Stick Time: Deviled Eggs and Choral Music

My 15-year old nephew likes deviled eggs.  He likes deviled eggs A LOT.  Like most teenage boys, the kid is ravenous, and when there are deviled eggs in the house, he eats them like his life depends on it.  The only thing is, he will only eat them when his mother (my sister) makes them.  When I (or anyone else for that matter) make deviled eggs he won’t touch them because I have the utter temerity to use a different type of salt.

 

A lot of people are like that about food.  They recoil at any variations made to a beloved recipe. Other folks, however, are eager to taste a familiar dish with a little different twist.

 

The same thing applies to music.  Plenty of folks only want to hear specific melodies arranged in one way, and only one way.  As an example, someone who grew up listing to the classic Nat King Cole performance of “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” may blanch at the equally attractive rendition by current-day crooner Michael Buble.

 

As conductors, we are thrust into that no-man’s land whenever we dare to program a new setting of a well-known (and often much-loved) melody.  While some in the audience may appreciate a fresh approach to a familiar tune, others do not appreciate such liberties being taken.  As many of us have learned, the latter group are not shy about sharing their (frequently negative) opinions about the arrangement.

 

Ponder that as you listen to this setting of “Amazing Grace” performed during a recent ACDA divisional conference.  How would an audience in your locale react to this setting?  What pedagogical elements would be present for you students in this version?

 

Now go home and make deviled eggs the way your mother taught you.