Quem quaeritis (Whom do you seek)?
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April 17, 2017
Happy Monday within the Octave of Easter, 2017
Dear Choir of Hope,
Thank you all for your generous gifts of Time and Talent to Christ Our Hope in celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord. There were so many stand out moments they need to be subdivided into three groups and I know, I will still miss some.
NOTE: Following the three groups of stand-out moments are three important reminders for Choir of Hope:
I. Solemn Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter some of the many highlights in addition to the leadership of Father Magnano and the full, conscious and active participation of Choir and Assembly were:
· Jerome’s reception into the warm and welcoming embrace of Mother Church;
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Daniel Fry's humble and beautiful willingness to cover for a missing singer at the last moment;
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The rich and varied psalmody of our five extraordinary Psalmists; Certainly a highlight amongst highlights was the vigorous, compelling leadership of Mariam (AKA Elizabeth) as she led the dance of joy and victory with women on the far shore of the Red Sea;
· The equally rich and varied 13 singers of saints in the Great Litany representing with such clarity the rich and diverse backgrounds are singers bring to Choir of Hope;
· The excitement AJ’s Trumpet playing added to the liturgy;
· The support and leadership Emmy provided on the piano;
· The “Wild with Joy” sound of the new bells and the Glockenspiels
· And at the forefront, the gift of Choir of Hope:
o Your thrilling singing of I never felt such love,
o Your powerful invitation to go to the newly blessed waters of the Font as you sang (with Jerome’s amazing leadership) Wade in the water;
o Your continuous ministry to the Assembly, the Liturgy and the Pastor.
II. Evening Mass of Easter Sunday Just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus on the First Easter Sunday, we also were exhausted, somewhat confused, needing to rest, missing some of the other “disciple singers of Choir of Hope”; nevertheless, you rose triumphantly.
· with AJ’s splendor on the trumpet;
· with the Psalmody of Psalmist Thomas and the Piano of Pianist Thomas ;
· with strong leadership of the assembly as we helped them sing a mass we have not sung for many months;
· with the difficulties thrown at the Men’s Schola Cantorum given our too, too, short a rehearsal—having never rehearsed the Gospel Acclamation nor the Sprinkling Rite music yet they bravely and skillfully carried on to victory;
· The sweet participation of our youngest singer, Rebecca;
· The poetic and inspiring homily of our Pastor (and his vigorous bell ringing)
· The leadership of our Leader in Song, Chaplain Greene.
III. Quem quaeritis/Whom do you seek? Cynthia has provided a link to her video of last evening (see below) where you will see how wonderful you were.
· First and Most important—we were together—musically, dramatically, chorally—dynamic soprano sound, strong alto section, thrilling tenors and our bassi profundi. .
· The Choir of Hope was the Star, and the supporting cast was excellent--dramatically, vocally and expressively; I know you join me in thanking them for all the time and energy they spent outside of our regular rehearsals.
a. The Four Mary’s—Mary Cora, Mary Elizabeth, Mary Selena and Mary Mary.
b. The Four Proclaimers—Preacher Daniel, Disciple Jerome, Evangelist and Deacon Marc, Angel Thomas;
c. Our Instrumentalists—Madame Boom-Boom Monroe with her Halos of Percussive Sounds, BugleBoy AJ, Maestro & IvoryTinkler Thomas, and of course, the Choir of Hope Ding-a-lings BellRingers including THE DEBUT PERFORMANCE OF MISS REBECCA.
d. The Glad Hatter--Mr. Daniel C. Baker--for his Cunningly Conceived & Carefully Constructed Creations.
e. The Very Rev. Pastor Doctor Magnano AKA Father Paul for his encouragement to the Choir of Hope and his eager support of congregational music at Christ Our Hope. (besides, he's a thoughtful boss!)
Cynthia wrote:
Hi, beautiful concert. I created links on YouTube for our viewing only. Part 1 Introduction clip and Part 2, the majority of the remaining concert. I was taking pictures and was hitting stop instead of capture.
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