Singing in Churches and Bars

This is the first year in I-don't-know how long that I'm not singing in the church choir for Easter week. It's odd. I think I miss the ritual and the beautiful music and the challenge of learning some semi-impossible Bach piece, but I don't miss TFL grousing about how much time I'm spending away from him.  (Poor thing, he just misses me so.)

There was a time when I thought I would always sing in the choir, regardless of outside obligations. I sang in it when the squirts were little, when I was working full time, when I was in school and would study Greek while singing in Latin (or Latin while singing in Greek). Then one day I found that I just couldn't do it any more.

The reasons are complicated; suffice it to say it was time to set that part of my life aside for a while. I still sing with the band, but that is neither a substitute for singing in choir nor the reason why I left it. Somehow, singing in bars is just not the same as singing in church. The music is slightly different too.

I feel disconnected. There's an important chunk missing, yet I cannot retrieve it. Not now, maybe never, I don't know.

Maybe I'll go find some chocolate now. There's got to be some around here somewhere -- it's Easter tomorrow.

Happy Easter.

Comments

[ulteriorepicure]

citations.

i wish i could sing! it's the only talent i ever wanted - i would trade all of my other (non-existent) talents for the ability to sing...

what's your range?

u.e.

p.s. happy happy Easter (and chocolate hunting).

[Citations]

I'm a soprano, but I usually sing second soprano because I can keep the harmony line. However, my voice is only servicable at best.

Why do we always long for talents we don't have and can't necessarily cultivate? We are silly people, that's why. I know I am.

[Christina]

I can totally understand your mixed feelings on this. Having given up choir this year for the lack of time - or should I say for other priorities that were higher on my list this year, it was terribly bizarre to have been absent from the craziness, yet wonderfulness of the choir during Holy Week. Of course, with the exception of the Mozart "Jubilate Deo", the Easter songs were eh...so so..if David would learn to not do psychadelic '70s music for Easter Sunday it might be a bit better.

But OH did I miss it. I got a temporary fix, though, by cantoring the 11:00 choir mass AND from my MIL who loaned me this beautiful CD of a choir - by the same name as ours, believe it or not. The first song is a flawless "Sicut Cervus"...all of the t's and s's were in the right place. Also on this CD is the Tallis "If Ye Love Me." I'm going to burn it into my computer, so let me know if you want a copy (YRH P, I can do the same for you)

[PatAncester]

A sign of depression for me was doing nothing with my music. A wise counselor told Mom and me that music was my "dynatype" (never di quite understand his use of the word) and that if I stopped doing it my soul would wither away -I would die inside. That's when I stopped what I was doing and looked for another way to live. The muse returned to me but it doesn't dominate me in the same way -perhaps because I'm no longer the same. It pops out in various kinds of creative suprises; I welcome it with joy.