We had only two altos at the first service--in fact, it was practically a chamber choir--and only three altos at the second, when there were five or so sopranos. This made the alto failure to make that difficult entrance particularly noticeable, to us anyway. We had only three at the second service--and S-, who is usually an impeccable reader and steady as bedrock, had the same trouble with the difficult entrance I did. So it's definitely Britten's fault, because S- does not make mistakes. David pushed, shoved, and otherwise forced us through it a half dozen times in rehearsal, until we pretty much had it (it was easier when he gave us The Glare at the appropriate moment) but we nearly lost it in the service anyway. He does not think any of us should require extra cueing, and he's right (he's always right; he's the director) but there are times...
My reward, so to speak, for suffering through the Britten (which we did quite well in the second service) was being the page-turner for our organist for the postlude. Vivaldi. There are two basic sweet spots for listening to the organ in that church (which, thanks to decisions of earlier renovators, has not-great acoustics) and one of them is beside the organ console. So not only did I get to watch our organist dance wonderfully over the keys, but I was in a good spot to hear it as well. Aside from my permanent panic about turning pages *wrong* (two at once, too soon, too late, too wobbly, not catching the page that wants to flop back...) it's enjoyable, although I wish I didn't have to stand up there mostly visible as I lean out to make the turns. Still, Austin playing Vivaldi, yum.
For those someplace where it isn't, it's hot here. It's been hot here. It's going to be hot here. Three or four days this past week set new records (replacing the ones set last year.) The bank sign and one of our thermometers agreed on 109F today. It's also dry here (fire danger high, red flag warning) but the last I saw the county commissioners in this county hadn't inssued a burn ban (though we're surrounded by counties that have. Plants are dying all over the yard, and the water restrictions mean we can't water them enough to keep them all alive. Our efforts now are on the foundation (if the soil shrinks too much, the house cracks and so may the pipe lines and selected trees.