Friday, 26 October 2007

Wunderschöne Donnerstag!

Today was the tough one. Or it looked to be, anyway.

I woke up and immediately started running through German lyrics and Romantic music. Today, I had to sing in a Voice Performance Class. That's a bit of a misnomer. I've never sung in one of them, but I discovered they're essentially a Departmental Student Recital except they're devoted solely to the Voice Department. So, they appeal to folkses such as yours truly.

I stepped into the shower and started singing. Yes, today I was a shower singer. Robert Schumann, and auf Deutsch, of course, at least for today. First three of the Dichterliebe. I then knew I was hopelessly lost in my classically musical nerdiness, and I sighed happily in it. It was for no one's purposes except my own. Memorizing German music is more difficult for me than Italian, Spanish, or English. Thus, I was finishing the process of locking away the words. Once I finished serenading nobody (no roommates around) came the mundane task of selecting performance attire, discovering it was too cold to go to Nykerk without a jacket as I'm walking (oops), and more warming up/practicing.

And then the chaos began. I saw a lot of dressed-up vocalists. "Are you performing, too? Oh wow, there's a lot today." I hurried to warm up-thank goodness my voice has been in good shape and woke up. I found Joy and then we ran through the Dichterliebe. It sounded better than in the shower, probably because there was piano and no running water. If we could do that again in Wichers, it'd be great.

We watched some good stuff. I felt a bit nostalgic watching one of the freshman vocalists. She sang "Sure On This Shining Night," which took me back to my own freshman year when Dr. Richmond was still getting me to "open up and let it spin" and straining to reach a G or A-flat. Now I can reach an A in chest voice and sometimes a squeaky B-flat. The emphasis is on the squeaky.

Soon, it's my turn. Butterflies like always. Joy's ready, though. I walk out and I take everyone in. There's Dr. Richmond. There are all my friends. They want me to do well. I think, "Come on, Tyler. You can do this. You just did them in the practice room with Joy. Have fun with it." I try. "Im Wunderschöne Monat Mai" feels just a little shaky, but I try and make as much music as I can with it. Okay, so the nerves got in the way a little bit. Relax as you go on. There are two more songs to really make it sweet. "Aus meinen Trä sprießen" sounds okay-not quite like I'd want, but certainly not awful by any means. That's the one I was worried about for text and it was solid. Now for the tangue-twuster. But I've got this. It's fun.

"Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" is the lightning-quick third song in the Dichterliebe that makes Joy work incredibly hard at the piano for me, I think. We got started and though nothing was really wrong, I wasn't quite feeling it. I was trying to have that energy that Dr. Richmond said it needs and give it the propulsion, but it wasn't quite there. Until I looked at one of my friends in the audience. For once, the audience was my saving grace. And then I felt a certain understanding with professional musicians, on at least one front.

My friend Andrew was almost, no, not almost, he was pretty much dancing in his seat in reaction to the song. It made me happy, and I immediately tried to feed off the energy. Don't stop! Don't stop!, I thought to him as I continued spitting German/notes out as fast I could. That was what I needed! A little feeding off the audience's reaction made the song work and put it where I wanted musically.

Dr. Richmond was happy. He was quite pleased. He knew and I knew that the first song wasn't quite at the level at what I can do usually put it, but he was happy with the other two. The other voice faculty members I spoke to seemed to really enjoy it as well. And my peers on the whole liked it. Success!

I was also reassured at my lesson when Dr. Richmond seemed pretty bubbly. And at Chapel Choir, we finally held auditions for the trio in "The Heavens are Telling." Could I finally do something solo at Vespers? It's my one and only shot. Better make it a good one. Anyway, Dr. Richmond really let us have at it with auditions and we do. After it's all over, Dr. Richmond jokes about sending Isaac (a bass) up to sing soprano, Susie (a soprano) to sing tenor, and poor Jon (a tenor) to sing bass. With Isaac having a recital in a matter of days, our teacher didn't want to seriously do this, but the choir really wanted to see what would happen, and so we went through with it. Though Peter made memories with his completely sincere audition for the soprano solo in "Lux Aurumque" two years before, I honestly think Isaac may have outdone him. He was moderately convincing as a woman. Who will be Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael?

And then InterVarsity, and talking to the parents. Apparently, the latest is Daisy stepped on a birthday cake. Yup. And left pawprints in the hard frosting. She's a weird kittycat.

My life is good, but it sure is strange.

Currently Listening Casting Crowns By Casting Crowns If We Are the Body see related