It’s been more than a week since I sang The Messiah as an extra with the Redland City Choir.
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And while other people might have sugar plums dancing in their heads in readiness for Christmas, I still have the Hallelujah chorus and He Shall Feed his Flock buzzing around mine.
I find myself humming random pieces from the great work at random times. It pulls me up and for a moment I wonder what hit song I have picked up from the radio. And then I realise that the song in my head is centuries old and the composer long gone. But the great songs comprising The Messiah have remained (and are now living in my head).
It was a privilege to sing with the choir. I sang out loud, without fear of hitting the occasional wrong note, because this is a choir that embraces everyone. This is a place where you get uplifted and an error is smiled upon, a small achievement celebrated and everyone is patted on the back at every rehearsal.
There is no doubt that the music of Handel’s most famous Christmas offering is uplifting in itself. But when the choir director raises her baton, she doesn’t just mark an upbeat in the music. She smiles as she goes. She gives words of strength and affirmation. She includes everyone.
And in so doing, she epitomises what Christmas is truly about. Sure there is no better fabric on which to paint this picture than the fine fabric of a Handel oratorio, but superimposed on this ancient tapesty are words and actions which come from today.
At the helm of this very vibrant community group, the director illustrates inclusiveness, she embraces community, she encourages diversity and she freely shares her talent.
She is a giver. And from her gift, the choir learns too to share its talent and spread the joy. In giving, we receive. It is a moot point just who ‘receives’ the most in a performance of this nature. The audience pay to sit back and enjoy, but I often think the greatest enjoyment is derived from the performers themselves.
And herein lies the cycle of a community. And in the Redlands, I am proud to say that community is the wheel that keeps us buoyant and which fosters a festive spirit, no matter the season. That is what makes our Christmas merry, a joyous feeling to sweep us into 2018.