I was privileged to be the musician for our latest pastoral conference. A lot of fun in one way, and yet also a true stomach ache in another. I will always be grateful to my mom and dad - especially my dad - for the gift of music. I remember asking for the piano as a teenager and being utterly shocked when he went out and got it. For years and years, playing the piano has been a joy and delight. Nothing I like more than to have the kids and their friends and Cindi and others gathered around the piano and singing, harmonizing, having a great time.
BUT playing all the services for the pastoral conference gave me a constant stomach ache. It didn't help that the service settings went from easy (to me) to the most difficult - this morning was "Morning Prayer" - a service whose harmonizations I truly dread. So 20th century and so NOT the way that this boy plays. But thanks be to God through His grace I *think* I made it through without any major screw-ups that would invite attention away from the Lord and His words of life and onto the pianist!
What the whole thing really enforced to me was that so-called "Anglican chant" really does seem to be quite natural - for me to play and for the people to sing. I think it "fits" English in a way that no other method of chanting really does. The new Magnificat setting in Evening Prayer (I mentioned before) uses that chant and I was both surprised and delighted at how easily folks picked it up and ran with it. As my District President said to me after the Evening Prayer service, he'd never sung it before, but he was able to sing it comfortably.
Oh, and it also reminded me that I HATE playing in E-flat - those wretched three flats and then all the accidentals along the way in Lasst uns erfreuen!!! Some songs were MEANT to be in C. That's one of them. :)
E-flat is bad. A-flat (LSB 578) is nasty. My fingers are almost too long for all those black keys. :)
ReplyDeleteBoy, can I relate to stress like this. It reminds me of a privileged experience field with stress. One time ex-President Fidel Ramos came to Melbourne to speak to us Filipinos in 'diaspora'. The Filipino ministers here asked if I could pray for the president (since he is also a Protestant) before his speech.
ReplyDeleteI came quite early but that did not do a lot for my stress. So he arrives and 10 minutes before my portion to pray, I was so filled with stress I went to the bath room so many times I felt all the fluids in my body wanted to just burst out. I was so nervous I was still in the toilet a couple minutes before I was called.
Sometimes I wonder if my minister friends played a joke on me.
Yeah, play in C and watch the trumpet and Bb sax guys moan because it's D to them -- or "two sharps".
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, that was my first paying gig -- playing background dinner music for a fundraiser for the building fund of a Lutheran church. Now ELCA. Oy.
These days I sit there with my PhD in music theory and keep my mouth shut. Hey, maybe I can fit in a little Jimi "Red House" before bed! Man could he play the Blues!
I can only think of one time my attention was drawn to the pianist - during a certain stanza of "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones". but that was only because I know you.
ReplyDeletethank you so much for your service to God and man this week
I'm bet you had more fun than not.
ReplyDeleteHey, isn't it someone's birthday....hmmmmm.. who could it be???
Well...I think allll songs should be in C. It makes my life easier...we started adding sharps and flats in my beginning class...I still don't like them...you'd think after 10 years I'd at least have a love hate relationship. but no. it's allll hate.
ReplyDeleteps you're old.
p.s.s. trust me, I can see it in your hair...no matter how often you trim it (daily.) the gray...totally still there.
I prefer c minor to E-flat. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThose were Bach's favorite keys.
Deb,
ReplyDeleteDon't remind!
Lew,
Behave yourself!
Maria,
Hardy-har! It's the danged A-flat that screws me up all the time. Don't know why. Give me three sharps anyday. Just the way my fingers naturally move on the keys.