All Souls’ Day Concert

I attended a classical music concert at the Christ the King Catholic Church today. I feel so cultured.

I am not Catholic but I have been to a couple churches with friends in my life. When inside a cathedral I am always taken aback by the resplendent decor, yes that's right, I said resplendent decor. From the wide marble columns and high vaulted ceilings to the gold trimmed walls, it was all very resplendent.

The choir stand(lack of a better term) was located in a balcony behind the pews. In order to see the musicians you had to twist unnaturally to glance behind you. However, given the style of music, you could stare ahead at the wall portrait of Jesus or close your eyes and meditate. The guys in front of me was nested between his wife and a pillar at the edge of the bench. His eyes were closed. Maybe he was meditating. I think he was sleeping. I tried the former.

When I closed my eyes, I my imagination kept wandering. I was thinking of plots for movies and story lines. I really decided to concentrate on the actual notes being played and . . .voila. I was meditating. I have never really accomplished that before. And I didn't fall asleep.

There was a tenor there or baritone, I am not sure his voice was pretty deep, sang Deep River arranged by Moses Hogan. It was amazing.

Ironically, I was one of three black people in the audience. I only mention this fact because the last song on the schedule was "Ain't got time to die". I am pretty sure it was a Negro spiritual and I suddenly felt the stare of hundreds of eyes. Just kidding. Just thought it was a funny was to end the evening. For the first time in months, I felt a sense of actual peace and total calm. I really needed that.

It was quite and evening.  

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