Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Concert Choir,

I loved our discussion today. It started with me quoting some sentences from Choral Charisma, a truly great work on expressive singing:

"Often in a choral performance, the soul of the music doesn't make it to the soul of the audience . . . Why not? Because the most important "heart and soul connection" often hasn't been developed fully enough. Whose connection is that? That connection belongs solely to the singer. The collective audience can only be moved deeply if the singer's personal connection to the text is compelling and complete."

"When singers are vulnerable, they and everyone around them including the audience, experience their 'naked truth.' That truth is the stuff of great performances."

What's on your mind is on your face. If you are thinking of vocal technique, or getting the words right, that's what your face will say.

We then talked about our first three works in our upcoming performance:

"Alleluia"
"Lobet den Herrn"
"O Sacrum Convivium"

Without a doubt, Maegan Reid nailed it when we started to compare the fire of Alleluia, the intimacy of Lobet, and the eternal nature of O Sacrum with her invoking of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I wish I had thought of that . . . it was so profound and it's been staring all of us in the face for weeks . . . and Maegan revealed it to us today. Martin had some profound thoughts on O Sacrum about a year ago . . I invite you to read it here.

Let's find that personal connection to the text and to the music. Let's experience the power of emotion while we sing. It would be a shame to work this hard on the music and not experience it's joy.