Date Day

Not long after we arrived in Osterville, Dave received a flier at work advertising a production of Handel's Messiah at Symphony Hall (home of the Boston Pops) in Boston. Knowing that I love a good show and with interest in learning about Messiah, Dave purchased a couple of tickets. That's right, just two! This was an adults only date. He proposed to the idea to some friends on the worship team who he knew would be interested, and one sweet woman said it sounded great, but what if she kept Sarah while we attended? Of course, we gratefully accepted this gracious invitation. Tickets, check! Babysitter, check!

So the night before the date Dave was confirming our schedule, route, and parking arrangements and discovered what became a playful counterpart to our sophisticated outing. The Boston Pops were kicking off their winter season with a carol sing. Not just any carol sing. This was a world record attempting, continuous carol sing. We needed to join with 7,200 other carolers for approximately 15 minutes of singing to beat a record set at Bob Jones University in 2004. So Dave called our babysitter and rearranged our plans so that we could carol. And carol we did! Though a mere 3,200 people showed up, we had a great time singing with the masses.

After singing and before the matinee show time, we enjoyed lunch at Legal Seafood. (Mom, I kept calling it Barely Legal- remember the charter fishing boat?!) It was delicious! Dave enjoyed a nice crab cake and I had the fried seafood platter. Mmmm!

We then headed to the show and were astounded by Symphony Hall. It is beautiful! The production consisted of a chorus, four soloists, and an orchestra of predominately strings. Messiah is wholly taken from King James Scripture and the Book of Common Prayer sung through recitations and arias. It is divided into three parts with the popular Hallelujah chorus concluding Part 2. It is divided as follows:

Part 1: Prophecy and Birth

Part 2: Life, Death, and Resurrection

Part 3: Redemption and Judgement

It was a very moving and powerful work. What a wonderful way to begin the Christmas season!