Messiah Sing pitch from December 11, 2003

by Mark Bartlett

'Twas the night of the Messiah Sing
and all through St Brigids
folks were inside and warm,
not outside and frigid.

The patrons they came
from all the suburbs around,
For this was the only night
Lexington let them into town.

They were admitted from Belmont,
from Woburn and Burlington
from Waltham and Weston,
and even from Arlington!

The weather was chilly
the parking lot was not snowy,
the pews were uncomfortable,
the decorations were not showy.

The town fathers endorsed
this event with such pride
They put a forty-foot light-up statue
of Handel outside.

The papers had heralded
the opportunity to sing
an oratorio by Handel.
and it wouldn't cost a thing. (or would it?)

This music will put you
and your voice through its paces,
Come all and sit down,
Come ladies and basses!

Each singer was handed
a tattered old score
with Handel's own signature
on page three or four.

And then husbands and wives
each made their goodbyes
and went off to their sections
with tears in their eyes.

The men down the middle,
Women to the left and the right,
the orchestra in the front,
the tone-deaf, out of sight.

They hoped it was worth
the price of admission.
And they made plans to meet up
At intermission.

The orchestra was nestling
each into their seats,
to play all the way through
but without the repeats.

The players they tuned
as best as they could've
they hadn't brought tuning forks
but maybe they should've?

And then a great hush
came down on the hall
and in came the man
who'd be leading them all.

But who was this new guy,
Who was prepared to risk all,
Up to the podium came
Mr. Michael T Driscoll.

What happened to Allen,
Who is this guy Driscoll?
This is like expecting Pavarotti
And getting Gene Siskel

We knew that this outfit
Has problems that are fiscal,
Can we put more in the baskets
And get Lannom, not Driscoll?

Sadly, Allen couldn't be here
He's OK, he was just ill,
But we have his own assistant,
In the personage of Driscoll

You shouldn't underestimate
His desire or his skill,
You'll be pleasantly surprised
By the talent of Driscoll

From the Saengerfest Chorus
Down to Brookline High,
His style of conducting
Makes all the girls sigh.

The crowd showed its excitement
and burst into clapping
Except for one gentleman
in the front who was napping.

Mike turned to the orchestra
and said, "Let's go through it
the way Handel himself
Told Allen Lannom how to do it."

He gave a great downbeat
and the orchestra started,
the chorus awaiting
to sing four-parted.

"And the glory of the lord"
was the mighty first chorus.
Their volume was great,
Their tone it was porous.

Their intensity was consuming,
their interest did not wane.
The crooked were straight,
the rough places were plain.

Then came a Sinfonia,
With no choral oration,
As though a radio had been tuned
To a classical station.

It continued like this
with the crowd held in thrall
they begrudged the omissions
they came to sing them all!

Occasionally the chorus
was allowed to sit down
and a soloist would stand
in jeans or a gown

And sing so beautifully
the orchestra forgot to play
because all they, like sheep,
were going astray.

But Mike would gather
their wide concentration
and get to the end with
just a little hesitation.

At last the first half
came to a close
and some people said,
"So that's how it goes!"

Yet most people realized
that the best was ahead
the parts they could sing
even if they were dead.

So they got up and relaxed,
Some loosened a collar.
And the main conversation was
"Geez, cider's a dollar?"

And others were heard
to say to themselves,
"That Driscoll's quite good,
How old is he, twelve?"

The signal was given
To return whence they came,
Some never did find the bathrooms
Now isn't that a shame?

They found their way back
To their seats they all wended
Ready to sing the rest
Though they knew how it ended.

And then some guy got up
In front of the throng
And read off some dumb poem
That was really, really long.

He said, "Well, okay,
Even if it's not funny,
The Masterworks Chorale
Would like to ask you for money.

You see this is the time
Known as the season of giving
We don't know all your interests
or what you do for a living

But we can only assume
you like music that's classical
A symphony, a requiem,
or maybe a massical.

The Masterworks Chorale
provides music to all
we have great ambition
but our income's too small.

We hope that by putting on
sings like the Messiah
you'll come to a concert,
maybe give one a try-ah.

This kind of music really
gives us a thrill
and if we don't perform it
then no one else will.

By supporting our efforts
with any donations
you help guarantee future
musical preparations.

Voices harmonized in song
from all great composers
The Verdis and Brahmses,
Bachs and Berliozers.

This sing tonight is free
but consider a contribution
so that with our creditors
we can make restitution

As Keivan will say
If you come tomorrow night,
"Our yoke is not easy,
Our burden is not light."

Hey, a movie's nine dollars,
With four dollar sodas,
And movies don't have overtures,
Dal segnos and codas.

If everyone here put in
Five or ten bucks, then
It'd go very far towards
Our future productions.

And bring you the music
we all like to sing
for making music together
truly is a great thing."

Now once the orator
was done with his pitch,
and the baskets were passed
with nary a hitch,

Then Maestro Driscoll returned
to conduct some more for us,
and we just couldn't wait
for the Hallelujah Chorus.

Yet before they could get
to that most famous tune
There was much to sing first
So it wouldn't be soon.

"He hath born our griefs"
did the chorus emplore,
although someone named "Shirley"
was who it was for.

"He was despised" sang
The alto sublime,
But we kind of got the point
After the first twenty times.

Then came that great chorus
and like any group should,
they were asked to stand up
but they'd already stood.

They sang "Hallelujah"
from the various groupings
there were cheers at the end
and a number of whoopings.

"The Trumpet Shall Sound"
was sung with great power
and the trumpet solo lasted
for about half an hour.

And one last long fugue
"blessing honor glory and power"
they sang it out lustily
as though in the shower.

Amen, and amen,
about four hundred times
All by itself
because nothing else rhymes.

The music then stopped
Mike lowered his baton
and the roar from the crowd
meant we could have gone on.

But the end it had come
this Messiah was finished,
although some people left
with their excitement undiminished.

And going home in the car
they again sang it clear through
while conducting as well
and playing the trumpet solo, too.

They felt really good,
even better than before,
And hopefully they remembered
to give back their score.

And now at the end
of this very long poem
before you sing the rest
put on your coats and go home

The Masterworks Chorale
and myself standing here
wishes you Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,
and best wishes for joyous, music-filled New Year!