Home again home again

And this time for awhile, thankfully. I love to travel but between the holidays, the cruise, and this quick trip I feel like I've barely seen my house lately (not to mention my husband). So it's nice to be back, and to know that I'm not taking off again anytime soon.

But it was a great trip. As previously mentioned, hanging out with cupcakemonster was a blast and I was happy to see a bit of Vancouver, even if it did rain the whole time. And the concert was one of I've been to, in terms of the band's energy and their interaction with one another and the audience. The Parade of Bald Techs is not something I'll forget soon. And the last encore was one of my favorite songs by them ever ever ever, and I've only heard it a couple of times live, so there was much squeeing. I am very glad I went and that I dragged luvmoose along with me. This may be my last BNL for awhile, but it was worth it.

Also...

( DO NOT READ )

music night

Tonight's rehersal was most enjoyable. We spent the first bit with the assistant director, who's a kick -- he's a young Welsh man with a marvellous accent and a lively sense of humor. Which I find quite necessary this quarter, since the piece we're doing is dense and difficult and can be hard to like. But he kept us moving and engaged even as we ran these little tiny segments over and over, trying to get notes and especially rhythms down, and we made real progress I think.

The piece is an unusual one, an oratorio by Sir Michael Tippett, a modern English composer. It was written by a pacifist during the early days of World War II, and the text is a mix of lyrics that he himself wrote and African-American spirituals ("Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen", "Go Down Moses", "Deep River", etc.) The spirituals are gorgeous and a lot of fun to sing. The original text parts are complex, broken up into short sections, and, in many places, not particularly melodic ("crunchy"), all of which makes it difficult to learn. I am coming to like parts of it, but it will never be my favorite choral work.

Tonight, though, after we made our progress through our nasty crunchy bits, we finished up with a setting of "Deep River" that is totally gorgeous. It nearly brings tears to my eyes in places. I'm glad it's last -- when I'm up on the stage, pushing my way through the concert, I love knowing that I have something completely awesome to look forward to.

"I would know my shadow and my light, so shall I at last be whole."