Day 95: Raise in Song

Day 95: Raise in Song, originally uploaded by susanvg.

This is the steeple of Église Immaculée-Conception. I was at a concert in the church this evening - a joint effort by Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal and the Tallis Scholars. Both groups are celebrating 35 years of existence. What a wonderful concert! The church reverberated with the polyphonic music of the Renaissance with voices weaving in and out. It is always wonderful to hear music in the setting for which it was written and the pieces on the programme were meant to be sung in churches.

Choral music seems to make my head buzz with the sound. While I love the music, I also love the moment when it ends and the reverberation slowly dissipates. Like church bells, the sound of the voices lingers a moment before disappearing. It is so important for the audience to respect that moment of not quite silence before beginning to applaud, to make a space between the end of the music and getting back to the present.