Why I Wake Early

Because daylight saving time ended this morning, among other reasons.

For the final day of our recuperation weekend, M. and I were thrilled to attend the season opener for Coro Allegro and to hear the singing of our friends J. & T. The choral concert was held at Sanders Theatre at Harvard and comprised three pieces. The first was In the Beginning, Aaron Copland's first choral composition, musically staging the first verses of Genesis, and it featured the lovely mezzo-soprano voice of Hanna Penn for the solo.

The middle piece, Frogs, set a series of Edo period haikus (all involving amphibians and translated by Harry Behn) to music. Incredibly, rousingly fun, especially the a capella rendition/imitation of

Frog-school competing

with lark-school at dusk softly

in the art of song…

The concert finished with a familiar piece, Why I Wake Early, which melded the music of Ronald Perera and the poetry of Mary Oliver. The verses, written over the course of 30 years, trace a day's cycle through the observed natural world, and though my appreciation of poetry is meager and uncultivated, even I found Oliver's words lovely.

The evening finale (a perk of having friends in the band) was dinner with the musicians, including soloist and choral director, at Rani, the excellent Indian restaurant at Coolidge Corner we'd been meaning to try for quite some time. Delicious.

The music was gorgeous, always, and the meal with friends was a wonderful cap to a terrific weekend. With an extra hour of sleep, I think we'll be able to face the coming week.