Who is there that singeth so?

Weird, isn't it, how some experiences can cause you to seethe with fury one minute (well, for quite a lot of minutes, actually) and shed tears of joy the next? I was struck by this dichotomy last Sunday, and again tonight. And the thing is, I can't recall any non-singing experience that has ever had the same effect on me. Odd, that.

Somewhat predictably, I spent most of tonight's concert fuming again - so much so, that I made a mental note that I must try to smile tomorrow! Should be easier after some sleep :-) I was irrationally furious with myself because I kept being reminded of things that had made me angry last week and realising that I'd forgotten to list them in my earlier post! I hate my mind at times! The extra fury-causing things, just to set my mind at rest, are: 8. Altos who are still ignoring the rhythmic instructions for the different verses of The Shepherds' Farewell; 9. Basses pronouncing "ver" with a v rather than an f in the Bach; 10. The clapping in Sleigh Ride - by which I mean the general clapping all the way through. We never used to do that, and to me it totally spoils the effect of the surprise claps that I used to love so much. 11. Altos who appear to have either not written in any instructions, or not attended any rehearsals, or just can't be bothered to pay attention, and are therefore singing in the wrong bits of lots of the audience carols (someone near me did this a LOT tonight); 12. (as ever) The behaviour of a few members of the adult choir. I couldn't hear any of the instructions during the warm-up because of people talking near me. Mainly this was the youth choir, but I'm not too surprised that they think it's OK to talk while Jamie is giving instructions, when members of the adult choir are doing exactly that. And then, backstage while Jamie was trying to rehearse the foyer choir, I witnessed two altos having a fairly loud conversation a few feet away, and they actually INCREASED the volume of their speech every time the singing started, presumably so as to be able to hear themselves over the top! I was staggered by their selfishness and rudeness.

I'm sorry to rant (again) but I'm just so sick of all this. I love the actual SINGING in the choir, but I spend almost every rehearsal getting angrier and angrier about all this other stuff, and as a result I can't remember the last time I was in a good mood by the time I got home from choir. Which is sad, because everything ELSE in my life is depressing me at the moment, and choir used to be the one thing that cheered me up. And it still does, every time, but sadly the anger is overshadowing the cheer at the moment.

Anyway, I did promise to list the good stuff, so let me end on a positive note! I'd be interested to hear other people's favourite bits :-)

MY TOP 10 MOMENTS OF THE CAROL CONCERTS

10. "Who is there that singeth so?" from Sir Christemas
9. Jazzy brass bit in Sleigh Ride
8. All the descants - probably O Little Town of Bethlehem is my favourite one, but I love them all
7. The drum fill just before the singing starts in White Christmas
6. The fff bit of the Wassail Song
5. The a cappella verse of O Little Town of Bethlehem
4. The orchestration of the men's verse of Unto Us Is Born A Son
3. Several bits of In Dulci Jubilo - mainly, the bit when both choirs sing together at the top of the second page, and the bit when the men sing a nice A7ish chord to get us to D minor
2. The words (practically all of them) of It Came Upon The Midnight Clear, and the timp roll that emphasises the very last line
1. The 3rd verse of The Shepherds' Farewell, where the oboes have those gorgeous extra bits. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

P.S. Here's some pictures I surreptitiously took tonight and on Sunday, while we were waiting for the orchestra to come on. There are bigger versions here.