We have been learning/practising the songs for this since before half-term – so how come I still didn’t feel I knew them? Talk about a slow learner……
I wasn’t looking forward to the concert at all and thought I would much rather have been at the meal for volunteers at the café. I was nervous and felt a bit sick (again!) and that was just before the rehearsal! I naturally slept badly the night before. Once we started it wasn’t so bad and I do know what everyone tells me, that in a choir one isn’t heard so it doesn’t matter, but that doesn’t help much. I worry because I might be heard if I go wrong and I don’t want to let other people down.
I was also concerned about the readings between the songs/carols. I have been to too many carol concerts/services where there have been horribly twee readings that sentimentalise the message of Christmas. I think the church can be guilty of this as much as anyone – making the powerful Christmas story like a fairy tale, in line with Father Christmas and the fairy on the tree, instead of the amazing message that the wonderful, glorious, creator God chose to come and live with his creation as a tiny vulnerable baby so that (in part) we might get to know a little bit of what God is like. I think I would have difficulty in believing in God in the abstract – it is only through Jesus and what he said and did that I can believe in Him. Anyway, back to the concert! Perhaps I should have trusted Fiona more, realising she wouldn’t sentimentalise it. It was not religious in any way, but I suppose reflected the way most people think of Christmas: as a time for family and presents and tinsel and food and …… The readings were on the whole thoughtful or funny – I should certainly have expected the latter! But there was no pretence about it being anything else.
The rehearsal was in the afternoon, from about 2.0 to about 4.0 and was the first time all the choirs had rehearsed together. That was rather necessary as our choir had not sung with the men and that makes a big difference in some of the carols. On the whole it went quite well, I think.
The actual concert was at 7.30, so we had to be there by about 7.15. Some of the people at the rehearsal weren’t at the concert, mostly because it was tiring and others were at the concert but not at the rehearsal, because they were busy in the afternoon. Fiona had said that either was OK – I like the way she sounds so laid back about it!
Coffee Choir wore their new scarves – well some of us did! All the altos had scarves and Fiona wore hers when we were doing our number, but some people refused to wear one – not sure why, apart from one person who is allergic to wool, or something.
There was quite a good audience, especially considering the horrible rainy weather and the fact that there is limited parking near the church where the concert was held. I thought it went quite well, but the women’s choirs sounded a bit “thin” – both individually and together. That was probably the acoustic of the church – not that I know anything about it.
The men don’t seem to have the same problem as the women, even when they were singing from the back and nor did it sound like that when all the choirs were together.
I couldn’t hear all the parts of all the readings, but enjoyed the extract from “The Grinch who stole Christmas” by Dr Seuss (which, by coincidence, I am giving to 2 small children at Christmas) and the quote from the fourteenth century passage about how to behave at feasts which says men are to cut up the meat for women! (I think only men carried knives in those days and cutlery was not provided.) The poem Fiona read was good too and obviously rang bells with some people (see: http://www.lctn.com/humor/mother.htm )!
So did I enjoy it? I think that would be pushing it a bit, but I think I am glad I did it, even though I couldn’t get to sleep and then slept really badly, afterwards. I always enjoy the company and if I was more confident and got less nervous it would be better. If it hadn’t been the alternative to a free meal it would have been good too! We apparently raised over £800 for the Syria appeal, which was certainly worthwhile.