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An
Advent Song
Advent
is a wonderful time and the Viennese love it. The city is dotted
with small Advent markets, and all, more-or-less, exactly the same.
A beautifully decorated tree, hot spicy wine, Christmassy things one
can buy, a wonderful Advent feeling, and, of course, Advently
seasonal music. And, about ten years ago, I was at just such a
market, and this is what happened.
I
was having a wonderful time. Everything was great and everything
Advently perfect. But, it was the choir that provided the spirit
of the evening. And, singing mainly in English, they were very, very
good. But, the evening went quicker than expected and soon came the
very last song.
The
conductor turned to the people, thanked them, and wished them a very
merry Christmas and a happy new year. And then, after turning back
to the choir, closed his eyes, and started conducting the very last
number. And, the choir started singing, and the crowd started humming
and singing along. It was all very magic.
And,
then came the the very last line of this very last song. And, just
like a half dying swan in great pain, the conductor, with still
tightly closed eyes, raised his arms in an arch, paused for a second,
then flutteringly and dramatically brought them back down again for
the expected well practised majestic conclusion. But, the choir
didn't stop. They simply carried on singing! The last line had not
been the last line at all. The singers had been singing from their
song sheets and not even looking at the conductor. And, the
conductor, because of his tightly closed eyes, had not even noticed
he was being ignored.
But,
all's well that ends well. With a very red face, the conductor
conducted hard to catch up, and, of course, brought the concert to a
triumphant conclusion. And, the applause was fantastic. The audience
had had a wondeful evening.
And,
that's how it was. An evening of magic with with more than one or
two glasses of hot spicy wine, and, of course, some Christmassy
songs sung by a very fine choir.
Advent.
A wonderful time that the Viennese love – and, I love it as well.
Vocabulary
attention - Aufmerksamkeit
conclusion - Schluss
embarrassing – peinlich
expectantly - erwartungsvoll
goes without saying – (go/went/has gone...)
selbstverständlich
imitating - nachahmen
spirit – Geist
Questions
Where
was I ten years ago?
Why
was this a wonderful evening?
In
which language was the choir mainly singing?
Why
didn't the choir stop singing?
Why
was the conductor conducting with his eyes closed?
What
was the weather like?
Why
is singing so healthy?
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