IrishOboe

I thought I’d keep it up while I was ahead in hopes that next weekend I can write about classes.  Yesterday was not such a pretty day weather wise, and I missed hanging out with all the folks from church.  I didn’t even get to enjoy coffee hour because we had a meeting for the musicians playing for the Christmas service.  Am I learning to recharge my batteries around people??!  Enough of that.  I read in church, a very manageable text and didn’t do nearly so good a job as with the difficult texts.  It’s all psychological I tell you.

I had a marvelous giggle fit during one of the hymns but I think it looks about the same as when I’m radiantly praising the Lord so I hope nobody noticed.  “It Took a Miracle” is a classic.  We also sang “All hail the power of Jesus Name” and “When I survey the wondrous cross” which both made me happy (sorry Mom, no For All the Saints).

I’m playing harp and oboe for the Christmas service.  I’d signed up to do harp then Sarah called to ask if I would do oboe as well.  The thing was she called at 8am in the morning and only identified herself as “Sarah” and would I play oboe on the concert?  I’m bad with names and my mind was racing (having just run up from hanging my laundry) trying to think of a Sarah at school who knew I played oboe.  And which concert was it?  The one tonight or tomorrow?  I wouldn’t have a reed that soon.  I asked if she wanted modern or Baroque oboe and she said modern and then that really set my mind racing.  I finally asked which concert it was and when she said the date it at last dawned on me that this was for church.  Plenty of time to make a reed, so sure, I would play.  Well, I thought it was funny.

Before the meeting was over I had to rush home as I was already late for the raclette dinner veronica had planned.  When the Swiss say 1pm they mean eating at 1pm!  I was 15 minutes late and the party was well under way.  I suppose there is nothing special about raclette, but it lived up to expectation.  Grill cheese on a burner on the table.  Pour it over hot potatoes.  Add sauce and paprika.  Eat slowly while you wait for the next piece of cheese to melt.  There were 14 of us and everyone was Swiss so I got a good dose of Swiss German.  Those around me tried to carry on a conversation in high German, but though I could understand mostly, I wasn’t very good at carrying my own bit.  I was trapped and couldn’t go out to get my dictionary either.

We had a little guessing competition where we had to estimate the weight of a pumpkin, the high of sunflowers, the number of sunflower seeds in a jar, and identify the names of eight flowers.  Even converting to meters and grams I managed to get 2^nd place.  *Pat on back*

I had left while people were getting ready to go for a walk so that I could go to a period instrument concert that my fiddle teacher was playing oboe in.  It was lovely though my free ticket put me in the very back left.  I had fun deciphering the Latin and German for the Mozart mass in C minor.  Familiarity with high church liturgy come to my aid again.  I have a puzzle for the curious.

The Gloria in Latin was “Gloria in excelsis Deo.  Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.”  In German that’s “Ehre sei Gott in der Hoehe.  Und auf Erden Friede den Menschen, die guten Willens sind.“  In my understanding of German that would translate to English as “Glory to God in the highest.  And on earth, peace to people who are of good will.”  I’m not sure exactly of the prepositions, but the point is that the “good will” is something belonging to the ‘men.’  My memory of the English is “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”  It seems like a big difference to me.  Any insights?