"Best behaved boys here."
Yup, that is what I heard tonight at the Christian Leaders Fellowship Christmas Festival at Heinz Hall. In fact some of older ladies who said that were coming up to us from several rows over to tell me that my boys were the best behaved ones there.
Of course it didn't hurt that we sat behind some very restless PK's that at one point an usher had to come over to their father and ask him to tell them to stop rolling in the aisle. Yup, rolling.
And it also didn't hurt that Crispian fell asleep about a third the way into the program and didn't wake up until the Hallelujah Chorus near the end.
The Christmas Festival was started by the Diocese of Pittsburgh ten years ago and is still primarily organized by Father Chepponis, director of Music for the Diocese. I guess you could call them pioneers in the current keep Christ in Christmas movement because this program (along with the public Creche) was started as an antidote to "Sparkle Season." I wish I were smart enough to make up something like Sparkle Season. Most of the major Christian traditions of the Pittsburgh area are now represented at this concert: Roman Catholics, Byzantine Catholics, United Methodists, Greek Orthodox, Presbyterians (U.S.A), Episcopalian (when Bishop Dunacn was introduced, some old guy behind me said that he was surprised to see him at something like this), Salvation Army (that one surprised me, seeing all the folks in their uniforms EVERYWHERE in the seats), Baptists, Lutherans (ELCA, of course), and UCC.
There were Bible readings interspersed with music by the various choirs and carols sung by all present. Kate was a hired gun for the Fox Chapel Episcopal Church, which is why I went in the first place with both children in tow. Of course all the choirs were good, but a few things stood out. I was surprised that the Greek Orthodox used an organ as accompaniment, but when I googled a few terms I learned that there may be some liberalization of using the organ for extra-liturgical music in the Greek Orthodox Church (please follow the link and read under Bridal Party if your sense of humor is as adolescent as mine--and that means you LC--much funnier religious words than biritual and diptych). And Megs, tell Larry he did a great job, though with his get up someone behind me asked if that was the Catholic choir. The Byzantine Archieparchial Choir sang Blessed be the Name of the Lord in (I am ashamed to say it this way) some Slavic language, and they went commando. It was fantastic, just human voices, and their "Slava" was magical. I really felt for some of the people out there that kvetch about not using enough Latin in the Roman Rite, because when this choir sang a verse in English, in no way did I buy that Glory was the same as Slava. The UCC choir did Go Tell it on the Mountain with soloist Lily Abreu, who is just everywhere in Pittsburgh. She is incredible: she's in the opera with Kate, she is locally famous for singing Brasilian jazz, everywhere Lily.
So how'd I keep two boy well-behaved for a two hour program? As I mentioned above, Crispian falling asleep didn't hurt. Myles wasn't trying alternately to impress and then annoy him. But before he fell asleep, he was watching the Interpreters for the Deaf. We happened to sit very close to them, by chance really, and he watched them intently for much of the time he was awake. Myles watched them, too, but not as much as Crispian. Myles also is pretty attentive to music. He might try to talk his way out of sitting through a homily, but he will be still during a song at Mass. I had noticed this before at Mass, and I wonder if we shouldn't try a Byzantine liturgy, where everything is intoned, I think. Okay, stop laughing, LC. I am not about to try subjecting yet another unsuspecting church with my son.
Of course it didn't hurt that we sat behind some very restless PK's that at one point an usher had to come over to their father and ask him to tell them to stop rolling in the aisle. Yup, rolling.
And it also didn't hurt that Crispian fell asleep about a third the way into the program and didn't wake up until the Hallelujah Chorus near the end.
The Christmas Festival was started by the Diocese of Pittsburgh ten years ago and is still primarily organized by Father Chepponis, director of Music for the Diocese. I guess you could call them pioneers in the current keep Christ in Christmas movement because this program (along with the public Creche) was started as an antidote to "Sparkle Season." I wish I were smart enough to make up something like Sparkle Season. Most of the major Christian traditions of the Pittsburgh area are now represented at this concert: Roman Catholics, Byzantine Catholics, United Methodists, Greek Orthodox, Presbyterians (U.S.A), Episcopalian (when Bishop Dunacn was introduced, some old guy behind me said that he was surprised to see him at something like this), Salvation Army (that one surprised me, seeing all the folks in their uniforms EVERYWHERE in the seats), Baptists, Lutherans (ELCA, of course), and UCC.
There were Bible readings interspersed with music by the various choirs and carols sung by all present. Kate was a hired gun for the Fox Chapel Episcopal Church, which is why I went in the first place with both children in tow. Of course all the choirs were good, but a few things stood out. I was surprised that the Greek Orthodox used an organ as accompaniment, but when I googled a few terms I learned that there may be some liberalization of using the organ for extra-liturgical music in the Greek Orthodox Church (please follow the link and read under Bridal Party if your sense of humor is as adolescent as mine--and that means you LC--much funnier religious words than biritual and diptych). And Megs, tell Larry he did a great job, though with his get up someone behind me asked if that was the Catholic choir. The Byzantine Archieparchial Choir sang Blessed be the Name of the Lord in (I am ashamed to say it this way) some Slavic language, and they went commando. It was fantastic, just human voices, and their "Slava" was magical. I really felt for some of the people out there that kvetch about not using enough Latin in the Roman Rite, because when this choir sang a verse in English, in no way did I buy that Glory was the same as Slava. The UCC choir did Go Tell it on the Mountain with soloist Lily Abreu, who is just everywhere in Pittsburgh. She is incredible: she's in the opera with Kate, she is locally famous for singing Brasilian jazz, everywhere Lily.
So how'd I keep two boy well-behaved for a two hour program? As I mentioned above, Crispian falling asleep didn't hurt. Myles wasn't trying alternately to impress and then annoy him. But before he fell asleep, he was watching the Interpreters for the Deaf. We happened to sit very close to them, by chance really, and he watched them intently for much of the time he was awake. Myles watched them, too, but not as much as Crispian. Myles also is pretty attentive to music. He might try to talk his way out of sitting through a homily, but he will be still during a song at Mass. I had noticed this before at Mass, and I wonder if we shouldn't try a Byzantine liturgy, where everything is intoned, I think. Okay, stop laughing, LC. I am not about to try subjecting yet another unsuspecting church with my son.
Comments