Tonight was the dress rehearsal for choir, orchestra and soloists for Scott Fikse’s last service at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and if I had to sum it up, I would say it was full of glorious exuberance!

Dress rehearsals at church, though, are a little different from those you might experience for an opera or musical show. The choir doesn’t wear their vestments and the orchestra does not wear its concert black.

There’s something special about dress rehearsals, though, which I love. First of all, by now the music is supposed to be learned, and it’s just a matter of refining the details. There’s that feeling that everything is finally coming together and everyone is in attendance. The church is empty, and the acoustics are resonant and booming — like singing in the bathroom! The atmosphere is at once relaxed yet exciting as the music comes to life.

I was especially feeling the exuberance of tonight’s rehearsal of Bach Cantata 187, Es wartet alles auf dich (Everything waits for You). This work was not previously in the church library so it is new to me.

I just love the feeling of the notes racing by so fast that I can hardly blink my eyes!

I was very pleasantly surprised when Scott shared the performance as conducted by Rudolf Lutz to be used to familiarize ourselves with the tempos he was considering when he first distributed the music to the orchestra. The conductor, Rudolf Lutz, is a Swiss organist and harpsichordist whose outstanding performances and recordings were first pointed out to me by my Swiss friend, Vreni Griffith. We were also fortunate to hear his choir and orchestra in person at the Bachfest Leipzig a number of years ago.

See if you don’t agree that the opening chorus is absolutely glorious!

Here are some photos I took of tonight’s rehearsal.

If you aren’t able to attend the service in person on July 31st at 10:00 am HST, please try watching the livestream on the Lutheran Church of Honolulu Facebook page.