Dear Kitty,
Sunday evening, and I'm exhausted. Most of this week has passed without incident - the usual 'studying-lectures-class' routine, but it's been nice. I had choir on Friday night - my choirmaster's given me a solo for the tenth. Well, he did until I told him I wasn't here, but he made me sight-sing it for the rest of the rehearsal and we might be doing it in the Advent service on Sunday instead. I don't mind; it's nice to be given solos!
Speaking of solos, Saturday brought the Christmas Fair, and I sang carols for that. There were three of us (Olga, Mark and I) who did all three hours of it, and then the rest of the choir came and joined in when they wanted to. We made £250 altogether, doing requests from the visitors to the church! I had to do the solo for 'Once In Royal' twice, as well as the first verse of 'Silent Night' (requested by our choirmaster's wife) and Darke's 'In The Bleak Midwinter' - which I hadn't done since my last carol service at school! It was marvellous, though - we sang everything, from the 'Coventry Carol' to 'Ding! Dong! Merrily On High' to 'Silent Night' (in German, at one point!) to Rutter's 'Nativity Carol' at the very end. Mark, Olga and I went out for a drink after the first hour, and then I wandered around the fair after the second. I've got Mum's Christmas present - a blue duck that's meant to be a doorstop but really isn't heavy enough - and Fenny and Pop's; a draught-excluder in the shape of a Dachshund! I think they'll like them. I've also got Cecily a teacup to add to the collection for the wedding favours. Everyone in the church was really lovely to me about my singing, and they all said how nice it was to see someone so enthusiastic!
We sang Haydn's 'Little Organ Mass' at church this morning - it's a bit twee, but it was nice to be doing a proper mass again -, as well as a piece by one of our own basses (stunning piece, actually), and Vaughan Williams' 'Let All The World' (for the third time since I've started). One of the ladies who was acting as a sacristan today was lovely - she quickly bent down and whispered 'beautiful singing!' in my ear while I was kneeling for Communion. The people in churches really are the nicest! David told me after church that he'd had around three people ask him who the 'little enthusiastic soprano with the lovely voice' was that morning - it made me blush. Mark and Olga asked me out for a drink after choir, so we went to The Knott, on Deansgate. David came too, and we sat around for about two hours, talking about Disney and Star Wars. I've been studying this afternoon, and I think I'm going to get an early night tonight - I'm shattered!
I am happy, Kitty. I realised how lucky I was last night - I'm studying what I've always wanted to study, I can sing, I've got wonderful friends and an amazing family, my boyfriend loves me to bits, and, really, I've nothing to complain about. Life is magic, at the moment, and I hope it carries on this way.
Yours,
Chessie
Sunday evening, and I'm exhausted. Most of this week has passed without incident - the usual 'studying-lectures-class' routine, but it's been nice. I had choir on Friday night - my choirmaster's given me a solo for the tenth. Well, he did until I told him I wasn't here, but he made me sight-sing it for the rest of the rehearsal and we might be doing it in the Advent service on Sunday instead. I don't mind; it's nice to be given solos!
Speaking of solos, Saturday brought the Christmas Fair, and I sang carols for that. There were three of us (Olga, Mark and I) who did all three hours of it, and then the rest of the choir came and joined in when they wanted to. We made £250 altogether, doing requests from the visitors to the church! I had to do the solo for 'Once In Royal' twice, as well as the first verse of 'Silent Night' (requested by our choirmaster's wife) and Darke's 'In The Bleak Midwinter' - which I hadn't done since my last carol service at school! It was marvellous, though - we sang everything, from the 'Coventry Carol' to 'Ding! Dong! Merrily On High' to 'Silent Night' (in German, at one point!) to Rutter's 'Nativity Carol' at the very end. Mark, Olga and I went out for a drink after the first hour, and then I wandered around the fair after the second. I've got Mum's Christmas present - a blue duck that's meant to be a doorstop but really isn't heavy enough - and Fenny and Pop's; a draught-excluder in the shape of a Dachshund! I think they'll like them. I've also got Cecily a teacup to add to the collection for the wedding favours. Everyone in the church was really lovely to me about my singing, and they all said how nice it was to see someone so enthusiastic!
We sang Haydn's 'Little Organ Mass' at church this morning - it's a bit twee, but it was nice to be doing a proper mass again -, as well as a piece by one of our own basses (stunning piece, actually), and Vaughan Williams' 'Let All The World' (for the third time since I've started). One of the ladies who was acting as a sacristan today was lovely - she quickly bent down and whispered 'beautiful singing!' in my ear while I was kneeling for Communion. The people in churches really are the nicest! David told me after church that he'd had around three people ask him who the 'little enthusiastic soprano with the lovely voice' was that morning - it made me blush. Mark and Olga asked me out for a drink after choir, so we went to The Knott, on Deansgate. David came too, and we sat around for about two hours, talking about Disney and Star Wars. I've been studying this afternoon, and I think I'm going to get an early night tonight - I'm shattered!
I am happy, Kitty. I realised how lucky I was last night - I'm studying what I've always wanted to study, I can sing, I've got wonderful friends and an amazing family, my boyfriend loves me to bits, and, really, I've nothing to complain about. Life is magic, at the moment, and I hope it carries on this way.
Yours,
Chessie
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