I felt super nostalgic this year as our first set of graduating seniors sang their last Christmas Mass as members of the choir. Our founders are going to fly off into the world soon, with our love and blessings. Hopefully, next year, I'll be posting how wonderful it was to have the founders back at Christmas to sing with everyone, but for now, it is a bittersweet moment for the SRYC.
Sean Patterson won the Christmas "person who gets the gift card because they've worked/improved/whatever'd" the best and to him, hats off! *smile*
Our program/carolling before Mass included the following:
Angels We Have Heard on High
How Far is it to Bethlehem? (Willcocks, Oxford's Carols for Choirs III)
Away in a Manger
Is it Far to Bethlem City? (Gastoldi, GIA's Ars Antiqua series)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The Angels and the Shepherds
Once in Royal David's City
O Little Town of Bethlehem
The First Noel
Gaudete
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Mass included the following:
Offertory: Resonet in Laudibus
Communion:
Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming (Vulpius)
Unto Us a Child is Born
Sing We Noel (Goemanne)
As to all of my work to record said program and Mass, there is good news and bad news. The video camera was apparently knocked about a bit by parishioners and because I did not have time to look at it, I did not realize how badly framed it was, so we are the choir off to the left... *sigh*. The second bad news of the evening is that the input dial on my tascam, my super happy digital recorder, somehow was pushed to "10" when it got taken to the back during the Junior Youth Choir Mass, and the recordings were BADLY distorted. I saved what I could, but Lo, How a Rose and Sing We Noel are lost to the sands of time and exist only in the memories of those who were there.
As to what DID survive:
Click on this link to see: Of the Father's Love Begotten, and Angels We Have Heard on High
Click on this link to see: Away in a Manger
My personal and enduring favorite of the entire experience...if you only knew HOW HARD they worked to get this ready, you weep with joy and pride. This was a VERY advanced piece for them, in FIVE parts, no less, and we lost an alto early in our season, so poor Ramsay and James were alone on their parts. This is hard stuff for such a small choir, and I actually cried as they were singing this. Good job guys!
Click on this link to see: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, The Angels & the Shepherds, Once in Royal David's City, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and The First Noel
Click on this link to see: Gaudete, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Then Mass began. During O Come All Ye Faithful, the Community Leader had NO idea we were singing Adeste Fideles, then two verses of O Come, and I did not have a microphone I could get to, so, it's probably just as well that the tascam made a mess of that particular recording, though there is something dangerously prophetic and very ironic about me shouting "Latin" helplessly at the congregation while half sang O Come, and half sang Adeste. By the time we got to the third verse, everyone realized there was trouble and looked at me while I waved the number three in the air. I hate those moments in Mass, where something simple has gone horribly wrong and you are left to play it out because you cannot fix it. I apologize to those who were there and confused. We have sung O Come All Ye Faithful this way as long as I have gone to St. Richard's and I'm not about to buck the system and change it, so if it ever happens again, just go with what you know.
Our psalmist, the aforementioned most improved at his singing Sean did a WONDERFUL job at Psalm 96:
At Offertory, I had the presence of mind to push the camera button for Resonet. This is a bit of GOOD luck:
At Communion, I was able to clean up this recording of Unto Us a Child is Born, if for no other reason than to let you hear Sean singing his solo at the beginning. These are moments you treasure if you direct children's choir---the child rises to adulthood and can carry a tune! And what a tune! Hats off again to Sean! *chuckle...have you got the message yet Sean?*
And on a final note, I took a HUGE risk this year and did not program "Night of Silence" at Communion. The last time Helen tried to do that, she got phone calls, and they weren't charitable in nature in the least. My decision to do so yielded the blessed fruit I had hoped, as the ENTIRE congregation sang the hymn that no one does not know from their deep child heart and the moment was special and for me, filled with awe and wonder.
Congregation sings "Silent Night" with choir accompanying for a change:
So, as 2009 closes for the choir, I want to thank ALL the choir members, ALL the choir parents, the staff at St. Richard's, Helen Walsh, Fr. Lincoln Dall (our choir chaplain) and especially our pastor, Fr. Mike O'Brien, whose leadership and support have made this choir possible. God Bless you all, and see you again at Mass in January!
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