New Years Eve

We brought in the new year in our usual way - going to a concert by the Amidon family, with Keith Murphey, Becky Tracy and their son, Aiden: eight performers in all. It was a bitter cold night, and the Baptist Church sanctuary is huge. It was probably cozy up near the ceiling, but down on the floor where we were, it was cold, so we kept our jackets, mittens and hats on! But it was a wonderful concert, as always.

Keith Murphy and Peter Amidon

                       The whole ensemble

                Tom, Mike and Walter: three of my favorite men

Postponed

Our original plan was to leave Thursday morning for our trip west. But we postponed due to weather - a storm is coming up the east coast into New England tomorrow. We'll see how Friday looks. 

Results

X-rays: Nothing broken. Just bruised. Still painful though.

Today, I got a new crown. Tomorrow we'll be with John & Cynthia for a delayed Christmas. Looking forward to good conversation.

P.S. We did have a lovely time together.

Christmas Day and Revels

We had a lovely Christmas Day at Katie and Savanna's. I had several sore spots from my fall the previous evening, but had a good time anyway. Several traditions honored: e.g., stollen, singing carols, playing Mad libs, one gift per person by lot, playing Salad Bowl, Christmas Crackers, tourtiere, figgy pudding.

Mary, Mimi, Savanna and Jerry at table. The crowns come in the "crackers ."

Tuesday I went to the hospital for X-rays. Results Thursday. The rest of the day I took it easy. 

Today, we went to Revełs in Cambridge. I felt ok and did fine. The theme was Venetian. I was pleased to see that a young man I toured with in Northern Harmony back in 2001, Gideon Crevoshay, was a featured singer. He was good! It was an outstanding show, aurally and visually. No photos allowed during performance but i got these during breaks

     End of the first half

         After the Finale

         Sanders theater

We had a lovely drive down and back listening to Messiah: a really great concert by the Blanche Moyse Chorale back in the early 1980s. Dawn Upshaw was the soprano soloist! The chorus is amazing.

Tomorrow I see the doc at 11a.m. and we host John & Cynthia. 

The dangers of making music!

Christmas Eve I was rehearsing my little Dummerston choir just before the service and I fell backwards and lañded hard on my right hip and right arm! I was distracted by a question and turned and twisted and sort of tripped over my own feet. Somehow I managed to get up, get through the service, direct the choir and get home. But I didn't go to the Guilford midnight service. Lots of aches and pains this morning. Moving is pretty painful. My right shoulder is particularly painful. Meanwhile, we're getting heavy snow this morning. Will we be able to get to Shutesbury? We'll see. I'll probably get everything checked out tomorrow. I didn't realize making music could be so dangerous!

Two more beautiful evenings of music

Wednesday evening was Into the Silence, John and Cynthia's  beautiful service of music and silence for "the longest night." Cynthia played the harp, and John moved between the psaltery, Irish whistle and electric guitar, often accompanied by his nature recordings of whales, seals, and sea birds, etc. It was all just magical, despite the fact that John was not feeling all that great. Still struggling with bebesia,  (or Lyme, or whatever ). Ellen and I set up candles and Ellen brought soup and snacks. I forgot to take even one photo . But the sound was everything.

Then the next evening we drove to Chestnut Hill, MA to the Church of the Redeemer for their Lessons and Carols service. This is where the Shays sang in the choir ten years ago and where Betsey's memorial service was held October,  2016. It was quite a contrast to Into the Silence with full organ, choir, tympani and trumpets! But wonderful in its own way. So glad we could be at both these events. They have made my Christmas. 

      Before the service at Redeemer

Then today Ellen went to get Tamar while I stayed home and put up our very large tree and put on the lights. Tamar wanted to help us decorate the tree - a first for her, growing up as she has in a Jewish home. She really seemed to enjoy putting  on the ornaments. It 's beautiful: 

        Our tree

A wonderful Piffaro concert

Tonight we went to the First Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, PA, for a wonderful concert by the early music group, Piffaro - the kind of early music that uses shawms, sackbuts, dulcians, lutes, bagpipes and recorders. Tonight was German music of the 16th-17th c., featuring esp. Praetorius, but many other composers as well, and a multitude of arrangements of well-known carol  melodies  such as In dulci Jubilo, Est ist  ein Ros, and Nun komm der Heiden Heiland. A soprano with a lovely voice with very little vibrato - a voice that blended beautifully with the recorders - rounded out the ensemble. Very special!

       The lovely poster for the concert

  During intermission. The screen was used to project translations of the Latin and German texts, but they were also in the printed program and I wished they had not used the screen. I found it to be a distraction. And it is sort of ugly . 

The church has a pretty impressive pipe organ!