A Silent Silent Night

It came to pass that it was time for the annual junior high school Christmas program. This was long before we called it a holiday program. Back then, Christmas was really Christmas, with real snow and mistletoe and everything, and at the school program we always sang songs that really had to do with Christmas. I was in the choir.

Our choir director was a diminutive elderly woman -- diminutive as in "well under five feet tall" and elderly as in "she was old when she was my mom's choir director" years before -- who, though diminutive and elderly, was tough as nails. You didn't mess with her. I'll call her Ms. M for this story.

Now, Ms. M decided that we needed a pianist for the final number of the concert, which was to be Silent Night, and she picked me! I was rather proud that she had selected me to play. After all, there were several other kids in our choir who were very good piano players.

Actually, she had selected someone else to play Silent Night at first, but she changed her mind shortly after I volunteered to sing a solo for one of the verses, mumbling something about needing my piano skills more than my vocal skills. I don't know. I do know, though, that I practiced the song often enough so that I was quite confident. I worked hard at it because I really didn't want to disappoint Ms. M.

Now, being the forward thinking young man that I thought I was becoming, I also guessed that during Silent Night the lights might be dimmed for dramatic effect.

In the performing arts world there are few certainties, but you can always count on having to dim the lights during any performance of Silent Night, whether in church or in school.

With that in mind, I figured I should be proactive and memorize the piece. And so I did. At our first rehearsal, Ms. M was surprised and delighted that I played it without the sheet music in front of me.

The night of the concert arrived, and the bleachers of the gym were packed with parents and other relatives and friends. The program was going smoothly, and after we finished singing Away in a Manger I stepped down from the risers where the choir was standing and started heading over to the piano to play Silent Night.

Click!

All the lights went out. The lights weren't just dimmed, they were O-U-T.

I could not see a thing. I knew approximately where the piano was, so I headed slowly in that direction, arms out-stretched so that I wouldn't run in to anything.

Crash!

I knocked over what I guessed to be a music stand. I could hear papers flutter and shuffle as they all landed on the floor.

Thump!

I found the piano. I felt my way around one side, found the bench, and sat down.

For just a moment, I felt relief because I had memorized the music. But that was for just a moment.

The very next moment, I realized two things. I couldn't see Ms. M at all, and I couldn't see the keyboard at all. I needed to see Ms. M so that I would know when to start, and I needed to see the keys because even though I knew what notes to play, I needed to find the keys to play those notes.

Ms. M solved the first problem for me. I heard her count out, "1-2-3."

At that moment I knew I needed to come in. I quickly put my hands on the keyboard and tried to find the notes the best that I could.

I played the opening chord.

Clink!

Wrong chord.

The choir came in mostly on the right chord, though a few of the voices were trying to match the chord I had just played.

I don't know what chord I did play, but it wasn't like it was close. It was about as far off as you can get but still be on the keyboard.

At that moment, I made a decision for which I am still proud. I quit playing. I thought it best to do no further damage. I just sat there and let the choir sing acapella.

The choir sang beautifully.

As for me, I was only half mortified. Afterward, when the lights came on, I was looking at Ms. M and she was looking at me.

And she smiled and shrugged. She knew I did all I could do.

Well, next time I'm asked to play Silent Night on piano, I'll find a pair of those infrared glasses and bring them just in case. You can't be too prepared, I guess. Meanwhile, choir directors, it's a good reminder to always be ready to do Silent Night acapella.