The people who came to rehearsal did well. My only concern is a couple who could not be there. They don't always sight read as well as they think, especially the diva who thinks there is nothing left anyone can teach her. But we will make it. We always do. If in doubt play louder.

Is anyone else really tired?

The 'younger'choir did really well. The 'older' choir struggled a bit, but they were working very hard to get the best out if it, even if that meant that the rehearsal was a bit longer ... and both choirs asked vor 15 minutes more of pre-Mass rehearsal than originally scheduled, to be sure that we can have another look at every critical detail.

It is heartwarming to see how dedicated they are (compared, e.g., to my home parish).

Tomjaw's choir sounds like more fun than mine! No mince pies or wine for us. I wonder if our pastor will thank everyone down to the office staff and custodian at the end of Midnight Mass but forget to thank the volunteer choir who have rehearsed for weeks on end again.

@Chris St. Thomas is today, or was today as it is evening here, tomorrow soon approaching will be the Ember Saturday!

Thankfully we don't do the Liturgy of the Thank Yous.

I have been dreading Christmas this year: But thanks to serving Low Mass this morning, I think I can face it*.

Our Christmas rehearsal is this Sunday. I just finalized the music list last week--which is rare for me, usually I've got that done by October at the latest--but I might make a change or two. Let's just see if I can find everything in the music dungeon!

*Yes, Missa Solemnis should be the norm, but a nice Low Mass is very restorative for a musician!

Found out last Sunday, after having practiced tenor for a month, that I'll probably be asked to cover alto - the regular section leader having gone home to Michigan to visit family. And I found this out second-hand.

And remember that little carol-singing/rumble I mentioned a few posts back? Well, it happened again, and I went. Fun enough, and drinking happened so that's always good. As expected, the general cast of characters for this event seemed like extras from a Whit Stillman movie. And the singing section lasted all of thirty-five minutes. Which seemed short to me, but hey, priorities, right? (They even graced it with an article in the local paper, which even manages to capture the sort of sectarian shenanigans bubbling just under the surface.)

The most bizarre part was when one of my friends sent out a lengthy email telling all of us how attending this event is TRUE evangelization, and how things like FOCUS and Habitat for Humanity aren't truly up to its level. (He didn't attend last night, in case you were wondering.) I took a little umbrage at this.

But yeah. Working Christmas Eve and Day. I'll be able to sing midnight but family time looks like it isn't happening. Looks like another holiday season fortified with 'traditional' egg nog.

Finally at peace with Christmas eve music. Did some minor monitoring and adjusting. Choir trebles are great and have a guest "ringer" to help my baritones. Strings and trumpet are ready to go. Preparing for our 30th post midnight mass eggnog and grazing party at our home.

We do things the old fashioned way, choir sings prelude at 11:30 p.m. with Midnight Mass to follow. Back for the 8:00 a.m. mass the following day. Older lady who clamored for us to sing a piece she likes informed us she will not be there and will be out of town. One of these days I am going to hide their hearing aid batteries to get even.

I month ago I was entertaining a fantasy of taking a swing at a well intentioned friend who suggested I cope with the bah-humbugs by rewarding myself and my wife (also a church musician) with an elaborately planned getaway trip for Dec. 26.

Much better to let someone else do the cooking though: in the SF Bay Area one can look forward to Jonathan Dimmock's regular performances of La Nativité du Seigneur during 'dead week', this time last Tuesday at Oakland's Cathedral on the Létourneau organ, almost the perfect instrument with remarkably full yet gentle fortissimi (quibbles are the astoundingly loud air conditioning and a 6/4 ending to La Suffrance, the result of a resultant). These concerts have previously been late at night, and a few conspicuous absences from this 7:30 performance were of musicians that had rehearsal conflicts. May they find similar refreshment!

So, we just finished our early "Midnight" Mass and Father thanked the choir FIRST and mentioned our long weeks of preparation! And we sounded best we ever have, so all were happy and it was a wonderful celebration of the Nativity!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

As a volunteer, I am thankful that I can choose my level of participation on Christmas Day. I opted to only sing on Christmas Eve since I was cooking a sit down dinner for twelve on Christmas Day.

Last and only rehearsal was 15 minutes because the choir didn’t rock up until 15 minutes before carols service.
I didn’t feel like I was holding up at the time.
But it was a success.

I sometimes dream of the possibilities when robotics reaches the point where I can have robot singers. No "turkey in the oven," out of town visitors, rough voices from yelling too much at a ball game, cars that don't malfunction, alarms that don't go off, alarms where the snooze button doesn't exist, no convenient but very minor illnesses blown out of proportion, and on and on and on.

Carol,

It wouldn't be how I feel about Deacons that would make me object. I think Fr. Rutler put it well when he said that the liturgical reform would be completed when the last guitar is broken over the head of the last un-necessary minister of Holy Communion. (I grant your point completely, by the way, about stairs, and I am the organist in the choir and also a singer in it).

...where I can have robot singers.

If previous church law is any indication, robot singers will be banned from the Mass.
I have my moments where AI seems far preferable to no intelligence at all.

I was thinking more of a slide like used for airplane evacuations. Either that, or back to the old St. Paul in a basket trick.