This photo is from the house concert I gave last weekend. The first half of the program consisted of arrangements of general hymns, some from my CD Notes of Faith. I began with Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho and ended with On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand - both a nod to Black history month.
For the second half I decided to play selections from the church year. In every concert, I give notes on the history of the hymn, or the hymn writer, or some personal meaning that piece holds for me. Here I am counting off the seven great O antiphons of that wonderful Advent hymn, O come, O come Emmanuel. I was privileged to relate to my audience an almost mind-boggling bit of information which I read on this blog just before Christmas. There were audible sounds of awe - not sure how else to describe it - when I finished. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to share knowledge of the words of this ancient hymn, then sit down at the piano to play it knowing that I have helped my audience appreciate it even more than they did before.
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