Songs From the North

It was a dark and stormy night - how many times have I read that old chestnut, not dreaming that one day it would be the perfect opening sentence to a blog post?  But it was indeed dark and stormy night last evening as we ventured bravely forth to a concert.  If it wasn't for the fact that our daughter was singing in the choir and we were meeting up with the family at the venue, we would have been mightily tempted to stay curled up on the lounge, glass of red in hand, watching some Sunday night programme on TV.

But venture out we did, battling through heavy rain, parking miles away from the venue, on a steep hill, with the water gushing down the drains threatening to sweep our brave little car away, or so it seemed. There had been dire warnings not to drive and if you were so foolhardy, try to park under cover and not park under a tree.  Right.

I am really grateful that our daughter was singing and that we braved the weather to attend the concert, because it turned out to be the most enjoyable evening I can remember in a long time.  It was a sell-out event and we were so fortunate to find seats in the front row, which meant that the three grandchildren could see the stage without the usual frustrations of trying to look through rows of heads blocking their view.

The choir, Senisuara, joined two other choirs formed by their musical director Anna Humberstone, to present the most marvellous a cappella singing.

They warmed the audience admirably for the main event, the highly acclaimed The Idea of North.  They had performed the night before on Queensland's Gold Coast and their flight to Sydney had been delayed by three hours, due to the appalling weather.  Luckily for us they arrived on time.

I know I have featured this clip before, but it's worth another look.  I have admired this group for so long and was thrilled to finally see them perform live.  At interval it was clear that the boys (aged 4 and 6) were wilting, so their dad decided to get them home to bed, while their big sister (aged 8) stayed on with us for the rest of the evening.  She loves music with a passion, learning the piano and playing the trumpet in the school band.

The highlight of the evening came during the last song, Down in The River to Pray from one of my favourite movies Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?  Early into the song I noticed that Emily was quietly singing along with them.  When it was over, I asked her how she knew all the words.  "It's Daddy's favourite song.  He sings it to me all the time."  I was so sorry that Daddy had taken the boys home and had not been there to sing along with her.

The only down side of the night was discovering that someone had lifted our umbrellas from the massive pile in the hall foyer where we had left them so trustingly.  I can only conclude that the person/s needed them more than we did and think kindly of them.  Not.