No, we didn’t sing any Monteverdi during the six Christmas services the past three days, but I thought I’d share what I gave Carl for Christmas. It was a photo memory book of our Monteverdi Vespers performances, with lots of photos and the “behind-the-scenes” story. You can actually see the book here, and order one for yourself if you want, in any number of formats or sizes (soft cover or hard cover available).

[Ed. note: No obligation, of course! I don’t get anything out of this!] A lot of the text comes from my blog posts, but I also included a lot of comments from people who attended or participated in the performances: choristers and instrumentalists alike. Who knows, you may see your name there!

Of course I had to work on the book in secret — Carl mistakenly thought I was playing games on the computer!

Last night’s Solemn Vespers for St. Stephen went very well and it probably was the latest we have ever picked up the program from the printer: at 5 pm on the very day! Our soloists, Chandra Peters, Georgine Stark and Keane Ishii, absolutely gave stellar performances on this sublime music (Hoffman “Magnificat” and Bach Cantata 57). But lest anyone think we can relax, tomorrow night is the first of two choir rehearsals this week for next weekend’s German Vespers. We’re starting to type the program TODAY.

Meanwhile, here are some photos which appeared on the Lutheran Church of Honolulu’s FaceBook page, taken on Christmas Eve.