Daily Foot-Washing

At the Maunday Thursday Service this evening we will hear again the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet.  In reflecting on this amazing story, it occurred to me that this attitude of humility and service is critical to those of us working in the creative arts- To "bow and to bend" as the Shaker hymn states, when we are attempting to link arms with other artists.

I am embarrassed by how often I try to put forward my ideas, and am less apt to get behind someone else's vision.  Rehearsing notes and rhythms is, in a sense, the easiest part of practicing in a group! The harder parts (for me) are to be truly united with my neighbor, to keep my sound in balance with his or her voice, and to be so attentive to the other parts in the ensemble that I forget about myself completely!  This attitude of washing each other's feet is a daily choice-one I often push aside.  

Passion Narrative

The passion narrative is one of my favorite parts of Holy Week. I don't know what it is - but it feels timeless and accesible. I look forward to it every year. I share it with you here -
http://www.paracletepress.com/the-passion-according-to-st-john.html
please click on the link to listen for yourself.  A Blessed Holy Week to you.

Changing Our Perceptions

One of the challenges of any good choral ensemble is to be ruthlessly honest with yourself and others. As singers we require loads of outside input and criticism because- let’s face it---how we sound in our own head is never how others hear us! How you sing in the shower “dies hard” when you are required to sing well with others!

It is easy to bristle at criticism and yet it is the very thing which allows us to improve. What if we decided to change our perceptions and not look at criticism as a personal attack? I could be hungry for criticism! What do I have to lose...really?

We recognize groups that have decided to approach their craft this way. They are infused with a certain energy and the group is stronger for it. Isn’t this one the many intangibles that draws us in and affects us when we see a spectacular performance?

A willing excitement to have our rough edges chiseled away…perhaps this is what makes great art!

Old Friends

When certain pieces of music have been in our repertoire for 25 years, or even 5, they become like old friends.  Picking up the piece is like a flash-back - stories of concert stages in foreign countries, faces we came to know personally, hours bent over the piece analyzing structure and form and asking God for a vision of what the composer was saying.  The music itself shows signs of familiarity - greasy finger-prints at the corners, spines that have been stapled and re-stapled.  And there's always that slight sense of letting out a breath when we see it's something we've wrestled with and come to love.  But, just like an old friend, there are always new layers to discover.  We sing the Mass for Double Choir by Frank Martin this weekend.  I remember cracking the piece for the first time and it felt so daunting.  Long sustained phrases with subtle movement requiring extreme sensitivity to all the other parts.  We've absorbed and lived with it now for a few years and I think it's safe to say we all love the work.    And it's incredible that still, after all this time, there are things we haven't discovered, a nuance we missed before.  And because WE change, and music lives, there are always fresh perspectives or a new vision to bring to it.  So that music, like an old friend, never becomes "old-hat"

Martin Mass for Double Choir

The choir is singing Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir this weekend. It is a stunning Mass. I can still remember the first time I heard this work. Timeless......  It is obviously a 20th century composition - but it has the depth and gravitas of centuries ago. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. If you can make it to the Church of the Transfiguration this weekend - please do. If not, click on this link and listen to a brief clip of the Kyrie. http://youtu.be/6ftFitCl478