A Few More Small Things

(I think I made a post called "A Few Small Things" not too long ago.)

Since I have cut myself off from a lot of the singing blogosphere, I have noticed I feel a lot better, am still making vocal progress, can pick up repertoire tips where I find them, but have a lot less to say.  Which is probably not a bad thing.

I am still upset that the choir director seems to assign solos to other people but never to me, on the other hand, if I choose one he usually finds a spot for it, or if he doesn't care for it, for something else.

He already started handing out music for Advent (although not a schedule) so I asked him about singing "Nun Wandre Maria" on Magnificat Sunday or the following Sunday and he said he would take a look at it.  If not, maybe I can sing Saint Saens "Patiently I Have Waited for the Lord" again.  It is a sort of "all purpose" number that would be appropriate.  And I can sing the Nin song during Epiphany.  I will sing it at the Spanish service.  It refers to Jesus being born, so is not suitable for Advent.

The tenor who sang in my Requiem is singing the tenor lead in the production of Un Ballo in Maschera that I auditioned for.  I don't know if I mentioned this, but he is in the Met chorus.  I checked to see who is singing Ulrica and it is someone my teacher knows (she sang Dalila in the concert version of Samson et Dalila that he was supposed to sing it, and then didn't because of illness).  I remember his saying she was quite good.  And I doubt she is even 40.  At my next lesson I will ask him, from a vocal standpoint, what he feels she has that I don't (other than youth - hardly a requirement for singing Ulrica - and, no doubt, a lot more experience).

So this is the problem.  No matter how well I sing, even a role that is age appropriate, there is this whole layer of unemployed professional sounding, well educated, singers who are 20 years younger (and then some) with impressive CVs and I will never crack through that.  And even if I sound better this year than last year, I am getting older and falling farther behind.

So I will focus on my Spanish songs.  I have noticed that the Spanish arts seem to be less ageist than most.  I mean one of the most renowned (and regularly performing) Spanish dancers, Pilar Rioja, is almost 80.

Once the schedule is out for Advent, I will remind the choir director about singing something, and will give the music for "El Cant dels Aucells" to the accompanist for the Spanish service, and settle on a date for it.

Once I have a date on my calendar to sing something I will feel more connected.