Happy St. VaLENTine's Day

 

A very happy and blessed St. Valentine's Day to all. May your heart be united to the hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and to the ones you love. Love is all about sacrifice so it's fitting it fell on Ash Wednesday this year, marking the beginning of the holy season of Lent. Take heart, those of you in the cold North. As the days lengthen and warm, you too, shall have buds and blossoms! We sang our first ever High Mass for this day and I was heartened to see so many cadets from the Citadel in attendance. It was beautiful.

My niece made this lovely card for my birthday and it's got the perfect recipe for Fridays. We love our beans! We'll be singing this beautiful hymn written by Pope St. Gregory the Great (AD 540-604), the one who gave us the heavenly Gregorian chant. You can read more about him and his prodigious output here: Pope Gregory I › Texts | Hymnary.org  The Glory of These Forty Days | Hymnary.org Here's a link to a beautiful singing from the Trinity Chapel Choir.

The glory of these forty days

We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by Whom all things were made,
Himself has fasted and has prayed.

Alone and fasting Moses saw
The loving God Who gave the law;
And to Elijah, fasting, came
The steeds and chariots of flame.

So Daniel trained his mystic sight,
Delivered from the lions’ might;
And John, the Bridegroom’s friend, became
The herald of Messiah’s Name.

Then grant us, Lord, like them to be
Full oft in fast and prayer with Thee;
Our spirits strengthen with Thy grace,
And give us joy to see Thy face.

O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
To thee be every prayer addressed,
Who art in threefold Name adored,
From age to age, the only Lord.

Charleston Sound Chorus Debut in Florida

This year has gotten off to a great start! Our little chorus was invited to sing at the winter workshop in Florida. Normally, winners of the previous year are invited, so we were just a little bit nervous. But we had nothing to worry about--we received the warmest welcome as the newest baby chorus of Sweet Adelines (and had a baby shower with presents--so fun!). It was such a wonderful workshop, learning from Kim Wonders (how perfectly named) and a special bonus for me with some excellent insights for writers (Tell a story! Emotion! Entertain! I ended up scribbling several story ideas :) then enjoying an amazing show. My favorite quartet was the one that performed The Baritone. And I loved the chorus with all the feline costumes--of course I had to take a picture :) They performed The Lion Sleeps Tonight with a drummer and boy did it release something primal inside us. One chorus also sang a parody of Let it Snow! Why yes, we were enjoying 80 degree weather in sunny Florida!!!

 

I was delighted to see several mothers and daughters together. The youngest was 10 years old and she told me her older brother sings with their father in the men's group. They've got a younger sister who can hardly wait to join her mother and sister. So after we returned home I invited Dagny to check out our Charleston Sound Chorus and it looks like the barbershop bug has bit her hard. She's been coming to Monday night rehearsals and enjoying them very much. Local ladies, this is an excellent time to join as we prepare some new songs for competition in May.  

Above we two tenors have some hot soup at a Thai restaurant before our performance. The other ladies are always so kind giving me rides to practices and parties--it's the other lady in red who invited me to rehearsal when our choir was on a summer hiatus! It has all been "For Good." I believe this song reflects Romans 8:28 beautifully: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. And I love that the tenors sing, "I believe..." Here's a link to our debut: Video Charleston Sound 1 27 24 (youtube.com). Our bass section rocks! And there's a very funny moment at the end. It took a lot of self-control to not laugh. Enjoy! Best of all, I made in time for Mass at our beloved Stella Maris. Deo gratias!