This was my second visit to this annual event. Fortunately, the weather was very cooperative. There were the usual suspects—families, children, dogs, Cantori New York, Orbital Brass, Carl Schurz Park Conservancy representatives, and various (actually a few too many for my taste) local politicians.
Cantori started things off (after the aforementioned Conservancy reps and politicians) with “Caroling, Caroling,” “Ding Dong Merrily on High,” “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” and a couple of others. I enjoyed their performance more this year than last, partly because they had adjusted the outdoor sound system. There were still imbalances but there was a better representation of their inherent choral sound.
After the countdown and lights! community caroling followed. There was a pretty good mix of sacred and secular, and the crowd joined in fairly enthusiastically. Some of the slower-tempo carols (e.g., Silent Night) didn’t carry as well as some of the brighter songs. Jingle Bells was well sung by all. Yours truly took the suggestion from the leader of Cantori, Mark Shapiro, and jingled his apartment keys during the refrain. It even garnered a couple of smiles from the grown-ups.
I’m glad that I went, but there was a sameness to it that I wish had been shaken up a little. Maybe I’ll skip the tree lighting in December 2013 and give it another try in 2014. For this season, however, I’m thinking of trying a few more caroling events. My pipes are rusty—but they still work!
ConcertMeister
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