Chorus angelorum

So you have the family holiday traditions, and the yawner December obligations (whee! circling for 45 minutes to find parking at Valley Fair!). Personally, I like the idea of an arts holiday tradition. Now that I have seen Chanticleer's Christmas show at Stanford two years in a row, I'm declaring it a time-honored family ritual. Passed down from me to me.

Plenty of folks go to the concert every year, and last night Memorial Church was full of cheerful red sweaters and families who packed the pews early. There was a warmth you wouldn't expect on a chilly night in a stone sanctuary.

Anyone who has heard the men of Chanticleer sing knows they have stunning, pure voices. But as a singer I was also impressed with their diction. Their words were so crisp that I found myself following along with German, medieval Italian and Latin. I do not speak these languages. But after last night I can pretend.

(Me, interviewing people for a story: "Dicite! Annunitiate nobis!")

Anyone else have local arts holiday traditions to share?

By the way, don't go to chanticleer.com if you're interested in learning more about the chorus (the singers' website is .org). You will end up on some guy's blog called "christophe thinks out loud."

Photo courtesy of Chanticleer's website.