I have singing

I first sang in a choir when I was 8 years old.  You had to be 8 in order to sing in the junior choir at church. I don't remember making a decision to sing in the choir. I just took it for granted.  

The choir leader's name was Mrs. Hurlburt.  She seemed to me to be at least 100 years old.  She had longish grey hair and when she sang she made a sound a little like a fog horn, but none of that mattered. I was excited to be singing in a choir. Through elementary school I continued to sing with the long-suffering Mrs. Hurlburt. We were kids: we got into mischief

In junior high I took vocal music in a school that had highly regarded music programs, both instrumental and vocal. Marilyn Perkins, the ‘real’ music vocal teacher didn’t teach the grade 7’s but we all knew who she was and without breaking stride, she responded with a curt nod and a hello, when we spoke to her in the halls.

In grade 8 I switched churches so I could sing in Miss Perkins’ church choir as well as in her school choir. My father, who was on the board of the church I had attended since I was born, was none too pleased but he didn’t stop me. As a result of the church switch I got to sing in the senior choir Thursday nights and Sunday mornings. That meant I was singing 5 days a week. The way the timetable worked at school we didn’t get music every day. Days without music class dragged.

Of course there were kids in the class who were way better than I was. A lot of them played the piano, which never really interested me, and some of them were adding singing lessons to their activities outside school. By grade 9 these kids were trying out for and getting into The Young Canadians, the group of singing dancing youth who took part in the Calgary Stampede grand stand shows. The idea of auditioning for anything scared the liver out of me and I knew I couldn’t dance so Young Canadians were out. The idea of singing lessons did appeal to me and I wanted Miss Perkins’ approval and attention. Many students were in awe of her.

My dad taught high school math and my mum stayed home with me. They didn’t have a lot of money and I thought singing lessons might be a hard sell so I got resourceful. I lied to my parents saying that Miss Perkins suggested I take singing lessons. Miss Perkins didn’t do anything of the kind but the lie worked and I studied voice for a number of years.

I got involved with musicals in high school and then in the community. I was with people who were interesting and who accepted me. I was hooked. My bewildered dad borrowed money against his insurance policy to send me to The Banff School of Fine Arts where I eased into stagecraft. After I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama, I went to work in the theatre department at Banff School of Fine Arts and spent 3 years there. 

The first year I didn’t sing in any choirs and by the second year I missed it. I was used to Miss Perkins and the way she did things. I borrowed money from my great aunt to buy a car so I could come to Calgary Thursday after work, attend choir practice, and drive back for work on Friday morning. After work on Friday I drove to Calgary, stayed with my parents on Saturday, sang in church Sunday morning and drove back to Banff Sunday afternoon for work Monday morning.

When I left Banff to return to university I continued to sing in the church choir. I met my husband through the church choir and for many years we have sung together there. I have friends in the choir whom I have known since we were teens. We sang together as young adults, when some married and started families, as their children moved out and established homes of their own, and now as they entertain us with stories of their grandchildren’s exploits. Many of us came to Scarboro because of Marilyn Perkins and, although she died almost 15 years ago, her voice creeps into our heads with instructions when we sing a piece we often rehearsed with her.

When I retired from teaching I went back to taking voice lessons, this time with Elaine Case, the daughter of my original voice teacher. I enjoy the lessons and I realize that my true enjoyment comes from singing with others. 

At the end of June this year our church choir joined with another and we travelled to Ottawa to be part of a 600 voice Unisong choir that celebrated Canada Day at the Shaw Centre and at the National Arts Centre. There were choirs from Yukon, Nunavut, Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, and one choir from North Carolina in the USA. Singing in a group that size is incredible. On the one hand there are so many singers that if I make a mistake no one is likely to notice. On the other hand if not enough people get it right you end up with musical mush.

“Music of the Land” by Kathleen Allen presented a particular challenge. It required us to sing in English, French and Inuktitut and features throat singers and Inuit drummers and dancers from Labrador and Nunavut. I didn’t get all the French or the Inuktitut right but the thrill of being part of that piece made every hair on my arms stand up. Many of us choked up at points as we sang and then regained control and sang even more fervently. It’s impossible to describe the emotional high of being a Canadian singer, and making music with others from all across the country. Unisong has posted this performance on YouTube so have a listen if you care to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcHLC7v5g_U&feature=share

Singing has given me so many gifts. It has given me companionship, laughter and it has taken me to  Saskatoon,  Vernon, New York City, Ottawa and Powell River. It fills my head with song. I seldom listen to music because If I’m awake, not concentrating too hard or listening to an audio book, I’m singing in my head. Sometimes I sing bits of songs over and over and sometimes I sing through whole pieces. Often I hum or whistle. The music is there whether I’m happy or sad and I have gotten myself through tough cycling days and hikes by singing inside my head. Singing has comforted me when I have been afraid and when someone I have loved has died. I simply can’t imagine what my life would be like if I did not sing.

I’ve cycled through a number of other pursuits, each of which was foremost in my life for a time. When I was training for long distance runs I used to get irritated by people who asked me if I was a runner or a jogger. My response was,  “A runner is someone who runs no matter how fast or how slowly. I’m a runner.” Similarly, a singer is one who sings regardless of how loudly or softly, beautifully or scratchily. By that definition I owe a debt to Mrs. Hurlburt and her foghorn voice. She may not have sung beautifully but she sang enthusiastically and she made it possible for me to sing in my first choir.

A couple of concerts ago One Accord, another choir to which I belong, sang “I Have Had Singing.” This is the story of the piece taken from a program by Steven Sametz. http://stevensametz.com/composer/works/info/i-have-had-singing/

Program Notes

I Have Had Singing paraphrases lines taken from Ronald Blythe’s Akenfield, Portrait of an English Village.  In the 1960’s, Blythe traveled to the north of England interviewing farmers, plowmen, blacksmiths — people whose stories dated back to the early 20th century.  One subject, given the name Fred Mitchell in the book, was an 80-year old horseman who told his story of working a bleak, unfertile land in a life filled with little joy. In the midst of his story, he stopped and said, “But there was always singing; the boys in the field, the chapels were full of singing. I have had pleasure enough; I have had singing.”
I Have Had Singing was written for the Berkshire Choral Festival, a summer amateur music festival. I Have Had Singing speaks to amateur and professional musicians alike about the simple love of singing and the lasting joy it can bring.

Text

The singing.
There was so much singing then
And this was my pleasure, too.
We all sang, the boys in the field,
The chapels were full of singing.
Here I lie:
I have had pleasure enough;
I have had singing.



I can’t say that I have had pleasure enough because I hope there are many more years of singing pleasure ahead but I can wholeheartedly say along with Fred Mitchell, I have had singing and my life has been richer for it. It’s not expensive and it doesn’t take a lot of equipment. Although I don’t, I can sing anywhere. While there are things I love more there is nothing I have loved longer. Whatever else happens in my life from this point on I, too, can say I have had singing.


Have a listen to ‘I Have Had Singing.’



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71WS7sS2nDw