singers at singing

Harmonies held its annual hymn sing at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church Sunday, March 24, 2013.  A choir of select singers from Berks and Conestoga Christian high schools added choral sounds.  The hymns sing itself featured a set of newer hymns from "Sing the Story" on the theme of season of spring (Passover, Pentecost, etc.) and a set on season of prayer, 19th and 20th century traditional hymns on prayer.  Here are the singers warming up.

flute solo audio file, Dec. 16

Yesterday Brynn Godshall played flute for an arrangement I made of "My soul proclaims with wonder" (Hymnal a worship book #181).  I played the organ.  I captured the performance (2:45 min.) on my H2 recorder.  Lovely flute.  Thanks, Brynn.  Listen here:

https://www.box.com/s/3vwexe2a7ptvy72tlmv1

The tune was written in 1990 by J. Harold Moyer, a long-time prof at Bethel College, Kansas.  One of his hymn tunes, FAITH, has gotten a lot of mileage in several hymnals, "I sought the Lord."

the high notes

When are notes high and when are they high?  With a counter-tenor it seems as if they are all high; but soon you get into the alto zone and then you just listen to the music.  Here's the ticket to the concert.  See the link on my Dec. 3 post if you want to hear him.

Bach for today

Someone sent me this youtube.  It’s an attractive attempt to show Bach's music as relevant to the modern world.  Notice, they didn’t have the heat in the church up and the musicians all dressed for the cold.  The singer, a counter-tenor, is singing in Lancaster's, Ware Center, Dec. 5, after a concert in Atlants and before a show in New York.  Art music (or classical music) is losing market share and some people attribute that to the tuxedo/gown dress and hierarchical conventions which often go with it which make it seem stuffy.  Yo-yo Ma is an example of someone trying to integrate into contemporary life styles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENFo_QOyiRA

Taylor's trombone pipes out a medley

The flash made annoying shadows on the photo, but you can see a good image of the trombone and Taylor holding it, after the worship service July 8.  (That me on the right).  He played a set of three hymns, all in our hymnals, and all on the theme of walking with God:  Trust and Obey (when we walk with the Lord), We Will Walk in the Valley ("...Jesus himself will be our leader...), and Just a Closer Walk with Thee.

Sure, more often it's a trumpet that plays solo in church, but Taylor had the advantage of low notes a trumpet could never dream of, almost two octaves below middle C, and his beautiful mellow range a half octave above middle C, to take our thoughts from reflective introspection to jubilant high beauty.

Thanks, Taylor.