While the whole experience of performing Messiah in such a prestigious venue has been a long cherished memory, there are certain moments that were extra special.
The first is the organ pipe moment. Those familiar with Messiah will know that “And the glory of the lord” opens with a single loud note. It’s a bottom G and is usually played by the organ if there’s one available. Well there was certainly an organ available at the RFH, a huge 6 manual beast with banks of stops that seemed to go on forever and ranks of pipes that almost covered the wall behind us.
Using the deepest voice possible and with the swell wide open, the organist tramped down on the pedal board and from the pipe behind me came a blast of sound and vibration that made me physically jump. The sub sonic effect of such a deep note went all the way down through my chest and beyond giving me a most unpleasant sensation and a real fear of a childish accident.
I smothered a giggle with a fake cough and got my self control back just in time to start singing. When I saw the South Park “brown note” episode a few years ago I immediately thought of that worrying moment from 1967.
Another outstanding moment was listening to Roger Stalman singing “The trumpet shall sound” which is a glorious bass aria that very few people ever get quite right. He got it more than right, he was brilliant and the entire choir was rapt throughout his performance.
Unsurprisingly the biggest high of the whole performance was Hallelujah. I’ve performed and listened to this sublime piece of choral music many times and one thing I’ve noticed is that adults tend to get mired in the religious import and forget what it’s really meant to be; exultant. School children tend to be a lot less inhibited.
Had there been rafters at the RFH we would have raised them and, by heck, we exulted! The conductor held the last syllable and his hand kept going up, demanding more volume, then with a flourish he stopped us and the orchestra played out the closing phrase. For a few seconds there was complete silence apart from the reverberation.
My views on faith are a matter of public knowledge, right here on this blog, I have none. That moment, though, was as near to a religious experience as I ever expect to get. The sheer magnificence of the music and the intensity of emotion left me in tears, heedless of the fact that I was on such public display. The boy next to me put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a little reassuring squeeze, when I looked at him I could see that his eyes weren’t completely dry.
At the end of the work we sat back down while the conductor took his bow and then brought each of the soloists forward to receive their applause. Then the orchestra stood to lengthy applause and finally we were waved to our feet to be given our accolade which was loud, long and frankly merited.
We’d given our best and it had been very good.
Love
Well Done Mac! What a wonderful memory. Thank you for sharing this uplifting and exciting moment in your life.
Hugs and joy,
Scottie
Scottie
It really was a milestone for me and possibly the best moment of my entire childhood. Well worth remembering.
Love
Mac
It must have been absolutely amazing, I fully understand how this event must have made itself an ever-lasting vivid memory! Thanks for sharing.
Love
Daniel
Daniel
It was amazing. The memory of that day has often helped me through dark moments when I’ve though of myself as a failure.
Love
Malcolm
What a fabulous memory! A cherished, completely wonderful, perfect memory. There honestly is nothing at all like being part of a massed performance. Some magic takes over, and it vibrates and twinkles in the very air.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Biki
It was a truly amazing experience and a memory that has often shone a little light in the darkest times.
Love
Mac
Thank you for sharing this memory. I hope you are well. You have been in my thoughts.
Love,
SB
SB
It’s one of my fondest memories, almost made up for all the bad stuff that happened after that.
It’s been an “interesting” week and I’ll be posting tomorrow to let the world know what’s been going on
Love
Mac
It sounds like quite a moment, I’m glad you remember it so positively – always cherish those sort of moments forever.
*hugs*
Seth
A brilliant moment that really was almost completely positive and the negative bits were only little niggles, nothing really bad.
Love
Mac