h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yesterday was the first day of Advent. Today we had our first frost. And tomorrow is the first day of Winter in the UK. So I really must think about buying a few Christmas presents.

This evening we have our final rehearsal for Messiah, which we perform in aid of charity every year in St Patrick's Cathedral. The performances are on Wednesday and Thursday.

It's always a lovely occasion, but having sung it 43 times before, I'm beginning to get a bit tired of it.

I have managed a grand total of:

1 x present for VC

3 x ideas for Hubby, VV and VC's Hubby

7 x more to think about


Good luck with the Messiah. You'll still enjoy it

lil xx

Maybe you could 'rearrange' it a bit. Maybe do a ska version, or sing it in Glaswegian slang, or something?

We could, but I don't think it would attract the crowds, and we're doing it for charity, so we really need to attract the crowds.

One of the really potty ideas that got government backing to celebrate the Millennium in Ireland was a rock version of Messiah. The organiser, Frank McNamara, spent £700,000 of public funds, pulled out all the stops, got a good orchestra and choir . . . and then hired Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Roger Daltrey and Jeffrey Osborne.

Rock singers, even soul singers, can't sing Handel.

I didn't attend, I stayed far away, but a friend in the choir said it was good fun. Not a financial or artistic success though.

It is such a fantastic piece though... but after that* many times... well I guess you must have some idea of what its like for some of these aging rockstars who have to keep doing the same song every* time they do a concert... which they've been doing in some cases since the early 1970's by now... they must get so fed up of the audiences craving their old matterial

Christmas? I've not even thought* of a present yet let alone bought any

There is a Quincy Jones version - it's probably hard to get hold of. I wasn't blown over by it (heard it on CD) but it's probably a case of "You had to be there".

Mozart did a version of Messiah, hotting it up from its old-fashioned Baroque style into the new Classical style. But I've never heard it.

But the arias you only get to hear at the performances, so they must still have retained their magic for you.

As for it being Advent - that is really big in Germany. The forecast was for frost today (2 Dec) but the sun's shining its little heart out. If we have frost before Friday (St Barbara) we shall be able to follow the tradition of cutting a few twigs of forsythia and bringing them in - they should then be flowering at Christmas. Not that it's a particularly Christmassy flower, mind.

You probably have heard the Mozart version; a lot of people use his orchestration. In the 1950s Sir Malcolm Sargent added some extra instruments -- cymbals for the phrase 'Thou shalt dash them to pieces' and so on.

Last night's performance of Messiah went well, despite the fact that I hurt my back on Saturday and have problems standing up.

The lighting in the cathedral was really bad - there was a huge spotlight just behind me which kept the top of my head warm and lit up my score so brightly that when I looked up at the conductor I was temporarily dazzled each time and couldn't see her. At the same time, the rest of the choir had their scores in deep shadow.

On the other hand, the music was good. The soloists were excellent, except for the bass who seemed to have a slight cold, and I thought the trumpeter was a bit harsher than normal. All in all a good night, although we didn't quite fill the place.