I don't remember when my last day off was, possibly it was the carnival, although I spent the days taking care of my mom who was very sick, the thing is that my work doesn't even let us breathe, yesterday Saturday we had a very important rehearsal and in a few hours we will have our first pre-tour concert. It doesn't mean that on Monday we will be free as we are used to after working a weekend, tomorrow we will start the recording process of the album. It seems like a lot of work, and I don't know what my colleagues really think, but when you get to be in a place you have longed for, I don't think you will ever consider that you are working, you are just happy and that's it...
Recording an album is a rare experience and winning an award for it deserves a lot of pictures for the social networks. Singing at a concert makes us wear our best clothes and share the music with the people we love; but rehearsals... That is passion, it is the heart of the art, it is a continuous activity and it is my favorite moment of the day. It doesn't matter if it is beautiful music for God, just like what we are doing now, it doesn't matter if it is joyful music of the national folklore or if it is the most terrifying choral symphonic works together with an orchestra of 200 musicians, what matters here is that in any reality the Jesus that arrives stressed from the street disappears and I get lost harmonizing with my colleagues.
Feeling so much pleasure in rehearsal does not mean that everything is perfect. Of course there are days when I don't even want to get out of bed, I think all my colleagues and I agree that the only bad thing is that we have to sing from the morning; in fact, I think that physically I am not ready to sing as a tenor until after midday, I have noticed it when we have concerts in the afternoon or in the evenings, that is my best vocal moment. On the other hand, we are many people in the choir and when we join the orchestra it is twice as many, so there are usually quarrels. I am love and peace, I don't argue with anyone, but I am a vigilante, it bothers me when people disrespect each other. The good thing is that the place to which I flee to avoid those feelings is born when the conductor gives the levare and the harmony of a beautiful chord begins to sound...
As you can see in this picture I took yesterday, we will be singing accompanied by a pianist, and we will be anchored to him for the whole month of March, as he will be accompanying us on our concert tour. I wanted to take this picture because I had never seen a piano playing without the cover in a concert, it is totally open, and you will not believe it, but although we are doing the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, the most sublime music ever written, no matter how softly we sing the choristers are so many people that we can cover the pianist with our sound; of course this work is interpreted is with orchestra, but we are making a great vocal effort to make this concert tour a success.
And last but not least is our Concert Hall.... I admit it, rehearsing here is not a daily activity, there are many concerts happening and it is hard to have this sacred place to make music, but when we have it for us it is like coming back to our home, so not only it can be my favorite moment of the day, depending on the routine it can be my favorite moment of the week or of the month, but here the magic flows. The music should be impeccable in every moment we play it, but in this concert hall I think everyone focuses more on the work, conflicts disappear, we do not allow mistakes that cut the natural sound of the musical notes, it is a temple for peace and to praise great works of the past and new contemporary compositions... Yesterday we were rehearsing in this Hall and today, before our concerts we will have our little rehearsal and sound check, and that will surely be My Favorite Time Of The Day.
