Let choirs sing well or not at all. Otherwise we merely confirm the majority in their conviction that the world of business, which does with such efficiency so much that never really needed doing, is the real, the adult, and the practical world; and that all this culture and religion (horrid words both) are essentially marginal, amateurish, and rather effeminate activities.
--C.S. Lewis
Jared pulled out this quote last week to make a point about his picking at details during that rehearsal. Sometimes I wonder how he can find so much patience when sometimes it feels like he's leading a Teflon choir (nothing sticks) and I wonder at how he can direct something pleasant from a collection of people lacking high levels of musicality (myself included).
I don't know what I think about this quote. Certainly I have no doubt that the world view Lewis described is quite common, but can that really be attributed to constant exposure to poor quality as he implies?
And what does it mean to sing "well?" I've sat through some pretty painful performances in my day that most others thought were wonderful. Does that make me overly critical? I've also lived in fear playing the violin next to people who have perfect pitch and any incursions in intonation (most of which I wouldn't notice) sound like nails on a chalkboard to them. Maybe the definition of "singing well" depends entirely upon the listener's musicality.
At the risk of sounding pompous, when members of the choral were saying how well the concert came together tonight, I just smiled. Well, it wasn't so bad... For a dress rehearsal. Hopefully we'll be presentable by the time people are paying to see us.
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