Hallelujah Chorus

As many of you may know already, I come from and married into a musical family. As is the Ploss Family Holiday tradition, we gather together our friends and extended families and party on one Saturday night in December. We sing, and eat and drink and sing some more, until we can't. (Eat, drink or sing!) The great thing about the singing at our party is that it's usually in 4 parts and our accompanist is good!

This year's party, which is in it's waning hours even as I write this was the first one I've missed in 25 years. I was kinda bumming about it last night and this morning, so I decided to do something different to keep my mind off it. I decided to go to church for the first time since July 11. (As my friend Anne jokingly said, "Forgive me Father for I have sinned...")I realized I missed singing Christmas and Advent music. It's been a HUGE part of the yearly cycle of seasons for my entire life. I was raised in the Presbyterian tradition, and have been doing something Presbyterian for all my Trumansburg years. Church this morning was a welcome, pleasant and familiar diversion. On my way home, I stopped in a music store and picked up 2 books of seasonal piano jazz.

When I got home, I checked my email and found a REALLY URGENT message from Chris to send him my phone number. I quickly skyped the party at Bob and June's and heard the familiar strains of carols in the background. I got passed around for a few minutes, saying hello to friends, and then....they sang the Hallelujah Chorus one more time just for me! There were only just a few folks left at the party, Bialkes, Sutcliffes, and Plosses-a-plenty, but they put their hearts and souls into that performance. As I heard their enthusiastic voices coming through my wee computer speakers, I was overcome with thankfulness- that I have such amazing, loving (and talented!)friends and family, and longing-it made them seem farther away somehow. It was the best sounding Hallelujah I've ever heard, (who WAS that tenor?) and it reduced me to a puddle. I'm guessing it was a funny puddle, because Nate and Matt were pointing and laughing.

Just as the Hallelujah Chorus is a Christmas and Easter tradition in our culture, Beethoven's 9th Symphony (the Choral Symphony) apparently is the big thing here in Japan. My niece Sandra Wayman sent me this link to an article describing how this is so. I actually have a Japanese aquaintance who will be participating in the world's biggest 9th Symphony performance here in Februaury.

Check it out: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEFDF1E3FF93AA15751C1A966958260


Wishing you Love, Laughter and Music this Christmas Season!