MTC Week #59 - What It Is

Typically I have something come into my mind each week that I build my blog post around. But this week I've just been so buried in memorizing that I haven't really thought of much else in regards to my experience with this great choir. I finally printed off the listing of pieces that we'll be singing next week and went through them one by one--putting an "X" next to the ones I know well, an "O" next to the ones that I kind of know, and a STAR next to the ones I don't know very well at all. I needed to do this so I could bring some order to the chaos, and hopefully help me see that I'm further along than perhaps I thought I was. 

Thankfully the Xs and Os exceeded the stars! 

So I pulled out those I put stars next to and went to work this week trying to get them down. Some days it was an hour, some 1/2 hr, and some just a few minutes. I played the rehearsal tracks while working and while in the car too. One day I just needed a break. So I put all the music away and tried to clear my head and make room for other things since, despite the calling of being in the choir, life outside the Tabernacle marches on and needs my attention and focus (I can hear my wife and kids agreeing with that statement!).

This morning for the Music & the Spoken Word broadcast, all pieces were to be memorized (as was the case last week and will be the case next week). Of particular importance was "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" and "Hymn of Praise". It doesn't happen very often that you see senior members of the choir looking over their music minutes before the broadcast begins. But today was one of those days. I think there are more words in "Hymn of Praise" than any other 5 min song I've sung. And unless you are thinking one phrase ahead all the time, you're likely to miss words here and there because they go by so quickly. The biggest reason why "Hymn of Praise" was being memorized all over again for the non-newbies is because half the words had changed since they had sung it last. I guess composers and lyricists have the right to do that (Mack Wilberg & David Warner)!

Anyway, it all turned out well this morning. I think I got most of the words and most of the basses around me did as well. Plus, Mack gave us two thumbs up after the broadcast, meaning we did very well. Aside from it sounding well from a technical and lyrical standpoint, I was really impacted by the "Love Divine..." song. Tears weren't far away for that one. I kept thinking that surely someone out there listening would really be touched by this song today.

I end today with a paragraph from the Spoken Word portion of today's program (compliments of Lloyd Newell). Mainly because I really believe this theme of LOVE is one of the most important of them all. 

"Those three words "I love you" are perhaps the most important words in our language. Of course, they mean something only if they are backed up by authenticity and actions. But the words themselves are important too. So many people go through the day or week or even the year and rarely hear those three simple words. We all need to know that we are loved, that we matter to someone, that we have a place in another's heart. This is what gives us confidence to face the cold world; it is what makes us feel alive.

"Tell someone, 'I love you' today."

Singing "Hymn of Praise" (2/15/15)

Until next time, God be with you!