Christmas eve 2006

Our church choir's one big performance at 10pm last night went off at last, after something like eight weeks of practice, with many of the same hymns as last year.

Choral preludes (9:30 PM)

1. O Holy Night (Adam)


2. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen


3. Gesù Bambino soprano solo (Yon)


4. Panis Angelicus tenor solo (Franck)


5. Pie Jesu soprano/alto duet (Webber)


6. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (Wesley - Mendelssohn)

Mass

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful (Wade - Adeste Fideles)


2. A Christmas Gloria (Gibson)


3. A Child Is Born (Deiss)


4. Christmas Alleluia (Dean)


5. Offertory - He Shall Be Called (Callaway)


6. Sanctus - Mass of Creation (Haugen)


7. Profession of Faith - "O Come Let Us Adore Him" (Wade - Adeste Fideles)


8. Amen - Mass of Creation (Haugen)


9. Lamb of God - Mass of Creation (Haugen)


10. Communion meditation -
11. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring violin and piano duet (J. S. Bach)


12. Communion hymn - Silent Night/Night of Silence (Kantor)


13. Joy to the World (Watts - Händel)

I would be exaggerating to say that everything went off without a hitch, but I think the issues we had to deal with were pretty small - a missed cue here, a disjointed accompaniment there, a thump when someone touched a microphone - that most of them were probably just at the threshold of perception for the audience. On the other side, we seemed not to have as much of the chronic flaws we fought during practice (ragged entrances and a pronounced tendency to go flat), plus the crowd maybe 25% larger than what we had last year, in this time slot that always poses such a challenge.

Finally, after the last hymn, I made an announcement: Nobody was to leave until they'd had a chance to pick up one of the cupcakes I'd made! From the sound of the thanks I received, I think I might have earned some (almost literal) brownie points thereby.