Singing in the Key of Betty

As everyone knows, singing in my choir is something I cherish. It sustains my faith, it keeps me focused and soothes my soul. It has been twelve years now that I have robed up on Sunday mornings and sat next to Betty Cecil, with whom I am joined at the hip.  

Betty and I just love us.  Just ask us, we'll tell you - and we always have loved us. Sure, we share a sense of mischief -- we harmonize when we're not supposed to, like during the Gloria Patri or Doxology, and we've written many, many corny inside jokes throughout the hundreds of anthems we've learned under Michael Rintamaa's baton -- but most of all she and I share an unwaivering need for musical cognizance and responsibility.  We hold the note when we see a fermata and we lift on the dotted quarter notes. We know how to be fortissimo loud and pianissimo puny when the music says so. (and we're not snobs; we just respect the music :)

Also, lately B and I have taken to drawing a bucket in the upper left corner of songs we want the choir to sing when we "claim our baptism."  Now, we both know it would most likely take the choir a good day and half to sing all of them, but we mark them anyway, giving the nod of approval to a nice slice of music. So we 'bucket' the ones we love...but quite honestly, we love them all. 

In fact, it is hard for us not to love the music we sing, because the meaning of everything is always made clear to us by our musical and spiritual guru, the all-knowing-but-always-kindhearted Michael Rintamaa, who is who I want to be when I grow up.  He's the best role model I know. He really is.

Soo, why am I yammering on and on about my choir?  Well, tomorrow we shall finally sing the Magnificat (by Jonathan Willcocks) that we've rehearsed since August. It is five movements, the second one being my favorite (Et Misericordia) and it's an ambitious work to say the least.  At last, however, we rehearsed with the brass and percussion today and at 11am in the morning, the entire choir will rise to its feet and deliver Willcocks' musical version of those precious words of Mary found in the Gospel of Luke.  Our soloists, Amanda Balltrip, Annabelle Gatton-Wright and Mary-Hollis Hundley will sing like angels, and perhaps we will see a glimpse of heaven (it's happened before)! Perhaps you can tune in on the radio and hear it yourself...it's on AM 1580 :) 

I love this prayer that Michael prays at the end of choir rehearsal and want to share it with you tonight and hope it blesses your life as well:

Glorious God,

Source of all Joy and Righteousness,

Enable us as redeemed and forgiven children

evermore to rejoice in singing Your praises.

Grant that what we sing with our lips,

we may believe in our hearts;

and what we believe in our hearts,

we will practice in our lives.

So that by being doers of the Word, 

and not hearers only,

we may receive everlasting Life,

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

pray for peace,

Kimmy