Ah! My Christmas has come. Tonight, Chorus North Shore gave
Christmas cheer to our audience on a dreary rain-soaked chilly night. Rudolph
would have had difficulty finding his way. We were pleased with the full house
in light of the weather and we were thankful, for driver’s sakes, that it was
not snow. (But I like snow.)
The first half of the show celebrated Advent, especially
with a Telemann piece called “Machet die Tore Weit,” which means “Open Wide the
Gates.” Two young soloists sang the arias and recitatives. Very nice done. They
joined up for a medley of Christmas tunes.
The Honors Youth Choir sang with us in the second half and
they were a tremendous hit. After we sang Psalm 100, they performed “In the
Bleak Midwinter” and the audience held back their applause because of the
stunning silence that concluded their song. The adults sang “Who will come?,” a
softly sung narrative of the Holy Family. We then livened up the church with Personnet
Hodie and an ancient Galician tune that captured the audience’s attention.
The finale was a selection of Silent Night tunes that were
woven nicely together. The audience sang boldly when they were invited into the
song. Nearly everyone sang and then opened their mouths so wide I could almost
see tonsils. Their eyes were full of joy and delight at times and then some
were also moved to tears as the finale tugged at their heartstrings. We gave
them Christmas.
At the conclusion, a young girl that was maybe 1.5 years old
came forward in her neat little dress and applauded. She kept smiling and
laughing. The beauty of Christmas performances is that some people will hear
these songs for the first time and the course of their lives can be shaped by
it, and some people will hear these songs for the last time before they meet
their God.
We brought them the story of Christ tonight. We gave them
just what they needed. We all need a little Christmas – no matter what time of
year.
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