Rehearsal Time

Cantate rehearsals have started, and if I had to choose one word to describe them, it would be "intense." We've set two concert dates in mid-November (Fri the 14th and Sun the 16th), and in less than six weeks of rehearsal, we will have learned 14 pieces. Gulp. I basically skated through chorale rehearsals at Cornell, feeling no obligation to practice on my own. Here though, I feel as though I'm learning to walk a tight rope without a safety net. Since the group is small, there's usually only one or two other people singing my voice part. I've befriended Tracy, a fellow Alto-1 who is also new to the group. Unfortunately, she is generally more lost and clueless than I am, so I am the one taking the lead. And unlike any other instrument, if you lose your note or get out of tune, it can be very difficult to correct yourself.

Moreover, the repertoire is fairly challenging. Chords are unintuitively complex, time signatures are constantly changing, and the Ives piece is written with different key signatures for the women and men. After a particularly painful run-through of the Barber Reincarnations, our director commented wryly, "Some of us need to put this one under our pillows. Some of us are doing just fine." Tracy and I gave each other baleful looks.

Right now, we're only focusing on getting the notes correct and rhythms accurate. There are a host of other stylistic issues that I need to think about, from the way I pronounce my x's (split the sound into k-s such that "lux" turns into "luk-s") to learning how to breathe (in less obvious places). Almost everyone else has more extensive choral experience compared to me, so while I'm encountering a lot of new ideas for the first time, this is standard stuff for the others. I'm thrilled that this group is giving me room to grow as a musician, but man, do I have a lot of work to do.

I could really use a keyboard.

In the moments when everything comes together, our sound is hands-down gorgeous. Today's rehearsal ended with a spiritual, a free-flowing outburst of joy and emotion. As our voices echoed through the nave, I marveled at how these 16 random people had come together to produce a work of art in unison. And just as quickly, it was gone, and we went our separate ways.