Feliz Navidad!!!

This season is always an interesting one for me, being involved in various choirs and such. Life seems to crescendo around Christmas. Usually, exams at school fall right before Christmas break. The year wraps itself up like another present under the tree and families gather around tables of food. Traditions are upheld. Everyone takes a deep breath. And then we hold it as we watch the clock. Everyone cheers and toasts to another year.

Well, right now I'm at the 'taking a deep breath' step. I love Christmas. I love the music, the rush of activity, the decorations, the air! Christmas air is definitely different than regular air. I love the lights. Mateo recently hosted a lovely little party the night before Christmas Eve at this adorable little village-of-sorts on the beach. It was so beautiful there. The beach, the night, the lights, the streets, the houses, the fountain. There was a little gathering of trees all wrapped in pure white lights with luscious green grass and a little brick pathway and benches. There was a tall Christmas tree with sparkling ornaments in front of a bell-tower. There was a glistening sea on the other side of a stretch of cold white sand, all under a clear and calm sky. Everything was picturesque (except the random glimpse of Winn-Dixie in between two houses...I pretended it wasn't there).

Christmas Eve, I played! I played the organ with a little ensemble of a cello, a violinist, three sopranos, and a bass. I messed up so much, but it was just incredible. I love playing with other people. There's just something magical about the way it all comes together. About the way the music shifts and changes when you layer it like that. About the way each part sounds so simple on its own, but is vital to the whole. The service was long, and somewhat foreign. Lutheran churches have a different fiber than Baptist churches, but the heart is the same. It was raining when I left. I had to run through a curtain of diamond raindrops to get to my vehicle.

On Christmas day, my little sister was ecstatic. I had opened all my important presents the night before. Santa only brings me candy these days (he threw in a flash drive and a Starbucks gift card to pacify me). But I had more music. My mother bought me the cd's I have been begging her for. This Italian composer, Ludovico Einaudi: I am obsessed with his work right now. We listened to it on the way to my grandmother's house. The route itself is actually quite beautiful. I was driving, and taking in the view, and listening to Einaudi. I had a grey Christmas, full of barren trees and empty fields, of grazing cows and narrow, winding roads. Of piano music and a warm kitchen and family games. It was grey, but it was gorgeous.

So I'm a little starry-eyed right now. Go listen to some Einaudi. Divenire is one of my favorites, I think. You'll see why.