(no subject)

[hermionesviolin]

Singspiration this Friday was kind of odd.

When Jeff C. first opened it up to requests, there was silence. "This has never happened before," he said. (Usually people already have their hands up, and some people will just call out numbers.)

When we got to the Christmas carols section, the first hymn requested was a generic "Jesus is awesome" sort of hymn. And someone else requested "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming." Elyse and I were both like, "This is a hard song to sing." Don T. didn't even know the hymn. (At least we sang it with the held notes instead of all the weird slurs, so it actually felt fairly easy to sing.) When I told Ari this story, she said, "Maybe they figure they'll get to sing the songs like 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' on Christmas Day, but the only way they're going to get to sing 'Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming' is if they request it."

***

There was a Sunday NYTimes out during Coffee Hour at FCS, and an article on the front page opened, "It sounds like a tough sell: a game that involves catapulting birds at elaborate fortresses constructed by evil pigs."

Keith and I were both like, "How is that a tough sell? That sounds awesome."

Comments

[eponis.livejournal.com]

TRUE singers sing "Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming" in the original German!

When/what is Singspiration? It sounds like the sort of thing I might enjoy a lot.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

It's a hymn sing sort of event at the church I grew up in (United Church of Norwood). Segments where people can request their favorite hymns (out of the Celebration Hymnal, 'cause that's the one in the pews) are interspersed with invited soloists, trios, etc. whom Joe F. knows from various churches (e.g., Tremont Temple, Somerville Community Baptist, Fort Square Presbyterian). It very much has an "old favorites" bent to it ("The Old Rugged Cross," for example, gets requested basically every time). I hang out in the back with the other ushers and the sound tech and try to keep my mouth shut when I find songs particularly offensive.

The next one is scheduled for Jan. 21. Dates to hold after that are March 4 and April 8. It starts at 7:30pm; choir rehearsal starts at 6:45pm. (The parts where people request hymns, everyone sings, but there's also a part where the choir -- made of anyone who's there early and is interested -- sings a hymn.) I take the 5:40pm Franklin Line out of South Station after work, have dinner with my family, and then stay overnight. The program runs about 3 hours, with snacks afterward, so taking the commuter rail back into the city Friday night is definitely doable. (You can also sleep on the couch at my parents' house if you wanted.)