Autumn Calendar

AUTUMN PROGRAM

Monday, March 17th
St. Patrick's Day party
Dannevirke RSA Club
1pm

Friday, April 25th
Anzac Day Concert
Fountain Theatre
Dannevirke
4pm

Rosy 99

Mrs. Swanney and I had the privilege this week of providing musical entertainment at the 99th birthday party of Mrs. Kath Maloney. She's the most beautiful 99-year-old I've ever seen. Rosy cheeked and bright eyed with pretty white curls, she sat beneath balloons and bright poster letters, flanked by a rainbow of flowers, enjoying her party with enthusiasm.

The guests sang along to our medley of old time favourites until general insistence that I give them a solo. I chose “An Irish Lullaby”. Mrs. Swanney, amazing lady, calmly pumped from her piano accordian whatever was requested. It’s a blessing not having to rely on an immovable piano, but also what marvelous freedom not needing music in front of you! I’m still building my repertoire, so haven’t managed to dispense with a lyric sheet yet. But I’ll get there.

Where Have All the Pianists Gone?

I know a church that’s trying to find a way to record hymn accompaniments before their pianist gets too frail to play them. There are 3 other pianists in their 70’s who regularly play at local retirement homes. They won’t be able to play forever, and yet they are the only ones who seem to know the music that’s familiar to the old folks.

Songs from the war era, traditional folk ballads, sweetheart ditties – they’re easy to play and sing, and people doing so give the old folks great pleasure. I encourage you, young pianist – buy a book of old songs (see sidebar for links to online music stores), learn them, and offer your services to a rest home’s entertainment coordinator. It will give you valuable performance experience before an uncritical audience, a blessing to your community and service to the Lord.

As a child and teenager, I felt uncomfortable in retirement homes. I was shy and didn’t know what to say or how to handle their deafness and dementia. I wasn’t a confident performer, either. I’m pondering over what made this change, but in the meantime, I can only advise: keep working on it. Serve the Lord with gladness of heart – and this can be done sharing your joy and vibrancy with the old folk. They need your good cheer.

I was so blessed today to see how a roomful of tired old ladies brightened up when Mrs. Swanney and I gave them “Side by Side”, “Pack Up All your Care and Woe”, and the like. We performed their favourites and they would sing along, swaying in their chairs or patting their knees, applauding enthusiastically at the end. Two of them even got up to dance now and then. Mostly Mrs. Swanney played from the lyrics book Topsy (entertainment coordinator) had dug out of a cupboard for us, and I kept one eye on those lyrics and the other on the people I was singing to. I'll have to swat up on my words so I can start moving around the room.

Mrs. Swanney is my neighbour, a terrific musician in great demand in the community. She plays piano, pipe organ, piano accordian in the Celtic Band, and a horn in the Brass Band. We got chatting at a recent neighbourly housewarming party, and it looks like this is the beginning of a fun partnership. We've had two outings together this week and are planning an Irish program to share with the combined retirement homes’ St. Patrick’s Day party at the RSA on March 17th. They’ll all be wearing something green, and I’m looking forward to getting into the spirit of things with my shamrock dress. = ) The costumes are half the fun of performing!

Singing to the Dark Hills

While holidaying with my family at the north end of Queen Charlotte Sound, I left our cabin in the bush as dusk was fading to night, and went for a wander along the shore in front of the old white homestead.

I’d seen photos of weddings Furneaux had hosted, the bride walking on her father’s arm past the stone fountain, down the path between the majestic trees on the smooth lawn, and making her eternal sacred vows in front of the shrubby pink roses overlooking the bay.

Dreamily I followed her down to the roses and watched the retreating reflections on the sea as the pale sky turned to shades of deep grey and purple. The silhouette of the hills, smooth and velvety, and the silver lapping water transported me across the world to Celtic isles, rocky shores, misty mountains…

I lifted my voice and sang out across the bay. The lyrics of “The Mists of Islay” were so perfect (view here)...it seemed I was really on the Scottish isle. I felt like Kiri Te Kanawa singing in a vast natural amphitheatre to a hushed and eager audience. And yet I was also alone, singing to the sky, the hills, and the water, testing the power of my lungs, pouring my soul into song.

I sang again, and other songs, until I became aware of human presence, hovering behind trees to my left. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling. Somehow I knew they’d come to listen. I sang on, smiling at the hills.

Somewhere in the middle of “The Impossible Dream”, I was rudely interrupted by the Furneaux dog, a small and indignant creature who apparently disapproved of my pitch. I turned to meet her, still singing, but she yapped more vociferously, so I stopped and humbly apologized. She grumbled and shook her head but scooted off down the beach with two men I assume had let her out when they exited the bar.

I turned back toward the sea, but couldn’t find the curtain back onto my stage. That rude creature spoiled my magic. I didn’t have the heart to sing any more. The invisible audience realized the concert was over and slipped back to their cabins. I meandered down to the deserted jetty to recover…and enjoy the memory of my magical concert to the dark hills.

Will you play for me?

Are you a pianist, and do you love the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart and enjoy playing sacred song arrangements?

Narelle is interested in working with an accompanist in a service ministry in New Zealand in the Tararua District.

Email Narelle at kyriellepublishing@xtra.co.nz

CONCERTO ANNULÉ, or perhaps Tissues and Issues!

The director of the November “Music Through the Ages” concert has changed his mind about including me in his program. The saddest part was that he didn’t have the courtesy to tell me–I found out through a member of the choir after two weeks of phoning him and leaving messages which he didn’t answer.

