Anyone playing for Easter?

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:45 pm

I just spent a couple of hours this evening after work going over what I'll be playing for the service on Easter morning. Hehe, I'm really mixin' it up this year, our Episcopal service will be musically eccumenical in our congregational hymns and these folks are in for a suprise. Most of it is on organ, as usual, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today for the processional, that one's traditional in our church, a Methodist tune-"Hymn of Promise" for the sermon hymn, and I'm gonna give them a Baptist tune for the recessional, "He Arose".

Then for an offeratory the choir is going to sing"Now the green blade riseth" (the tune is Noel nouvelet more commonly heard at Christmas) and I've thrown in some tambourine for good measure-sounds more than a bit pagan with the setting I'm using. But, the communion hymn may get some low whistle on "Christ ist erstanden". The choir has practiced it with organ, but I may just be in the mood ......

I was debating whistle or not, and wondered if anyone else out there is whistling for Easter?

sweet potato · Post by **sweet potato** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:21 pm

I'm whistling for Easter, too, but not hymns this time (we'll see how this goes over for an offertory.....). We'll do South Wind into Sweets of May on whistle and guitar.

Laura

Brewster · Post by **Brewster** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 7:35 am

I'll be playing trumpet at my church's Easter Vigil on Saturday--just for a couple of the hymns towards the end of the service. For Sunday, the professionals will be there to play 2 services, so I'll get to sit back and enjoy someone else's tooting.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 7:59 am

Not whistling, but beginning last night with the Maundy Thursday service, my choir has five services to sing. We're doing a plainchant mass (with the reserved sacrament) and veneration of the cross today. Tomorrow night, of course, is the Great Vigil. And we're singing both services on Sunday morning, rather than just the 10:30 as usual.

Last night we did Burroughs "Drop, drop slow tears" (which I love, because it's so low) for an offertory anthem and Franck's "In den Armendein" for Tenebrae. For the Easter services we're doing one of my favorites...the exquisite Patrick Wedd reharm of "He is Risen," as well as Schubert's "Osterlied," among other wonderful pieces.

Redwolf

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:00 am

i'm not sure what the complete line up is for Mass on sunday, my wife knows. we're a small folk group of 4 people, we have a keyboard player, she sometimes sings harmonies, we have a new guitar play who sings and plays skillfully but with some songs he's new to, he doesn't sing, my wife sings beautifully but we're all a bit worried because she's losing her vocal range. i play the guitar, harmonica, and pennywhistle at church. i can sing when i play the guitar.

i know we're doing "how great thou art" for closing, i'll be playing the harmonica on that one because the congregation sings like nobody's business. i know we're also doing "ode to joy" if i play that song on the guitar, i freak out and just start playing too wildly and i can't imagine that i'm going hold back on easter morning, if i play it on the whistle it just won't have the BANG that i would like it to have, i'll probably play that song on the harmonica, then i can go wild without messing with the timing. i also don't know whether i'm playing the responsorial psalm on guitar or whistle, that will depend on how everyone else is singing.

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:27 am

cowtime wrote:wondered if anyone else out there is whistling for Easter?

Can I yodel instead?

djm

rhulsey · Post by **rhulsey** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:42 am

Haven't gotten the chance to whistle yet, but I'm sure it will come along. The choirmistress is a whistle fan, and there are two of us in the choir that play.

Our Maundy Thursday included Byrd's Ave Verum, "Drop, Drop, Slow Tears", a quartet (of which I was a part) sang Graun's "Surely..." and I was cantor for a Maundy Thursday Anglican chant. Musically a beautiful service - gentle, introspective and unhurried.

Reg

TheSpoonMan · Post by **TheSpoonMan** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:25 am

I don't remember what songs we've got for Easter, but I'll be one flute. Mom and I will also do a duet (flute/voice) of O Sacred Head and What Wondrous Love. Then if pastor lets me, at the end of service I get to play the Jig of Slurs on smallpipes as a celebratory type thing

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:35 pm

we are going to the pub and play a little session.

cowtime · Post by **cowtime** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:20 pm

djm wrote:
cowtime wrote:wondered if anyone else out there is whistling for Easter?
Can I yodel instead?

djm

It's ok with me.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:30 pm

rhulsey wrote:Haven't gotten the chance to whistle yet, but I'm sure it will come along. The choirmistress is a whistle fan, and there are two of us in the choir that play.

Our Maundy Thursday included Byrd's Ave Verum, "Drop, Drop, Slow Tears", a quartet (of which I was a part) sang Graun's "Surely..." and I was cantor for a Maundy Thursday Anglican chant. Musically a beautiful service - gentle, introspective and unhurried.

Reg

I love Anglican Chant. We're doing the Te Deum tomorrow night for the Great Vigil.

"Drop, drop slow tears" is a bit of a nemesis for me, I'm afraid, much as I love it. Years ago, when our director was trying to get us to articulate more clearly, he used the line "cease not, wet eyes, his mercy to entreat" as an example, pointing out that, if we didn't articulate the "cease not" bit clearly, it would come out sounding like "see snot." Now every time we do it, my ear "helpfully" supplies "see snot" there, and I get the giggles. Fortunately I managed to keep a straight face last night, but it was a near thing!

Redwolf

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:42 pm

Sigh. I'm not playing this year. I've played the past 5 years. Last year we did an absolutely incredible concert on Good Friday, Saturday night, Sunday morning and a again Sunday night. We'd been rehearsing since February.

Then I had a falling out and haven't played in almost a year. I kind of miss it.

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:00 pm

maybe you could take the first step cursor?

izzarina · Post by **izzarina** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 8:56 pm

Me? Playing? In front of actual people? (well, not that the people who inhabit Casa Izz aren't people, but they aren't like REAL people that won't speak to me later, once I've practically killed them with my horrific playing). So, ummm, anyway....I'm going to have to say NO. I'm not playing for Easter.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 12:15 am

Oh Lord, what a disaster!

Our entire soprano section failed to show up for the Easter Vigil tonight! One of them was signed out and one was sick, but the other two have no valid excuse at all. The only other alto who was supposed to be on failed to show as well (she's usually reliable...I hope she's OK!). The upshot is, one of the tenors had to sing the soprano parts as a counter tenor (and learn them on the fly), and I had to sing down in all the unison sections to blend with the guys (there's simply no way I can sing soprano...my highest effective note is a high C. Besides, it sounds silly to have only one voice in the treble register). I feel like my throat has been sandpapered!

The organist (who has only been with us for about nine months) blew things big time as well. She got the verses mixed up on "Hail thee, festival day"...just as we were processing! The verses alternate tunes, so we were throw into utter confusion, with some trying to sing the next verse that went to the tune she was playing, and some trying to fit the words of the correct verse to the tune she was playing. Then she lost track of where she was, and tried to end the hymn twice before it was actually over (of course, she couldn't be arsed to actually watch the director!)

This was the worst Easter Vigil ever. We've got the best church choir in Santa Cruz, and we sounded like cr*p.

I sure hope the sopranos don't wig out on us tomorrow as well...we have two four-part reharms to do, as well as an anthem, an introit, and a Táize.

Lord have mercy!

Redwolf