Our Berkshire Lyric Chorus is performing three concerts in December. All are in honor of Christmas, but the emphasis differs. The last concert, on the 21st, is going to be popular/Broadway/Tin Pan Alley Christmas music, and one of the basses will make a special appearance as Santa Claus, fully costumed. The first two concerts will have more sacred music. There are at least three different settings of the Ave Maria in Latin, plus a setting of the Eastern Orthodox variation on the Ave Maria which is sung in Old Church Slavonic. Tongue twisters in the lyrics! I get a little tired just thinking about the repertoire list, as it is a lengthy list of short songs/pieces. A few classical composers: Bruckner, Brahms, Praetorius, Paert, Warlock, Biebl, I forget the others. It's going to be a workout. And yet, I wouldn't miss it. For some strange reason, my favorite part of every chorus season is the rehearsals, I enjoy them more than the performances. Maybe because we get to sing sitting down, and I'm feeling my age when I have to stand for a lengthy period of time.
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