A Musical Christmas Party
Every year at this time, the barbershop chorus called The Harmeneers (yes, that's how they spell it) have their Christmas party at the Olde Liberty Station restaurant (formerly a train station) in Bedford. Everyone dresses in holiday attire. I wore a red silk Mandarin coat, complete with red and black sequins in the design, over a black pants outfit. The men wore red sweater vests over white long-sleeved shirts, with their red silk ties covered with gold musical notes, and black dress pants.
The meal was (Oh my!) prime rib with a couple of glasses of merlot to wash it down. Yes, I could have ordered raspberry chicken or a small square of broiled salmon instead, but this is the only holiday event we attend annually, so I'll just stick with salads for a few days to counteract the effect of the meal. I've recently lost 8 pounds, and don't want to ruin that loss.
What is particularly joyful about the evening is the singing. The acoustics in the restaurant are wonderful; the men all sang together at times, just spontaneously or in some cases directed. Some of the quartets (including Dick's quartet, the Waterfront Four) sang, and their voices just melded together. A few awards were presented; Dick, as Barbershopper of the Year last Christmas, announced this year's BBSOTY. We sat with four delightful folks; most of us women don't know the other women there with the exception of the three other wives in our own husband's quartet, but there were lots of hugs and cries of delight as we circled the room.
Still, it was a night for the men, and there is something about mens' voices blending so well together. BBS is a capello, with no music sheets and only a pitch pipe at the beginning of a selection to get them on the right note. One fellow still going strong is 92 or 93 years old! He always wears a red and white plaid vest and a green tie, seems never to forget a song, and this year, it appears he brought a girlfriend along!
Our church Christmas cantata was on Sunday, and now we've enjoyed our musical Christmas party. Life is good~
The meal was (Oh my!) prime rib with a couple of glasses of merlot to wash it down. Yes, I could have ordered raspberry chicken or a small square of broiled salmon instead, but this is the only holiday event we attend annually, so I'll just stick with salads for a few days to counteract the effect of the meal. I've recently lost 8 pounds, and don't want to ruin that loss.
What is particularly joyful about the evening is the singing. The acoustics in the restaurant are wonderful; the men all sang together at times, just spontaneously or in some cases directed. Some of the quartets (including Dick's quartet, the Waterfront Four) sang, and their voices just melded together. A few awards were presented; Dick, as Barbershopper of the Year last Christmas, announced this year's BBSOTY. We sat with four delightful folks; most of us women don't know the other women there with the exception of the three other wives in our own husband's quartet, but there were lots of hugs and cries of delight as we circled the room.
Still, it was a night for the men, and there is something about mens' voices blending so well together. BBS is a capello, with no music sheets and only a pitch pipe at the beginning of a selection to get them on the right note. One fellow still going strong is 92 or 93 years old! He always wears a red and white plaid vest and a green tie, seems never to forget a song, and this year, it appears he brought a girlfriend along!
Our church Christmas cantata was on Sunday, and now we've enjoyed our musical Christmas party. Life is good~
Labels: barbershop singing
posted by Marion | 6:16 PM
2 Comments:
Oh it just sounds wonderful Marion! I could picture every moment and felt I was inside one of the Big Stone Gap books! Great post!!
Oh that sounds wonderful - I've never been to the train station to eat, but I've heard of it. Did anyone take a picture? I love the way you described what everyone wore!
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