16 February 2025

First off, in my last post I misspoke. Thankfully! The concerts weren’t that week, they were this week. So, the last two weeks have really concentrated on preparing, practicing, and rehearsing this music. Bruckner’s Mass in E minor is by far the most difficult piece of music I’ve ever sung. And having only four weeks to learn it was not sufficient. But more on that later.

When I wasn’t working on music, I was studying Spanish, catching up with friends, or enjoying time with Vicente.

My friend Barry from Denver was in town last week. So we met for a drink one afternoon. Barry is a potter and a professor of ceramics. He enjoys time between Denver and Spain. He’s immensely immersed in the Spanish ceramics culture. So it was fascinating to hear about his travels and connections throughout this country.

That Saturday, Vicente and I went to a country music concert. I had never heard of the Minnesota-based, Cactus Blossoms. Vicente had a friend that recommended the concert. So he bought tickets and we went. You may remember that he had bought hats for us New Year’s Eve, specifically for this occasion.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed their music. It wasn’t so much “country,” as it was “country-rock.” We were right in front of the stage and had a great time with the catchy music and lyrics, even singing along as we were able.

Last Sunday, I hosted a few friends for UNO cards and snacks.

Despite my limited Spanish, somehow the cards were in my favor and I won more than my fair share of the games. Win or lose, it was a fun evening.

For Valentines Day, in class we wrote a card for one person in the school. I sent mine to the staff who helped get me registered. On Friday, I was handed three cards! Three people in my class wrote very kind notes of encouragement and support.

For Valentines Day, Vicente and I made pizza and tiramasu. It was a relaxing and fun way to celebrate the holiday.

On Saturday, we went for a walk south of Valencia in a town called El Saler. It has a lovely nature preserve.

Afterwards, we stopped for lunch of paella. By Valenciano standards, it wasn’t really paella. It was, “Arroz del Señoret,” (rice with peeled shrimp, because the people who eat it are too lazy to peel it!). You and I would call it “paella.” But for the purists among us, paella is rice with chicken and rabbit.

Today, we went swimming at the pool and then took Cooper to the beach. For me, while I’ve always known how to swim, I never really learned proper technique. So swimming with the goal of going from one end of the pool and back multiple times (and not just relaxing and splashing around) is really challenging. Practicing my breathing, strokes, kicking, and such is challenging. And it’s a great workout! I always leave there feeling exhausted and alive!

It was a beautiful afternoon. So the beach was a perfect place to go. Vicente is a serious swimmer and has aspirations that Cooper will join him in open-water swimming this Summer. But until today, Cooper has been reluctant to get wet. That ended today!

When we got there, we had to cross a small inlet and Cooper did everything he could not to get in the water. We found some rocks and crossed over. And he eventually followed us. But it took some coaxing.

As we walked, he started playing closer to, and then more and more in the waves. We got to a bigger inlet and by that time, Cooper was making friends with the other dogs. It wasn’t long before the water became part of the fun.

So, choir didn’t consume my last two weeks. But it was a big part of this time. We had rehearsals three nights a week. And I was spending more than an hour a day practicing the music and trying to learn it. There are on-line tracks to sing along with. There are online recordings to sing with. But nothing compares to singing together with the choir and hearing all of the eight parts, in sync, in harmony, and together. Unfortunately, because the music has such complicated rhythms and requires acapella entrances (without hearing the note beforehand), we never achieved the level of confidence needed. In conversations before and after, the other choir members were all venting their frustrations. When I asked in Spanish why we were singing this work with only four weeks of practice, I got nods of agreement and fast, incomprehensible Spanish that joined the frustration. Several folks used the Spanish word to describe the events. “Desastre.” I think you can translate it. In my humble opinion, this was a failure of our director. He was over confident and unrealistic. But the greatest sin is not admitting his failure.

We had our first concert on Thursday at a beautiful church here in Valencia.

While Vicente tells me it sounded fine, when pushed, he admitted hearing when things went off the rails.

Fortunately, this is not a work that is widely known. So, when we got lost, it provided a wall of sound that was mostly on-key, but without the harmonies, and intricate weaving of voices that the composer wrote. I was glad for his sake that Bruckner is not alive to hear what we did to his work.

Saturday night, we performed in the town of Torrent, outside of Valencia. The high school conservatory there had joined us for these concerts. So it was nice to be able to perform in their town.

It was another beautiful venue and one worthy of better preparation and quality.

We have another big performance in two weeks at the Cathedral of a work that is not nearly as complicated. We’ll be joining other choirs and a larger orchestra. So the next two weeks will include lots of rehearsals with those groups. And the next two weeks will help me determine if this is the right choir for me.

That’s my news. Thank you for reading, commenting and for staying in touch. It means more than I can say when I hear from you.

Valentine’s Day may be over. But I hope you feel loved now and always.