Musical Sunday

(Also a late post, but I wanted to not post twice in a day. :D )

December 12th was our ward Christmas program. Our ward choir has been working on music for the program since the end of October. I think the ward was able to hear how much time and love we put into each of the pieces. We sang:

a Sally DeFord arrangement of O Holy Night
a duet of Away In a Manger (I was the alto)
a combination of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (sung by the men) and Angels We Have Heard On High (sung by the women)
What Child Is This
I Believe In Christ (congregation joining for the fourth verse)
an arrangement of O Come, All Ye Faithful

Later that night, Clark and I were able to attend the Messiah Sing-In hosted by our old BYU 14th Stake. It was really fun to see so many old friends and to hear such young talent (normally those solos are sung by veterans of the opera or MoTab, it feels like). I think my favorite part, though, was hearing a good ensemble accompany the choir. :)

Remember to vote on the baby's gender!

Christmas Songs

So, I used to work at a store where I had almost no control over what music we listened to over the intercom system. This only became particularly frustrating when Christmas season hit. And I don't just mean December--I mean October 15thish - December 31st. You see, most of the "approved" radio stations would start Christmas music long before Halloween ever hit. This was kind of . . . annoying? I don't really want to use that word because I do love Christmas music, I just can't take the same 10 songs over and over again. And while in my heart I know there are more than ten Christmas songs out there (even my Church's hymnbook contains 14) it just felt like the stations couldn't wait 45 minutes before starting the same music again. So, I made a list. Mainly because I wanted to be annoying and prove that the stations COULD go more than three hours before repeating a song (I remember hearing Silent Night three times in less than 90 minutes time and, even though they were different arrangements, I more heartily starting thinking ). So, here is a list that I'm making off the top of my head. And I'm going for spiritual and secular here, so you'll see my train of thought sort of wander. If you see something you think is missing, feel free to leave a comment. :D

1. The First Noel
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. O Come All Ye Faithful
4. O Tenanbaum (Christmas Tree)
5. O Holy Night
6. Silent Night
7. Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
8. Mary, Did You Know?
9. Joy to the World!
10. Handel's Messiah (I'm just lumping them all together; giving the radio a sporting chance)
11. Up on the Housetop
12. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
13. the 12 Days of Christmas
14. Jingle Bells
15. Silver Bells
16. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
17. I Wonder as I Wander
18. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night
19. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
20. Jingle Bell Rock
21. White Christmas
22. Blue Christmas
23. Santa Baby
24. Baby, It's Cold Outside
25. that Hippopotamus song
26. All I Want For Christmas
27. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!
28. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
29. Deck the Halls
30. Fum, Fum, Fum
31. Ding, Dong, Merrily on High
32. What Child is This?
33. Feliz Navidad
34. Mary's Lullaby
35. Coventry Carol
36. Stars Were Gleaming
37. the Holly and the Ivy
38. We Three Kings
39. Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains
40. Angels We Have Heard on High
41. O Little Town of Bethlehem
42. Once in Royal David's City
43. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
44. Good King Wenceslas
45. Here We Come A-Wassailing
46. Christmas Waltz
47. My Grown-Up Christmas List (you know, by Mariah Carey, I think?)
48. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
49. Carol of the Bells
50. I Saw Three Ships
51. Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella
    

There. I have 51 songs, and I only had to pause a couple of times (mostly because I can't spell 'hippo' or 'Wenceslas', but once after 39 songs, just to take a moment to see what else I could think of). Let's say the radio station plays three songs in a row, then goes to a three minute commercial break and the average song is three minutes long. That would mean that in one hour, they play 15 songs. So, I have more than three hours worth of material. Huzzah! Now, let's call our radio stations and ask them to use a little variety, eh?

Messiah Sing-Along!

After a crazy Sunday, it was nice to head down to Payson to enjoy a Messiah Sing-Along! With me were my roommate Becks, Kralc and his brother, Ty. We had a lot of fun, especially during the Amen chorus where the girls proceeded to get lost while the boys (who were sight-reading, mind you) chugged along. And this is a horrible picture because I'd taken almost 300 in an hour's time earlier that day and was tired of aiming and making things look good, so, yeah, here we are, scrunched together right after it ended!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3

Music is a powerful thing. It's actually one of my favorite things in the world. Especially when it has a purpose.

This evening, I was able to attend and participate in the BYU 14th Stake Choirside. It is a tradition where all the ward choirs prepare a piece and sings it for the rest of the stake. This year, my ward sang "Silent Night" which has, unfortunately, gathered quite the not-so-good reputation in my book. However, something about this version just made it feel all the more special. I really thought about the words, we were accompanied by a violin and cello (which has to be one of my favorite instruments in the world) which added so much more depth to the piece and I could tell that other members of the choir really understood the message that Christ was born for us, He lived for us and He died for us so that we could be together again.

Good music can change everything for the better and I hope that you, dear readers, let it.

George Frideric Handel is a freakin' genius

I think my title says it all. :D