On Wednesday I went to see Farinelli and the King (I have very little discretionary income, and what I have goes to voice lessons and pet care so I rarely go to the theater) which was wonderful (the countertenor sings 6 Handel mezzo arias during the play). At the intermission I checked my email and I was stunned to hear from the choir director that he wants me to sing the only (soprano) solo in the Good Friday service. It is a "Recordare" from one of the Schumann Requiems. It is actually in a perfect range for me, mostly in the middle, with one G in it. The whole piece is two pages. To date, I have only sung the alto line in a few solo quartets in the various Good Friday services. (I am still singing with the chorus altos this time.)
I consider this a huge honor particularly as there is a real dramatic soprano singing with the choir. When went to rehearse the solo, the choir director told me that he thought it would suit me because he wanted a big expressive dramatic sound!
The only real challenge I will have (the piece is not difficult) is singing it after singing the very low alto part in the "Agnus Dei". I will ask my teacher what to do.
And of course I now have another challenge. Yesterday (the day of the rehearsal) I woke up with a whopping sinus "thing" that causes mucus to sit on my vocal cords and makes me cough. When I woke up yesterday I couldn't phonate at all. Fortunately, I remember that my teacher has always told me that if you don't have laryngitis, and whatever is affecting your cords is caused by mucus, if you drink hot beverages, use an expectorant, and do a little light singing, your voice will come back. In fact he said singing often clear the mucus off. So that is what happened yesterday. Same thing this morning although I don't plan to sing at all today. I will see if I can sing a little tomorrow night (I spend Friday night and Saturday taking care of my partner at her house). The choir is singing something simple Sunday morning at 9. Worst case scenario I will stay home. The good news is that these things usually clear out after a week so I should be fine for our next rehearsal on Thursday night.
I absolutely don't think I have anything serious because I don't feel sick. It's very localized. It may be contagious, though, because it seems to be a bit more heavy duty than my regular sinus problems. So Neti pot, Vicks, and liquid Mucinex. And not too much talking.
I have worked over ten years for something like this (I will be singing this with an orchestra) so I will pray to be worthy.
