Advent rehearsal

We just completed the final rehearsal for the Advent portion. I have hired strings to join us for this portion: two violins, viola, and bass. The bassist provided the means of transport for both the violinists. so I chose him instead of the more traditional cellist. I feared the unusual instrumentation might be distracting- but after the first minutes, I forgot about it. Continuo is continuo, and he is a very good player. (This makes me think of our scheme to teach bassoon to our daughter- so that she will be valuable to her school bands and orchestras, and more importantly, she will be able to play unorthodox continuo in church for us on the weekends!)

The rehearsal went pretty well- I am exhausted! Physically worn. Surely a combination of nervous energy and worry about creating the right rehearsal environment: setting up the performance space, hoping the electric heat would rise to the occasion, worrying about soloists who may or may not be fully prepared, designing the worship service of which this music is the central portion, dealing with the chorister who has not rehearsed for a month and doesn't seem to have a Messiah score... and, oh yeah, trying to conduct clearly and efficiently.

Choir was hesitant at first, but grew more confident and began really singing well at the halfway point of the rehearsal. Hearing the polyphony from four separate string instruments- rather than four voices on a single keyboard- really helps them hear their own part and its interplay with the others.

Just this week, I was reading this interview with a prominent conductor. A snippet: "I don't think I've ever worked harder than trying to conduct a great Handel oratorio, or one of the Bach Passions, or, as is happening just this week, the B Minor Mass."

That interview also has some passing discussion of Messiah, touching on how Handel adapted his work to suit the specific performing forces he had on hand- something I will be doing a lot of this year.