Saturday, December 11, 2010

Midwinter Blogfest & Christmas Canon

Since I signed up for two blogfest in one day, I posted the Midwinter blogfest first and Harry Potter after I hope you will visit both post and leave comments for each

Midwinter Blogfest hosted by Marieke at Marieke’s Musings.

What does your MC do for the holiday? It can be a holiday before you place them in the story you’re writing. In 500 words or less.

Christmas Concert to Benefit the Children’s Hospital

“Please welcome, Rama Mohammad and Missie Kersten,” the conductor said.

The crowd clapped.

Missie smiled at Rama, they walked on stage. The scent of pine washed over Missie. The orchestra occupied a place at the far end. Rama’s grand piano was close while Missie’s music stand was in the center. Behind, the auditorium backdrop featured a midwinter scene at night. Before the backdrop, fresh pine trees glowed with colored lights.

The conductor lifted his baton. With a nod of his head and a dramatic sweep of his baton the holiday concert began.

Rama played the first notes to O’ Holy Night, her fingers gliding over the keyboard. The orchestra joined in, the violins struck a balance to the brilliance Rama inspired. As the song swept into the final note and the orchestra faded, Missie’s butterflies dispersed from her nervous stomach and she lifted her flute to the tune of I Wonder as I Wander. The flute became soulful. On the fourth stanza Rama’s piano joined the flute. Both women lifted the tune, the violins were sweet, the song slowed, the flute tones faded, the piano held a note, and the cymbal broke the mood to introduce Feliz Navidad.

Rama’s piano struck a playful dance; the trumpeters stood and cheerfully blew the notes in rhythm. Missie waited, she watched the conductor, patient for her moment. Raising the flute, she held it close to her lips. The lights dimmed and the spotlight shifted to Missie. She felt the increase of heat. The conductor signaled and she tenderly blew the first note of Ave Maria into the aperture of her instrument. Not once did she waiver in her solo performance. The music drew her heart. She neared the end…hold, release.

The lights faded from Missie and captured Rama, then the orchestra. Rama immediately touched the keys of her piano and introduced, Christmas Canon. The violins joined her and a childrens choir walked on stage singing the classic music. Missie smiled, she loved this song.

The tone faded, the children began to leave the stage while still singing the last two lines. The conductor waved the baton toward Missie, the lights drew her figure, and she blew the notes to Aspen Glow. A guitarist in the orchestra strummed the music along with her; the bell choir tinkled at the precise moment. The orchestra took the lead to blend into Carol of the Bells.

Rama played. Instead of a French horn or Trumpet, Missie’s flute carried the quick beat, capturing the tension, she added drama, and excitement flowed through her.

When the last note played, and the orchestra fell silent, Missie lowered her instrument and stepped in front of the music stand. Rama stood before the grand piano and the orchestra before their chairs. The audience cheered, the musicians bowed, and the thrill of the evening still danced in Missie’s heart.

The End.

Now for your enjoyment, Christmas Canon from YouTube.

37 comments:

Francine Howarth said...

Hi,

I adore "Pachebel's Canon", so for me this was extra special.

You set the scene so perfect I could hear the music playing long before I reached the music clip! Beautiful writing here and nicely orchestrated midwinter festival.

best
F

Denise Covey said...

Perfectly pitched for the blogfest Nancy! I loved reading it and I loved the musical interlude.:)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful :O)

Kristina Fugate said...

This is perfect for this blogfest :) The writing is beautiful. I could picture everything like it was happening right in front of me. (I really wanna listen to a bunch of Christmas songs now. lol)

Thanks for sharing!

N. R. Williams said...

Thank you Francine, L'Aussie, Madeleine and Kristina. Your comments mean a lot to me and I'm thrilled you enjoyed the piece which stars my heroine, Missie and her BBF Rama.
NR

Rachael Harrie said...

Lovely description of the music, thanks for sharing :)

Rach

Jules said...

I could actually see this story, great job! :)

I wish I had time to read both but I'll have to catch up later, please forgive me :(

Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

N. R. Williams said...

Thank you Rachael.

There's nothing to forgive Jules. I'm glad you like them enough to return. Harry Potter is shorter and hopefully funny.

Thank you both for your comments.
NR

Joanna St. James said...

Very Nicely done Nancy, I'm impressed

N. R. Williams said...

That is high praise indeed Joanna, thank you. I appreciate you coming by and visiting me so much.
NR

Michael Di Gesu said...

Nancy,

You seem to have musical knowledge. Do you play an instrument? I felt as if I were in the audience. Beautifully written.

I can't wait to read you HP entry.

Michael

Helen Ginger said...

You painted not only the visual but the sound in your story. Very nice!

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Nice concert! I'm glad that you mentioned the smell of pine; I love that around the holidays!

N. R. Williams said...

Michael, I love music and when I was in my early 20's I took piano lessons. However, I am not a musician, just a lover of the art. Thank you for reading both post, I really appreciate that.

I am so glad you enjoyed the story Helen. Thanks for leaving a comment.

Cheers to you both.
NR

Summer Ross said...

Very beautifully done, well written and an inspiring read.

Unknown said...

A lovely seasonal gift. Thank you.

PS: The Canon is one of my favorites ... even when I write. I have a CD of 15+ versions of the piece.

N. R. Williams said...

I love pine too Sandra. I seem to dislike it artificially though. I am so glad you liked my story. I sweated over the lines.

Thank you Summer, that was praise indeed.

I am grateful to both of you for stopping by and reading my entries and leaving a comment.
NR

N. R. Williams said...

Me too Kay. I don't have it on CD, but I do have the internet. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed my story.
NR

Dominic de Mattos said...

Lovely piece Nancy. I loved the concert programme too! The words were a lyrical as the music.

:Dom

N. R. Williams said...

Thanks so much Dom, that means a lot to me.
NR

Golden Eagle said...

I love this blogfest entry, and great music, too!

N. R. Williams said...

Thank you Golden, that means a lot to me.
NR

Brenda Drake said...

Great piece and I completely loved the ending "...and the thrill of the evening still danced in Missie’s heart" totally captures how she was feeling after finishing the performance. Brilliant! :D

N. R. Williams said...

That is high praise Brenda, thank you so much.
NR

Su said...

Absolutely brilliant. You definitely captured the feeling of a concert.

Ketutar said...

Wonderful :-) Thank you :-)

Simon Kewin said...

Great stuff; very evocative. Thanks!

N. R. Williams said...

I am honored Su, thank you.

I'm so glad you liked it Ketutar.

Simon, I've never had anything called evocative before, thanks.

I appreciate all of your comments.
NR

Unknown said...

I found this very speacial because I am a flautist myself :-) I played in an orchestra when I was in high school and I loved it, but I've missed it since I left school and it always makes me strangely sad to see other people playing and to know what I'm missing out on...
Beautiful piece :-)

N. R. Williams said...

That is special Rachel. I always wanted to play the flute and numerous other instruments. But we were poor growing up so it was impossible. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
NR

Marieke said...

Perfect, music is such a wonderful celebration! I used to sing in a choir and we used to do Christmas concerts, so I remember the thrill all too well :)

N. R. Williams said...

I did too Marieke. There is something so powerful about music. Nice to see you, thanks for dropping by. Of course the entire blogfest was your idea so thank your for that to.
NR

Patricia Stoltey said...

Lovely post, Nancy. The video clip is wonderful.

N. R. Williams said...

I Patricia, thank you so much.
NR

Anonymous said...

The description is really good, I know very little of music but I got caught up in the performance anyway, thank you :)

N. R. Williams said...

You're welcome project. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
NR

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