Encouragement from Eric: The Missa is mammoth

Eric shared this with singers at the Missa Solemnis rehearsal on Tues, September 22, 2015:

Dear singers,

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Tonight is our sixth Tuesday night rehearsal on the Beethoven MISSA SOLEMNIS. Normally, by our sixth rehearsal, we are virtually performance ready. Pronunciations, dynamics, tempi, nuance…all is (mostly) in place, singers are up out of their scores, and the music lives in the rehearsal hall.

But this is Beethoven MISSA SOLEMNIS.

All bets are off…and we are in uncharted waters.

The MISSA SOLEMNIS is a mammoth work. It is a vocal marathon of Olympic proportions. It requires physical and vocal stamina, and demands a level of mental focus that continues unrelenting for over 90 minutes. It’s nearly 200 pages of choral music. So yeah, at this point, we’re still doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

To my singers: courage, fair ones! Keep the faith! Chin up, and all that sonata-allegro jazz. Your work is the very fabric of the majesty and success we will share together in a few works.

To all our Symphonic Choir friends and fans: have a kind word for your singer pals…and don’t fret if you see persistently furrowed brows for another week or so. Do your part to lighten our load with a pat on the back, and a smile of encouragement.

To all lovers of the choral art: we are well on pace to enjoy an unbelievably moving and profound evening of Beethoven, the mass, and some of the most inspired expressions in history’s span. We look forward to sharing the fruits of our labors…demanding as they are….with our community and with you.

Eric Stark
Artistic Director
Indianapolis Symphonic Choir