I’m on vacation this week, and so for once was able to attend the fourth Sunday Palo Alto singing. Ellen hosted the singing in her house, and seven of us showed up to sing: two tenors, a treble, two altos, and two basses. It was very pleasant, with all the benefits of a small singing: we could go over an individual part if we needed to; we could repeat a final section of a song if we wanted to, whether or not it was marked as a repeat; and we could take the time to chat. And we sounded great: everyone was obviously listening closely to the other singers (something that’s actually easier to do in a small singing), with the result that we sang in tune with solid rhythm, and you could even make out all the words.
Two high points of the singing for me: First, when we sang no. 472 Akin, the altos asked for an alto review; I had never really paid much attention to Akin’s alto part before, and I found that it’s really quite lovely; I especially enjoyed the long run in measures 9-13 that ranges from A below middle C to high C. The second high point was singing no. 345 I’m on My Journey Home; it’s one of those tunes that sounds better in a small singing, where you can really hear the spare harmonies.
We were supposed to end at five. At ten after five, Peter happened to glance at his watch and then told us the time. Even though it was past time to stop, we kept singing for another five minutes — we were having too much fun to stop.