Before I knew I wasn’t wanted, I heard two things via the grapevine: the program was now being performed on two nights, a Friday and a Sunday, and these dates were three weeks earlier than I had been told back in April. This made me realized I had to decide whether I would perform on a Sunday or not, and with the next two concert options open to me being Sunday programs, it’s a good thing I worked it through. My conclusion is that I'm prepared to do a sacred program on a Sunday provided it doesn't interfere with my Sabbath study. In this case, it wasn't sacred and it would interfere, so I was prepared to tell the director I would sing on the Friday but not the Sunday.

I also realized that with three weeks less to prepare than I’d planned for, it was doubtful that I was going to be able to do “I Believe In You”, considering I was struggling to produce a reliable top A. It seemed wise to alter my selection, so I chose instead Martin Luther's hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God". It's a song that seems designed for a powerhouse male choir, its plonky, definitive rhythm not suited to a light soprano, but if the Viking Choir is singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" and another Latin piece a cappella, I figured I could do just as well with the lovely tune of AMF. I studied the four stanzas from two different English translations, and with a bit of mixing and matching and a very tiny rephrase, settled on three stanzas that are reasonably easy to understand, injecting exhilaration by raising each stanza a semitone. Luther's hymn has been called “the great­est hymn of the great­est man of the great­est per­i­od of Ger­man his­to­ry”, thus creating for me an excellent progression to J. S. Bach's "My Heart Ever Faithful". =) I’ve enjoyed working on this program, but I don’t know when I’ll get to share it.

I recently purchased a CD by contemporary American soprano Kathleen Battle and was delighted to find “My Heart Ever Faithful” on it. It has a continuo accompaniment (rather than piano), which makes it supremely delicious (I love cello). The first time I sang along, I got quite a high. =) It’s also inspiring to hear such an accomplished performer sing it.

Kathleen also sings “Du Bist Bei Mir” on that recording. I’ve procured the sheet music and have started learning Charlotte Church’s sacred version, “If Thou Art Near” (does anyone know who wrote the lyrics for that?). Dad was delighted when he heard me singing it because his mother used to perform it. He hadn’t known what it was called, but the melody evoked pleasant memories for him.

“I Sit Beside the Fire” almost got chucked from my repertoire in September. My teacher didn’t have the entire book of Donald Swann’s Tolkein arrangements, so the Elvish pronunciation and translation was missing. The English lyrics were fine, so I (foolishly) took the song on trust and proceeded to learn it. But as I worked on the difficult Elvish lyrics, I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable singing something I didn’t understand. I couldn’t delete the verse from the rest of the song because it was set as an alternate melody creating the song’s climax. I mentioned this to Dad and a friend, and they suggested I look it up on the internet. I had tried that previously, but had searched for the song title, not the Elvish lyrics.

Googling the first line turned up both a pronunciation guide and the translation, which revealed the song was a hymn of worship to a star goddess! Having just seen Louie Giglio‘s “Indescribable” DVD presentation on the magnitude and magnificence of the heavens created by our God, there was no way I could give credit to anyone else. Distressed that the Elvish words now seemed well and truly stuck in my head, it was dump time for that song until Dad suggested I rewrite the Elvish part. Bless you, Dad! I didn’t get any sleep that afternoon, but I did produce a rewrite that I like so much I’m prepared to make the song a Narelle standard.

I turned the Elvish verse into something more meaningful, managing to match Tolkein’s style and theme fairly well. Donald Swann’s arrangement actually blends two different Tolkein poems, so dropping the Elvish hasn’t created any great Tolkein heresy. It works really well for me now. The lyrics are so emotive and the melody supports them so well. I would happily sing it a cappella. Actually, I don’t like Swann’s finale, so I’d probably close a cappella anyway.

Interestingly, placing clean new lyrics over the bad ones is what has enabled me to get rid of the Elvish from my head. As I type this post, I can’t remember even the first line. I’ll leave it forgotten. =)

As it turned out, the director didn’t want to talk to me, so I didn’t have to talk to him. My preparations weren't a useless exercise, though, because I learned some important lessons. I hope you, too, have learned something from reading this. = )

LYRICS

A Mighty Fortress is our God

Martin Luther

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, who is this? Jesus Christ it is.
Of Sabbath Lord, and there’s none other God;
He holds the field forever.

His word above all earthly powers, no thanks to devils bideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

My Heart Ever Faithful

J. S. Bach

My heart ever faithful
Sing praises, be joyful,
Thy Jesus is near;
Away with complaining,
Away with complaining,
Faith ever maintaining,
My Jesus is here;
My heart ever faithful
Sing praises, be joyful,
Sing praises, be joyful,
Thy Jesus is here.

Etcetera, variously put together through nine pages.

I Sit Beside the Fire

J. R. R. Tolkein/Donald Swann/Narelle Worboys

I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen
Of meadow flowers and butterflies in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were,
With morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair.

I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see.
For still there are so many things that I have never seen:
In every wood in every spring there is a different green.

I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago,
And people who will see a world that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.

Oh, who will sing my song with me? and walk this path along with me?
To see the flowers and feel the wind, to smell the sky and taste the rain,
To join our hands with tenderness and hearts with loving-kindnesses,
To speak the tears and sing the joys, and sing the joys.

I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.

You gotta hear those last two lines with the music…utterly haunting and gorgeous to sing.