sneaky and put in "All We Like Sheep" or something unusual like that ("For Unto Us" is my favorite, though). Chanticleer and Anonymous 4 tend more towards the slow and medieval Christmas tunes, but they are super. If you'd like additional recs, I will be happy to ask my mom, who is the undisputed queen of Christmas music in my family. She loves

[camillo1978]

Oh, you're a star! Thanks for the tips. I'll go and have a dig around ITunes and let you know how I get on :D