Another wonderful girls' night out in the city: dinner and, of course, the holiday Chanticleer concert at the Met. We wandered the Roman and Greek hall before the show, reading descriptions of sculptures under their missing noses.



It's my first gift of the season: to open the concert program in the Medieval Hall and read their selections for the night. Their second piece was one that our madrigal group has been rehearsing this fall: Victoria's "O magnum mysterium." It was the highlight: a pure weaving of notes. Will feel somewhat embarrassed to hear our voices work it next week in our dusty room.



Loved a new piece too: "Die Stimme des Kindes" by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi


The Child, unaware of my poignant listening,

has blessed my heart with somber sounds,

more than the rustling of trees in the silent forest.

A homesickness has come over me

deeper than when it rains on the silent heath,

or when distant bells chime in the mountains.