Two things struck me at Choir practice last night.  I am not sure whether one is more important that the other, but they are certainly both worthy of mention.

The first is that we sang all the way through Stella Natalis  for the first time.  What an achievement!  This is not easy music: it has many sudden changes of mood and tempo, unusual harmonic shifts and occasionally d-d-d-d-d difficult words.  It requires skill and lots of concentration on everyone’s part.  That we managed to get all the way through is a testament to choristers and conductor, not to mention Angela, our accomplished accompanist, who has probably worked hardest of all during rehearsals.  It augurs well for the performances next weekend.

The second thing about last night’s rehearsal was occasioned by Naomi Roseth’s article appearing in the Limelight Magazine.  It is about Community Choirs, both the phenomenon in general and our own Manly Warringah Choir as an example.  In it Naomi describes the special relationship between the Choir and Carlos which is so much a part of our success. This prompted Carlos to say how much the Choir means to Alexandra and himself, and how working with us is very special to them both.  It is clear from the spontaneous reaction to Carlos that the feeling is very much reciprocated by everyone in the Choir.

We are extraordinarily fortunate to be members of a community bound together by a love of music and the wish to spread the enjoyment to as many people as possible.  With all the skill in the world, our performances would be nothing compared to what we make of them through commitment to the music, to Carlos and to each other.  Perhaps that determines which of last night’s two noteworthy events carries the prize.

The December issue of Limelight magazine features an article about Community Choirs written by our Secretary, Naomi Roseth.  Go and buy a copy of the magazine before they are all sold out!

We basses have a lot of “down time” at rehearsals for Stella Natalis.  We do not sing as much as the other parts, and when we do it’s in the main pretty straightforward.  So there is a lot of time for our minds to wander……………

While the Sopranos, Altos and Tenors were perfecting their parts last night, I mused on the overall message which Jenkins might be trying to convey in this intriguing piece.  Carlos joined in the musing at the interval, and we agreed that although many of the individual items are about joy and celebration, the key message is one of peace.  The deepest words are in Cantus Triquetrus, reflecting on threesomes – for example the Christian Trinity, the three main Hindu Gods, and the three Abrahamic religions.  He seems to be proposing a peace based not on passive respect between people of different backgrounds, but one based on active acknowledgement, engagement and understanding.  So it is no co-incidence that his next work after Stella Natalis is called The Peacemakers.

After the vehemence, vulgarity and violence of many political campaigns this year, of which Brexit and the US Presidential elections are perhaps the prime examples, it seems a particularly appropriate message for the end of 2016.

But that’s just my view.  I wonder what other Choir members make of this piece, and I wonder what our audiences will make of it when they hear it on December 3rd and 4th.

Choir member Pat Hughes and her husband Ken are holidaying in South America and have just met up with Carlos’ family in Bogota.

Pat writes: “Colombia is an amazing country. The diverse landscape varies from soaring Andean summits, beautiful Caribbean coastlines, cryptic archeological ruins and cobbled colonial towns. The people are so happy, friendly and helpful. We have enjoyed our holiday here so much. We started in Bogota, where we were looked after by Carlos’s brothers.  A highlight was a wonderful recital of Andean music organised for us by Manuel, a friend of Carlos’s brother. This was a most memorable evening.”

Ten years ago last night I attended my first rehearsal of the Manly Warringah Choir.  How do I remember the day?  After emigrating from England and three months being of no fixed abode, this was the day we finally moved into our house in Allambie Heights.  At 7pm I left Anne re-discovering our lives as she unpacked newly delivered crates and boxes, and was shepherded by John Tesseyman, whom I had met at the local church, to MWC rehearsal.  We were rehearsing the Bach Christmas Oratorio, which by coincidence was the work I would have been singing in the UK with my old choir, on the same day, had we not come to Australia.

What a lot has happened over those ten years!  Under Carlos’ direction, the Choir has grown steadily in both numbers and capability.  There have been many musical highlights.  For me the standouts have been two performances each of the Brahms German Requiem and the Mozart Requiem, and the stunning performance of Bach’s St John Passion earlier this year.  But that is not to say that all the other concerts have been lesser in some way – Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, Schubert masses, the Gounod Mass, the Armed Man, Rutter’s Requiem and many more performances have made me very proud to be a member of MWC.

What makes MWC special?  Firstly, it is the way in which Carlos, ably abetted by Angela, blends the skills of musicians of such a wide range of experience and ability to produce concerts of a very high standard.  It has been said that our singing belies our amateur status.  That is indeed a compliment to us all, but above all to Carlos.  He is where the buck stops.

Secondly, in a world which seems to be becoming increasingly polarized and bellicose, it is great to be a part of an activity which can only succeed by co-operation and mutual support.

Thirdly, the friendships engendered by working with other Choir members towards a common goal have done much to ease the disruption of relocating late in life.

How to celebrate these ten years?  I am ashamed to say that last night I got caught out by several of those unexpected changes of key, rhythm or mood that characterise Stella Natalis, and which I have banged on about several times in this column.  So it will be penance rather than celebration as I spend time on the score this week, marking up the change points in the score and running through each transition several times to imprint it on my brain.

Here’s to the next ten years, whatever they might hold!