Lobet den Herrn: Chorale Tour, Day 5

Every once in a while, you get to have a profound moment that will forever change your perspective on a certain thing, and this morning was one of those moments. The choir was given the opportunity to sing Mass at the Salzburg Dom this morning under the direction of their music director, Janos Czifras. We sang Mozart's Missa Solemnis, K. 337 not as a concert piece but as liturgical worship. I want to put something in perspective for you. Mozart wrote this piece of music specifically for the space in which we sung. We sung the piece in the precise place where Mozart's choir and orchestra would have sung it. The organ upon which the organist played was the very organ that Mozart would have played. Prof. Czifras has the exact same job that Mozart's father, Leopold, had nearly 300 years ago.

In other words, we were truly living and partaking the communion of the saints; we were living, breathing, and singing in a small part of human history.

Furthermore, to sing the Mass as a liturgical aid in worship, not as a concert piece, brought a whole new level of understanding and depth to the work. The fermatas before changes in tempi are not just for aesthetic or dramatic effect. Mozart was accommodating for the reverberation of the space. The lengthy "Agnus Dei" was not only a theological statement; Mozart chose a slower tempo for the final movement because everyone in the cathedral would have taken communion during the singing of "Agnus." Indeed, in the time it took to perform the final movement this morning, everybody had taken of Christ's blood and body.

And even though the liturgy was in German, I still had a general idea of pace. The rhythms of our sacred liturgies are almost universal; every Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, and Offertory has its fixed place. When the congregation prayed a Vater Unser, I knew to pray an Our Father with them. One holy, catholic, apostolic Church, indeed.

I think I realized more than ever today that music, even the sacred music of the great masters, can be more than a relic for the museum-like concert hall. It can breathe life and carry significant meaning and weight. Music is not merely a vague aid to some kind of spiritual insight; music can be and should be a tool to proclaim the Gospel itself.

In the choir loft at the Dom - the same one the Mozarts used - to sing at Mass.

The Dom from the Choir Loft, before service.

Schift Melk monastery.

The chapel at Melk.

We're in Vienna now, and we have a huge day that will culminate with a concert at St. Stephensdom, the flagship Cathedral of Austria. I have been told that we are doing the impossible: an American guest choir singing a formal evening concert. For me to be part of the choir that will give a concert - let alone being a member of the Mozart solo quartet and to sing a Gospel solo - is a bit overwhelming.

But until then...

Tchüss!
-JC

Rhodes (Chamber) Singers Tour, Day 2

I believe you mean
"Welcome Home to Texas!"

Howdy from Texas!  Day 2 began with the rude awakening of my alarm clock at the unsightly hour of 5:30 AM. My colleagues - fellow director Bill Skoog and accompanist Debbie Smith - stayed at a hotel while our students stayed with families from St. Paul's UMC, so we had to return to the church to pick them up at 6:45 AM. Thank you for the graciousness of our host families who were willing and abel to rise early with our students. We hit the road for Texas promptly at 7:00 AM, and by 11:30 AM, we were entering the the DFW Metroplex. After a brief lunch stop in Rockwall, we made our way through downtown Dallas to Fort Worth Country Day, a private school in Ft. Worth that has a long tradition of sending their graduates to Rhodes College.

Rhodes Singers preparing for
Concert

We gave a quick concert at the school for two purposes: more concert experience for us and a recruitment opportunity for the College. We know the school is already sending two of their graduating seniors to us in the fall, and we hope to attract several of next year's seniors for the class of 2017 (realization: that would be my 10-year anniversary of graduating from Rhodes. Oh my.). We didn't do our entire set since this was only a 45 minute concert. Chamber did 3 out of 4 songs - we cut "Angelus ad Pastores Ait" - and Singers did roughly 66% of their rep. It was a challenge to get off the bus after a 7 hour drive from Little Rock and perform a concert with minimal warm-up, but my Chamber Singers were up to the task! Despite those kind of conditions, they performed admirably.

After our performance at FWCD, we boarded the coach and traveled south to First Baptist Church in Crowley, TX. As you see in the picture, they have a wonderful sanctuary with excellent acoustics, so Chamber was able to quickly warm-up to the space. After a hearty meal, we made our preparations for the evening's concert. Clearly the meal and some downtime did my singers well; they were in higher spirits tonight!

Sanctuary at First Baptist Church in Crowley

Tonight's concert at the church was a special one for me. One of our pieces, "Locus Iste," is a short prayer: "This is a place made by God. It is a priceless mystery; it is without reproof." I always tell my audiences to think of their locus iste, their sacred place. It does not have to be an intrinsically religious location, such as a church or temple, but that it could be a natural place, a special time or event, or a group of people. Tonight, I shared my locus iste with the group: dear brother Billy Collins was at the concert. It really meant a lot to me that he came up from Waco to hear our ensembles, and I could tell that he really enjoyed the show. After show, Billy and I were able to connect for about 45 minutes. He's an important person to my life, and I'm thankful for him.

So that was today! Tomorrow will be a little less hectic; we won't have any performances. What we do have, however, are two two-hour rehearsals with the good folks at Broadway Baptist Church in downtown Ft. Worth to prepare for Sunday night's concert. My mother is coming in from McKinney to support our work, and we're going to eat at the famous Joe T. Garcia's for dinner. Should be a fun night.

But for tonight? A much needed night of deep, 7-hour slumber.

Until next time,
-JC

Brother Billy and me.