Hosanna

I'm singing in this concert this upcoming Friday and Saturday. I'm so looking forward to it because it is a spiritual feast. Every word comes straight from the Bible. The music is some of the most powerful, passionate, beautiful stuff I've ever heard. It makes me cry every time I hear/sing it. Music has always affected me deeply. But this...I've never had anything reach this deep inside me before. I was already a part of Millennium Choir when Lex de Azevedo was writing Hosanna. He'd come to rehearsal and play bits and pieces of what he was working on, tell us his vision, share the amazing spiritual experiences he'd had while writing. He'd have us sing certain passages in the music while he'd listen and decide if the notes were right, the right rhythm, etc. Sometimes he'd ask our opinion. We were watching him compose this music right in front of us! I could tell that I was literally watching musical genius taking place.
And then it all came together when Lex got George Dyer to sing the words of Christ, Greg Pearson to sing the part of Peter and Jenny Oaks Baker to solo on her violin. They are perfect, all three of them, perfect for this. I don't know how to even describe the talent and emotion that they bring to this work other than to say that it would not be be the same without them. Lex, himself, plays the piano which, in and of itself, is a treat. There is Millenium as the primary choir and then 3 other choirs that make up the antiphonal choir that sings from the back of the church. It's phenomenal. It truly is. And I'm so glad that I get to sing it again this Easter weekend.