In Human Figure class, Molly poses as Venus in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. This pose is slightly awkward; she has to struggle to avoid falling over. Also, her hair isn’t quite long enough to cover her genitals as in the original, so she discreetly positions her left hand.
It’s chilly in the studio. Molly has goosebumps.
Meanwhile, Megan sits with Roderick in his room, working on syllogisms. Actually, Roderick works on syllogisms and Megan daydreams.
“Roderick?” she bleats.
“Yes, Megan?”
“When are you and Molly going to do it so you and I can do it without breaking your pledge?” Megan has high ethical standards, and wouldn't want Roderick to break a pledge.
“Um, I really don’t know. We don’t think about it that much.”
“It’s hard for me to wait.”
“I understand. Let’s finish these syllogisms.”
In the Auditorium, students gather for the first meeting of the year for the Old Ivy Bach Chorale. Anna arrives breathlessly – she had to run from her voice lesson with Mrs. Warbler; Mr. Mendelssohn, leader of the Chorale, enters the hall right behind her.
“Places, please!” he calls, and the students gather on the risers in groups according to voice -- sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. Befitting its name, the Bach Chorale exclusively performs the music of Bach, mostly cantatas and motets but also the occasional Mass or Passion. Mr. Mendelssohn likes to say that they could perform a Bach cantata every week for four years and not repeat one.
And so they do.
Mr. Mendelssohn takes a head count of voices. Ideally, he would like to have a balanced choir of six sopranos, six altos, four tenors and four basses. Men tend to have stronger voices than women, so he needs more sopranos and altos.
Of course, the students who turn out for Chorale never follow that distribution. This year, he counts thirty-six sopranos, three altos, one tenor and two basses.
There are various ways to treat this problem. First, he listens to each of the sopranos, including Anna. Some are simply awful; these, he sends to Glee Club. Some are very good, and Anna’s voice is enchanting. Mr. Mendelssohn asks Anna and about a dozen others to stay. All of the sopranos will attend biweekly rehearsals, and Mr. Mendelssohn will choose six who will perform in the concert.
Altos are a different challenge; some of the sopranos are really better suited to singing alto but are reluctant to “come out” as such, fearing the stigma and parental disapproval. Mr. Mendelssohn coaches these young women personally, assuring them he will never breathe a word to their parents, and that Bach Chorale is a safe place for altos. This is enough to get him to five. Mrs. Dowager from the Voice Department can step in and serve as the sixth, but in light of her ongoing weight problem and last year's unfortunate accident it may be necessary to strengthen the risers.
The men pose a completely different problem.
One effective draw, of course, is the promise of nookie. Female vocalists tend to be pushovers for men who sing, and Mr. Mendelssohn does nothing to dispel this perception; indeed, he encourages the young women to ply their charms on reluctant young men, enticing them to join the Chorale. The promise of pussy is enough to draw many a reluctant basso from the student body, although this works less well with the tenors. It certainly worked for Zack Hagen, a second-year student who presently stands on the risers with Fred, the other bass. Zack is well familiar with the side benefits of membership in the Bach Chorale, having recently sung Bach's motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied with his hand up Candy Whistlethorne’s skirt. Mr. Mendelssohn remarked after the concert that Candy never sang so well.
He addresses the women: “So, um, ladies, we have just the two basses so, uh, you know what to do.” And indeed they do. Over the next week or so, there will be many similar scenes on the Old Ivy campus; a young woman will cajole a young man to join the Chorale, pointing out the joys of music, the benefits of extracurricular activity and the possibility of a little something extra afterwards.
For the tenors, Mr. Mendelssohn just hires ringers.
