In Praise of the Laud

I just finished my annual listen to Respighi's Laud to the Nativity, and I was once again moved by how authentically it retells the story of Christ's birth and conveys the emotions of the people involved. To me, it truly says it all about who he is and why he was born.

I am grateful that I was introduced to it years ago by Sandy Willette, Director of the Southern Maryland Choral Society, when we performed it. And that Mel Unger conducted it early in my days as a member of the Singers' Club of Cleveland (accompanied by some beautiful women's voices). How happy when the unplanned circumstances of our lives intersect to enrich us!

"To a guilty world you have pledged yourself not out of duty, but because such was your pleasure."