By Heather Hamann ‘23
As we approach the holiday season, I’m reminded of the beautiful Ithaca snows and holiday carols ringing through the halls of Lincoln Hall and Sage Chapel. As Cornell has sent us home for the rest of the semester, my friends and I are stuck at home cramming for finals among family, hoping that quarantine will take us to where we need to be as a community. The thing that I miss most of all, though, is certainly Lessons and Carols, the annual concert that the Glorus performs for the Ithaca community. Right about now, we would be upon our last rehearsals in Sage Chapel, welcoming the instrumentalists into our midst or running through the choreography of the night. This year, we’ll be doing a virtual service.
About a week ago, I sat at my dining room table and recorded my parts in the pieces we’ll be doing. I balanced my phone on top of a speaker and propped it up against a banana. . I used my Apple earbuds- plugged into my phone- as a speaker. I had my headphones linked to my laptop to hear and sing along to the provided soundtrack. It felt strange and lonely to hear my voice alone sing the melodies that are usually heard in a swell of a hundred voices. I pictured the boom of the organ scaring all of us out of our seats at the beginning of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. As I sat still and smiled during the seniors’ verse of Silent Night, I pictured the graduates of 2021 as best I could, imagining all of us together to say goodbye. Still, I’m grateful to be able to participate in this service in whatever way I can this year. I’m eager to see and hear the final product.
I’ll miss the beautiful windows and ornately decorated walls of the Chapel. I’ll miss running up the tower to get there in time to sing along with carols with other chorus members, hoping my knees don’t give out on my high heels. I’ll miss the somber candles and singing every single verse of “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. I’ll miss the overwhelming excitement when we crowded downstairs in Sagement. I’ll miss the beautiful sound and feeling of singing with the Glorus live. Most of all, though, I’ll miss the chance to share a night celebrating with friends and family. I’m sure that it will feel all the more meaningful, when we are finally able to execute Lessons and Carols in its full glory again. Until then, I am grateful to have the love and support of the Glorus this Christmas, even if from afar.
The tree that members decorated for Lessons and Carols 2019 in Sage chapel.
New members in the crypt at Sage Chapel, preparing to sing the first piece of Lessons and Carols 2019, O Nata Lux by Thomas Tallis.