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Today's concert
Sat, Jan. 20th, 2007 10:07 pmToday was our second performance for this concert cycle and I think it went off much better than the first. The chorus sounded wonderful, strong and confident, like real pros. We had an enormous sound, really robust, and performed both pieces (Vivaldi's "Gloria in D" and Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms") better than we ever have.
Our guest artist, Gina Sala, was really quite remarkable. I didn't quite know what to expect because I'd never heard of her before our Artistic Director announced she would be joining us for the show. She performed 6 or 7 chants from different spiritual traditions—Sikh, African, Indian, Buddhist—and had the audience on its feet and chanting with her before long. I enjoyed her portion of the show a great deal, and was delighted to be asked to present her with flowers at the end of the performance.
I was also delighted to discover that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
varina8, butterflydrming and L had come to the show. It's so nice to discover that friends were in the audience. I love to be able to share this sort of thing with friends. Makes it feel like all the work we've done over the last months was worth it and then some.
We had no after-party; there will be a cast party on Tuesday night, but I admit I felt a lack. I felt so good about this performance, I wanted to celebrate a little. I was also tired, though, and so came home and just relaxed.
I'm glad to have done this music. It was hard work, quite challenging, but it's good to know that I'm capable of performing such sophisticated and demanding stuff. Wikipedia says of the Chichester Psalms, "The Psalms and the first movement in particular are noted among performers for their musical difficulty..." and it's true. Bernstein has his choristers singing at full volume at the top of their ranges immediately and in odd tonal juxtaposition to each other. When I first heard this piece, I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but as we worked on it, it really grew on me. Some of the passages are quite beautiful.
All in all, it was ultimately a satisfying season, even with its bumps and trip-ups along the way. Well worth doing, and I'm glad that some of my circle got to hear us.
Our guest artist, Gina Sala, was really quite remarkable. I didn't quite know what to expect because I'd never heard of her before our Artistic Director announced she would be joining us for the show. She performed 6 or 7 chants from different spiritual traditions—Sikh, African, Indian, Buddhist—and had the audience on its feet and chanting with her before long. I enjoyed her portion of the show a great deal, and was delighted to be asked to present her with flowers at the end of the performance.
I was also delighted to discover that
varina8, butterflydrming and L had come to the show. It's so nice to discover that friends were in the audience. I love to be able to share this sort of thing with friends. Makes it feel like all the work we've done over the last months was worth it and then some.We had no after-party; there will be a cast party on Tuesday night, but I admit I felt a lack. I felt so good about this performance, I wanted to celebrate a little. I was also tired, though, and so came home and just relaxed.
I'm glad to have done this music. It was hard work, quite challenging, but it's good to know that I'm capable of performing such sophisticated and demanding stuff. Wikipedia says of the Chichester Psalms, "The Psalms and the first movement in particular are noted among performers for their musical difficulty..." and it's true. Bernstein has his choristers singing at full volume at the top of their ranges immediately and in odd tonal juxtaposition to each other. When I first heard this piece, I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but as we worked on it, it really grew on me. Some of the passages are quite beautiful.
All in all, it was ultimately a satisfying season, even with its bumps and trip-ups along the way. Well worth doing, and I'm glad that some of my circle got to hear us.