Monday, December 3, 2012

Moved by the Music

Yesterday the choir with which I sing performed its annual Christmas concert.  The concert has traditionally been scheduled for the first Sunday of December, which fell a bit early this year.  The concert was a wonderful time of singing some glorious arrangements of favorite carols, sharing some not so familiar beautiful carols, and having fun with some unusual songs and special arrangements.  At one point during the concert, the audience was invited to stand and participate in a sing-a-long of a few much loved secular Christmas songs.  This year, I missed one rehearsal prior to the performance, and apparently, that was when the sing along pieces were discussed.  No one was given a musical score, just lyrics on a paper to be tucked into the music folder.  So, I grabbed mine at the last minute, and honestly, didn't look at it very closely.  During the concert, when it came time, I slid the lyric sheet out of the folder pocket, and prepared to sing along.  The first song was "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas."  I love this song; it's one of my favorites.  As we sang, and I looked out over the sea of smiling faces singing with me, I got very emotional.  Tears came, not that I was sad really, but overwhelmed. It took me well into "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to compose myself.  I felt a bit silly, but the emotion sticks with me even now.
I'm not sure why I was suddenly struck by that one song.  Granted, I grew up in the North and have memories of many white Christmas' there.  Now that I live in the South, I miss the winter experience during the holidays.  I mean, it was 72 degrees outside at concert time.  So maybe it was thinking of my folks and Christmas' past.  Then there were all those people standing and participating with such joy, hugging and singing with their children, spouses, families, and friends.  It's a precious feeling, celebrating with people you love.  So, I did think about my folks, 1,000 miles away, and my husband, who couldn't be there that afternoon, and about how much music they have given to me.  It was probably a combination of these and other things that ran through my mind.
I find it interesting how effective music is in evoking emotional and physical responses.  Sometimes, we don't even realize that it's happening.  I have my 'go to' music when I want to be energized, comforted, encouraged, relaxed, or motivated.  There's my blue funk music, my distraction music, my 'sing at the top of your lungs' music, my 'car trip' music, and my 'gosh, that's georgous' music. But I am amazed by the times when music catches me off guard, and simply revel in the experience of it. I wonder when I will get to feel it again.

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