The Carthage Choir is in the final few days of preparation for a very special performance coming up this Sunday afternoon- John Rutter’s “Mass for the Children,” which will be a finale of a special Mother’s Day choral concert at Carthage. Today was our second rehearsal with the chamber orchestra that is accompanying us – and although there are certainly plenty of shaky moments that need shoring up, much of it already sounds radiant and lovely- and the big climax at the end of the Gloria is absolutely thrilling. It is an exceptional pleasure to be singing the beautifully written baritone solos, and I am joined by Sarah Gorke who is hitting the soprano solos right out of the park.
So let me explain the odd headline here above. As we were all departing the rehearsal today, one of our best guy singers – I think I’ll leave his name out of it – came up to me in the chapel lobby with a big smile on his face and said “You are making the most wonderful . . . “ and I was hoping (and expecting) that he would finish that sentence with the word “sounds.” Because I think I’m really singing really well and was so delighted that this particular student would take the time to offer me such a compliment.
But no. He finished the sentence with the word “faces.” As in, “you are making the most wonderful faces.” It turns out that he and others in the choir couldn’t help but notice how I would wrinkle up my nose or otherwise inadvertently make a face whenever things in the choir went a bit out of tune. But the winner apparently came as we were rehearsing the end of the “Dona nobis pacem” when Mr. Noble didn’t seem to realize how the basses were butchering a certain a cappella phrase and instead complimented them. I must have had a stunned look of disbelief on my face which caused no end of amusement in the choir. But what strikes me as even funnier is the hijacked compliment of my singing that turned into something else. It’s amazing how life can contain these little hidden Humility Injections. But after tasting plenty of glory over the last several days, it is good for me to get my ego pricked a bit.
By the way, to whatever extent I possess an expressive face, it is thanks to my mother – and I can think of many moments when Marshall and I have been together that he has stopped right in the middle of a conversation to laugh and say “you looked SO much like your mom just now”- meaning that I got some look on my face that reminded him of her. . . especially when I get excited about something. Whenever I picture my mom, it’s almost always with either a big smile on her face (she had a dazzling smile) or with some other potent expression on her face. So today I guess I was paying homage to my mom’s memory without even realizing it.
pictured: rehearsing the Rutter Mass for the Children with the Carthage Choir and members of the wind ensemble. That’s Mr. Noble on the podium.