Some days hit just the right note, writes John Hale.
I relish the story of that World War 1 soldier in the trenches who asked himself what he would do if he ever got home from the war, and decided he would sing. He founded the RSA Choir. Singing symbolises happiness, and self-sufficient delight.
Lucky are those who can naturally sing in tune, with a full voice. It took me much longer.
There's much to think about. Breathe well, and deeply. Stand right. Listen to the sounds you are making, and match them to the sounds all around you. Keep one eye on the conductor, and the other on your score until (we hope) you have it by heart. This means that singing engrosses you, so you leave the worries of life behind. But it's very hard work.
Happiness doesn't come at once, then. When does it come? At some point during rehearsals. It begins to make sense. And before you tire, you wallow in the unique buzz. You, your own body and mind, contribute to something glorious which is outside your body and inside.
The trouble is, when the buzz comes, two more things happen. In the short term, you relax and go off pitch, or lose the timing or spoil the blended sound. Longer term, too, that golden moment, late in a late rehearsal, has soon gone. It has to be worked back to, again and again.
Nowhere more than in performance. The acoustics change; nervous tension tightens your throat.
What about the conductor in all this? Singers must trust the conductor, no matter whether the singers can be trusted not to mess things up. A true conductor has a Platonic idea of how the song should sound. And sometimes, too, the performance is better than any rehearsal has been.
So now for my Happy Day. The Southern Consort are singing in the Glenroy Theatre, unaccompanied songs by Brahms. Brahms must have been a tenor, he writes such good lines for tenor - none of the chordal Polyfilla. One song I remember, Lost Youth. It's a passionate lament. I was 50-plus, and well enough aware of lost youth. An injury had stopped me running. My singing career would fade from now on.
But on the wings of song, Lost Youth became enjoyable. We did the song justice, forgetting all the bodily aches. I sang more full-bloodedly and more musically than ever before, or since. And behold, the conductor (the wonderful Jack Speirs) said to me, ''Well done''.
Singing is really living.
• Dr John Hale is a former associate professor at the University of Otago English department and Otago Daily Times columnist.
Tell us about your best day. Write to odt.features@odt.co.nz or ODT Features, PO Box 181 Dunedin. We ask correspondents not to nominate weddings or births - of course they were the best days.
