As probationer parents we could only speculate on the considerable effort the boys sustain in the weeks leading up to Christmas; comprising the considerable role they play in the daily pattern of worship and the additional seasonal services and concerts.
There is of course the up side of all this hard graft; the sheer beauty and majesty of the music, the boys obvious pride and enjoyment and the honour and privilege we feel as both chorister parents and Christian music lovers.
Handel's Messiah is of course an extremely popular choral work (and justifiably so) - Tom's Nanny peformed it many times as a soloist and I have a hugely vivid memory of singing the Halleluiah Chorus as an 11 year old in a local parish church.
To have the opportunity to see and hear our boys perform this masterpiece in such a setting as the Cathedral is wonderful in itself - that many of the boys take the Soprano solos is an additional spine tingler. We're hugely lucky that the Cathedral supplies us with decent tickets for the event - and, top tip; do all that you can to take advantage! I've just experienced the full 53 pieces over nearly 2.5 hours for the first time and already I'm planning my next fix.
For the boys it's special - they know that - but they also take it in their stride; not in a cocky way, but they do look confident, and at the same time of course, they are still boys. Tom has a favourite - and it's not the Halleluiah Chorus.
The boys clearly adore the choir master who also conducted the performance. He shows leadership, charisma and is rather fond of the spotlight too. As a singer first and foremost (the tradition seems to be for choir masters to be organists), he clearly understands all that the whole choir needs to do and even appears more comfortable conducting voices than instruments (that is just my sense).
Boys took individual solos and some solo'd as a group, I understand this varies from year to year - and these solos traditionally fall to the the year 7 and 8s. Tom still has another four ahead of him (not including performing at Easter, which they may well do).
So they finished at about 8.55 and we saw them for about 5 minutes in the school; they were obviously still on a high... Tom clearly loved it and all the boys accepted the well deserved praises with dignity. Also nice to see a few of last years year 8s there - including the ex - head chorister.
Of course they didn't get a lie-in the next morning - it was a regular school day; although Tom being a 3rd desk doesn't sing at Evensong on Fridays. Saturday morning see a one hour rehearsal at 9am and as I write this he's mid-way through a near two-hour rehearsal prior to Saturday's Evensong.
You reap what you sow, as they say.
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