I did, I did. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! No, really. I sang the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah four times in four different spots in NYC.
First, a bit of backstory. Make Music (and I believe it happens in other cities (countries?)) is a phenomenon that occurs twice a year—the winter solstice and the summer solstice—where we, the people, are invited to take part in making music. There were programs throughout the day today but I focused on choral music between 6pm and 8pm.
Organizationally, it was a bit rough at first, as in, nobody explained who the conductor was or when/how we’d actually start at the first gathering space. The other three were smoothed out pretty well. The singing was all a cappella, i.e., there was no instrumental accompaniment. Even with the range of singing levels, they all also went pretty darn smoothly. Speaking of range, my pipes still function well—my range is slightly diminishing. C’est la vie. (Oh go ahead, you know you want to.)
On to the shows. We started out at Astor Place and it went nicely. The next stop was the northern end of Madison Square Park (26th Street/Madison Avenue). I decided to walk the almost twenty blocks, and I made good time. (A note, I’d planned on walking the entire route, knowing that I could always change my mind and jump on the subway if I needed to.) I spotted the group when I got there. This group of choristers was a bit smaller, but we sang lustily and with good courage. Afterwards, I began the walk to the third site.
Hmm, this one was a bit more nebulous—Times Square Plaza between 44th and 45th Streets. Hello? Times Square on the Saturday before Christmas? I made the walk and made pretty good time, actually. I think I was the first one there. I recognized two guys from the previous stop, so we formed a small group, scanning the crowd for other familiar faces. I was standing on a short wall. I then was joined by Peter, who had the brilliant idea of holding up his score pages that had “Hallelujah Chorus” at the top. Eventually, the group came together and we gave another spirited rendition.
Peter (another tenor) and I, joined by John (a bass; it sounds Biblical, doesn’t it?), decided to walk to the final location—Lincoln Center! We quickly headed west to Eighth Avenue. Hello! Theater district on Saturday night? We then went to Ninth Avenue, where the crowds were ever-so-slightly thinner. That said, we three intrepid carolers made it to the fountain at Lincoln Center with a few minutes to spare and found our group there. This might have been our largest choir, and it was definitely our largest audience. I think we brought a small spirit of joy to this fun city at a fun time of the year. Will I do it again next year? Maybe. Weather and pipes permitting.
Happy solstice! Winter arrived while I was writing this missive.
ConcertMeister
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