Christmas music, Christmas music, Christmas music everywhere! When the Choir starts meeting three times a week, with an extra rehearsal on Sunday as well, you know the Christmas season has fully arrived. We meet, we get right to work, we memorize, we internalize, and we enjoy. We also get tired and a bit overwhelmed at times. And I know our families miss us. But all in all, it's a wonderful experience.
Do you think it's any coincidence that the holiday with the most incredibly moving music is the Christmas holiday? Yes, there are stirring patriotic songs and wonderful Easter ones as well. But I think Christmas songs take first prize.
So along Music & the Spoken Word today, we also participated in the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional, this evening. I loved how we opened with a piece from Handel's Messiah, "For Unto Us a Child is Born". It was perfect! We followed with "Noe! Noe!", "Carol of the Bells", and some others. "Carol of the Bells" was a special request from President Uchtdorf and he told about the history of the song in his address. If I remember right, the original title of the song was "Shchedryk" (Ukranian) which stands for "bountiful giver".
Some basses singing "For Unto Us a Child is Born" |
At any rate, it was a very fine evening, indeed. And intermixing the wonderful music with some spiritually uplifting messages was the perfect way to bring in the true spirit of Christmas.
Not a very lengthy post for today, but it's time for me to get some sleep. Another week dawns soon, and with it, plenty more rehearsals and stresses of non-choir related life.
Until next time, God be with you.
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