Solstice Shabbat at Etz Chayim

Once again, the Trinity Ringers played for the Winter Solstice Shabbat service at Etz Chayim synagogue in Palo Alto. We've played there 3 times before - here's the blog post from the last time, which details how we came to start ringing at a synagogue in the first place!

This year, we were joined at the last minute by Gretchen Rauch & her daughter Theda Howard. 2 of our regular members were out with health issues & another had a scheduled absense that I apparently completely blanked about because I thought she was going to be there. But, I've been really busy lately, so I probably just missed it.

We played more pieces this year than we ever have in the past, plus there was a trio of women from the congregation (Mark called them "The Moms") - keyboard/vocals, guitar, and violin - that sang 3 songs, plus a piece for recorder & harpsichord, PLUS Mark played a piece on vibraphone accompanied by Mary on harp.

There was LOTS of music & here's what we did:

Before the service proper, Mark started out by passing out some small percussion instruments to the congregation - finger cymbals, small wind chimes, etc., - and encouraging people to ring them when they felt moved to. It was interesting having random "bings and bongs" happen during the service!

Then, still before the service proper, Mark read something from Rabbi Moshe Cotel (who was also a pianist) about how Friday night Shabbat was always his chance to step away from the world & from the hustle & bustle of everyday life - he saw the moon as being a "silver fermata" in the sky. After that, the Moms sang "Erev Shel Shoshanim", then Mark led the congregation in reciting the Sim Shalom.

After that, the congregation sang a 3-part round -- handbells on one part, harp and vibes on another part, violin & harpsichord on the 3rd -- to "Hava Nashira". (The handbell part was just the melody, in 4 octaves.) Mark then read "Eternity utters a day" by Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Then, the handbells and the harp led the congregation in singing "L'cha Dodi" to greet the Sabbath. The handbells played the melody in 2 octaves, plus a nice bass line. Next up was Psalm 98, read responsively, followed by handbells alone on Arnold Sherman's "Grazioso".

At this point, the service proper began. (Yes, that was all "Prelude"!)

The leader of the synagogue's Saturday morning contemplative Shabbat service led us all in singing the Baruchu and Mark read a piece about Creation and Night before the handbells played Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" - which was specifically requested of us by a member of the congregation!

A meditation followed this, then the handbells and harp led the congregation in singing "Etz Chayim". The handbells played the melody in 3 octaves. This was followed by the Shema and a song sung by the Moms, "Oifen Pripitchik". A reading about redemption came next, then the Hashkevienu, followed by Mary (harp) accompanying Mark (vibes) on the Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony.

Before the Kaddish, the handbells played the 2nd movement from a piece called "Tropes" by a composer that Mark knows. I only know the composer's last name - Liederman. Originally for piano, it has the notation "Bell-like", so Mark thought it would be appropriate to play on handbells! A technically simple piece, it consists of 12 measures, 11 of which start with the two notes E-A followed by a chord (the chord is different in each measure). (The 12th measure doesn't start with the E-A, but goes E-A chord chord.) I had the bells all "robot ring" for this piece, which is different sonically as well as visually. Sonically, because the bell is stationary after it's rung, so the sound waves are limited to a single plane rather than being broadcast all about the room - this makes for a much more "austere" sound than regular ringing. Visually, because the bell is staionary after it's rung, so the ringers do not have the flowing "multi-armed" look that regular ringing gives them. It made for a very effective contrast.

Mark read something else from Rabbi Cotel, then the harpsichord & recorder played a Handel piece. I don't know which one it was, but as they were playing it, it was on the tip of my tongue. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to ask them! :-( This was followed by the Healing Prayer, then we played "Tropes" again.

Now it was time for the Dvar, or lesson. Mark modified a previous sermon he had given on "Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned in Bell Choir"! LOL! We're trying to get him to give that sermon at our annual spring concert. :-)

After the Dvar, the violinist played with us on Kath Wissinger & Tammy Raetz's "The Travelers from Nazareth".

I know that that seems kind of a weird thing to play at a synagogue; that was my first reaction, too! But when Mark & I were first talking about what to play, he asked me what we were working on for our other engagements - Kara & Lessons & Carols. We decided that "Lo How a Rose" probably wouldn't work at all, but since "Travelers" was an original composition and we wouldn't be singing the words, it would be ok. I believe Mark's words were "Nazareth is in Israel!" So, we've done that piece 3 times this season: once with viola, once with choir, and once with violin. It really is lovely. :-)

The Alenu came next, followed by the Moms singing a lovely song called "Lay Down". This was followed by the Mourner's Kaddish, announcements, and the Parents Blessings.

To wrap up the service, Mark passed out pots, pans, bowls, and other odds & ends to the congregation and the handbells led them in singing "Psalm 150". The treble played the melody in 2 octaves, while the bass played chords underneath. Then we all headed over to the back of the room for the Oneg before packing up & taking everything back to the church.

As always, it was a LOT of fun to play at Etz Chayim. They are always so welcoming and warm to us - many people come up to the tables after the service to ask questions or to tell us how much they enjoy hearing the bells. I know that there aren't a lot of groups that play at synagogues, so it feels pretty special, too. :-)

I sent a note to the Ringers thanking them for all their hard work in putting this together. While we had prepared "Grazioso" and "Travelers" for the Kara service, "Moonlight" and all the other stuff was unique to this one. We had a few rehearsals on "Moonlight", but only one rehearsal on the other stuff, so they really did work very hard in a very short amount of time to learn all this music! Mark replied to my note:

Seconding Michele's note, you were amazing on Friday. Thank you all so much for volunteering to do this for my congregation, and especially for working on the knife's edge this time. Learning so much music so quickly and with just-in-time subs as well. And then fitting it all into a complicated service with other "acts" as well. Bells are always special wherever we play and I'm sure ringing for shabbat must be one of the most unique things any handbell choir anywhere does. (That and consuming large quantities of chocolate.)

Here's to next year! :-)

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