Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras

Caution:  It may not mean anything.

Do that which you know you ought:

Let the bacon home be brought.

– Porridger’s Almanack (Breakfast of Ganglions)

The first performance of any new piece is shy of ‘perfection’ (however considered). That said, the Voluntary on “Beautiful Savior” went well Sunday morning; I shall see when Barbara is game to give it a second go.  And, Sunday afternoon, Peter & I had a good, efficient rehearsal of Considering My Bliss Options.

Monday was originally slated for our first Triad rehearsal of the new cycle; we are considering a different rehearsal schedule.

Tuesday, we had the first full rehearsal for the 16 October concert at King’s Chapel, and it went beautifully.  The two refreshed pieces (Mistaken for the Sacred & Kurosawa’s Scarecrow) fit back into place with remarkable ease, which is to say, we are in great shape.  The new piece, the Boston Harbor Heave-Ho (“that which the Rapido! contest rejected”) was well received by all the players, which is, simply, exactly what the composer expected.

Tonight is the second choir rehearsal of my sixth year with Holy Trinity United Methodist Church.  For the first four years one of my best tenors was a nonagenarian, a wonderfully cheerful fellow named Jack.  As his eyesight failed, he came to choir less and less.  I periodically rang him to see how he was doing.

On a somber note, at this past Sunday’s service we learnt that Jack had died.  The choir will sing to honor him at the memorial service this Saturday, my arrangement of Precious Lord.

One of the musically interesting things about Jack, who sang in choirs and choruses from his teen years, is that (when his voice broke, that is) he started out as a bass, but his range migrated up.

Earlier on Tuesday, at last, the new M.D. at First Church, Robert Jan August & I enjoyed meeting one another.  I had already started to adapt the Voluntary on “Beautiful Savior” for flute & organ, for my old friend John Rasmussen, and I was delighted to learn that Robert’s wife is a flutist–which is ample motivation to finish and polish up the new arrangement this Saturday morning.