I finally found the songs to complete my recital program

I think I have finally figured out what to do with this recital I've been planning. I had a bunch of songs that I really love, but most of them were depressing and slow and I knew that an audience might not like a whole program of that as much as I would. On Friday, I finally got the music that my coach had recommended nearly 6 months ago. I spent Saturday translating, and then went over to the school to play and sing through them. Not only do they add variety to the recital program, I love them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Too many exclamation points? No. I really do love them that much.) My voice is being quirky again--I can't decide if it's the allergies, or the meds to deal with them--but even with a voice that wasn't at its best, these songs sounded and felt great.

My biggest challenge and the saddest part of yesterday was narrowing down the huge list of potential recital songs. I read somewhere that editing your novel is sometimes like killing your children. That is kind of how I felt about dropping these songs. The good news is that just because they won't be on this recital doesn't mean I can never use them. I will sing them again sometime in the future. It's just hard to let go of them, even just for awhile, when I have grown to love them so much and they have taught me so much.

There may still be a few minor adjustments to make, but I think now that I have a program that will be musically satisfying for me and interesting for the audience. I finally have some variety in the tempo and mood. Now I just need to work on building the stamina for this big program. When I feel well, I am singing better than I ever have. Sometimes I'm even shocked at how beautiful it is. But on the days when I am fighting the pain, tension, and allergies, it takes a lot more time and patience to work it into that good place. And some days, I really am better off just not singing. All that makes it very difficult to find the consistency and build the stamina that I know I need.

I'm so excited about this new music that it's hard not to practice it. I love it when I have to force myself to stop singing.