How Great Thou Art

Here we go!

I wrote an arrangement of How Great Thou Art that's simple, yet has enough changes to keep it flowing and interesting. Yes, I know the song has a copyright restriction but I'm not selling my arrangement and when the choir is finished, it will all disappear. Poof!

Today was the first time we've gone over my arrangement. As we started off, I began to wonder if perhaps my expectations for 2011 were a bit too lofty. I perished the thought and pushed on.

There was a big faux pas with the lyrics on the sheet music (my computer has a tendency of eating lyrics), and the altos seemed hesitatant about their first notes in the harmony since the piano part is really doing its own thing throughout. The "ad libitums" ended up more like fermatas since noses were buried in the music folders.

But let me tell you...it's amazing what 50 minutes versus 15 minutes of rehearsal can do! After rehearsing for about 40 minutes, my little choir was getting the feel of the music! They were finding their pitches! They were following their conductor!

I can't wait until next week to perform. Plus, I've got new singers scheduled to appear beginning next week.

There are times when I really love being a choir director. Today was one of them.

Choir...today, how great thou wert.