Sunday art with a side of piano

I went to a "duo piano" performance today at a local college. Barbara & Michael Musial are not just each fantastic concert pianists in their own right -- they play together. As in, two grand pianos, nose to nose. It was amazing to listen to how well synchronized they are when they play.

I got a great seat near the front so I could really see him play, and found myself rather jealous of them at one point. Performing so well, working so hard(very intense pieces of music) and absolutely beaming. Bach, Gershwin, D'un Matin de Printemps (Of a Spring Morning) - a wonderful way to spend a dreary winter afternoon.

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I had success of my own today, on a MUCH smaller scale (no pun intended). The last few times that I have been cantor (singing the responsorial psalm, etc) I have felt a certain degree of crappy about how my singing has gone. When it comes to the higher notes, my voice gets thin or near breaking and I back off from the note and it sounds like crap. (Mind you, everyone else is always kind, and says "No, it was fine", but in my mind it just wasn't GOOD.)

The other night at rehearsal I was singing a different piece (Ave Verum, an arrangement by Colin Mawby). It's a beautiful, complex, SATB, 8 part piece. Since there are only two altos right now, myself and one other woman, we each since a different line. It's got notes that I consider insanely high for an alto part (the soprano lines are even higher) but I have learned to get to them over the past 3 years with a fair amount of volume. I am much more comfortable with the high notes when I'm singing with other voices (even if they're not singing my line). The choir director was having us run through the song one section at a time (the four sections, SATB) and the other alto and I were up. All of a sudden Bette's head whipped around and she glared at me. "That was beautiful!" sounds funny when someone's a little mad at you. "You can hit those notes there" (points at my seat in the back row) "then you can hit them THERE" (points at cantor microphone.)

Busted. I knew she was right. It's mental. I get up there, get nervous, and my vocal cords tie in knots. I psych myself out since I'm an alto. I got handed today's cantor sheets, and really worked on it at home. Today wasn't perfect, but it was definitely twice as good as usual. I really felt like I could sing out and sound good. I was much better at managing the nerves.

Throw the roses gently, boys.