In which I implicitly honor the monarchy

Last week I went to see Handel's Messiah at the Knox College chapel. It was good. Because I'm sick to death of writing useful, interesting, informative prose in a linear format, I'm opting for a list!


Chapel:
Like the rest of Knox, fake Gothic with unpolished wood and matte stone. Humble, yet oddly disconcerting; machine-produced materials laboring to appear hand-made. I imagine John Ruskin as a suicide bomber.

Me:
Needlessly fancy.

Date:
Same as above.

Handel:
The story goes that Handel's first performance of the Messiah was not held in London, which was New York in those days, but in Dublin (which was rather like Buffalo). The concert was small, in a church, and used around thirty musicians total. This nights performance is modeled on the Dublin performance, or at least as much as we can put together, which is not a lot, but its a much warmer and ultimately much more human kind of piece; harmony over scale, honesty over pomp. Music for people, not kings.

King George III:
King George III liked the later showings so much that he stood up for the Hallelujah chorus. Now the rule is that everyone has to stand up for that part of the show. I didn't know this, so that part came as a bit of a shock.

Choir:
Seven members, plus the four soloists. When they open their books in unison it reminds me of a flock of birds.

Soloist 1:
Dances a little as he sings. I don't know if this is normal. His hair is curly and his demeanor chirpy. Nice voice too.

Soloist 2:
Eyebrows, beard. Would look good in a devil costume.

Soloist 3:
Looked very very sad for the sad parts. Unsure how to interpret.

Sheep:
We like them?

Couple sitting in front of us:
The guy looks suspiciously like a young Bill Gates.

Rest of audience, excluding author and company:
Graying. This is the first time I've been around people not between 18-25 in months and it is good to be near them.

The Night:
Cold, dark, empty, completely beautiful. Stars are very bright. I scuttle home down university in a large green coat, head bent and ears ringing.



(P.S. Thanks ma and pa. It was really good.)