Artwork by Steven Keen/Keen Method
No doubt you’ve been hearing holiday music since Black Friday … or maybe since Halloween*. People do get determined about their Christmas music this time of year. Not that there’s a thing wrong with that — hey, we’re a choir, we rarely object to good music! But the operative word is “good.” And not only can any piece of music be destroyed be repeat muzak, there’s only so many covers of Holly Jolly Christmas a body can take.
Between K.D. Lang and Jeff Buckley’s definitive versions of Hallelujah, we tend to forget that Leonard Cohen wrote some 80 verses over two years, and finally whittled them down to a mere 15. This means that although Lang and Buckley’s versions can make you sway, no matter how often you’ve heard them, what can really stop you cold is a cover that feature any of the other 12 verses. And so it is with the arrangement of Hallelujah VCS will perform as part of its season opener, Music From The Big Screen.
Therefore, here is a prayer after a run-through at last night’s rehearsal:
Dear performance and singing gods, it is so lovely when we sing this song in unison, so surprisingly moving. And it is so immediate in the bubble of the choir with every voice amplifying the unexpected sanctity of the music, that it moved me to tears. Please, I beg you, do not let me puddle up on show night. For that is bad for business.
