Easter was never a big thing with me, which makes sense, as I am not Christian. Being raised as a secular socialist I was not strictly Jewish either - certainly neither my mother nor her parents observed Passover.
I did, however, fall into the habit of going to church to hear music on Easter. Mostly it was my partner's idea, but I went along, perhaps in memory of being taken to church on Easter by my mother - to hear music of course.
Easter 2003
This was the year that we got up too late to go to one of the Episcpal churches that featured good music, so we went to the local Unitarian church instead. I had fond memories of singing in the Unitarian church choir in Brooklyn, which at that time did have quite a bit of classical music. My more recent brush with Unitarianism had been less positive - I had attended a service at a church in Provincetown that was full of what I term Unitarianism's "hippie-ish silliness", a blend of tiresome pop psych and music from the druggie sixties, recycled as something "spiritual". The minister at the 2003 Easter service (whom I recognized as having once been a well-known journalist - which is what she should have stuck with, being a superb writer and an extremely unempathic person) said "even if you don't believe that Jesus rose from the dead, it's still a nice story". This grabbed us because we don't believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but were pleased that the minister referred to this story, as it was Easter. My partner and I became members of this church.
Easter 2004
Falling after the life-changing events of February 15, 2004, this Easter featured my singing a duet by Mendelssohn called "They have taken away my Lord" (Easter was the only time Jesus was allowed to be referenced in this church, which I, despite my atheistic parentage, found quite silly) with The Mentor Who Shall Not Be Discussed. There was lots of flirting and he made numerous jokes about his personal identification with Mary Magdelene. The choir sang a piece called "The Polish Easter Carol" in which I was bullied into singing a high B flat at the end. I am not a soprano, certainly not a high one, but I was the closest thing they could find to one in this amateur choir. That note loomed before me throughout the entire service.
Easter 2005
By now my relationship with The Mentor had become quite tarnished. He agreed to let me sing "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" in the service. There was quite a brouhaha about this, which I have discussed in this post which as I said represented exactly the sort of left-wing provincialism that I detest. But what I have not yet mentioned was the Sondheim-torturing-Stritch singing "Here's to the Ladies Who Lunch" ringer that The Mentor took me through the Saturday before. I probably sang "Redeemer" 17 or 18 times in his studio (who sings something that many times the day before a performance?) and each time he panned it, if not for one reason, then for another. After I sang it Easter Sunday, he put his thumbs down and made a face. So much for the first principle of Unitarianism "Belief in the inherent dignity and worth of every human being". No, I don't think I sounded bad, but I was so exhausted that when I went for the High B flat in the Easter Carol nothing came out. Oh, and did I mention I hadn't eaten anything the night before but had spent the entire night crying?
Easter 2006
I had a paying job singing the soprano line in the Halleluia Chorus, somewhere in New Jersey. Because I was getting paid, I felt entitled to sing as loud as I needed to to keep my larynx down, and actually got through the entire bloody piece without a mishap.
Easter 2007-2010
At the Lutheran church. Singing the soprano part in the Halleluia Chorus. Made gunshy by the glares that told me to keep the volume down, I was never able to sing all of the following: the High A on "he shall reign", and the last two rounds of Kings and Lords on the F and the G. If I was lucky I got two out of three. I coined the name "my annual battle with the KingznLordz"
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This Easter I decided to say goodbye to the KingznLordz forever and ever. With two trained coloraturas in the choir, why should I kill myself? The alto part is not much fun either, for other reasons. Too low, with nothing to show off my lovely mezzo legato line. Oh well. We never use it as a choir anthem anyhow. It's mostly on the program because the congregation knows it.
I went to the Museum of Modern Art with my partner for the first time in almost five months, ate too much gelato, and had a sleepover.
Tomorrow I am getting back to Amneris and Azucena. If I want to sing high notes, that's the rep where I should be singing them.
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