The regular second Sunday Palo Alto singing fell on Easter this year. Even though some of our regular singers had Easter commitments, ten of us showed up to sing: two tenors, one treble, three altos, and four basses. Yet again, there were more men than women: seven men to three women (the three women were all altos this time). While it is nice to have the treble and tenor parts sung in two octaves, I have to say that I also like the sound with just men singing treble and tenor; the harmonies aren’t as rich, but I like the overall lower pitch, and the way the treble, tenor, and bass lines are close together and even crossing one another.
Since it was Easter, of course we sang no. 236, Billings’s Easter Anthem. Last month we had sung the notes and the words to the Easter Anthem, and that practice paid off this month; we gave a very nice reading of the tune. We also wound up singing several other tunes by Billings: no. 479 Chester, no. 66 Jordan, no. 291 Majesty, and no. 269 Bear Creek. It is always a pleasure to sing Billings; his are generally very singable, and very satisfying to sing.