I can't believe it's here.

No, not Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or even Christmas music that is already driving me crazy. I can't believe my final wedding of the year is here. Wedding #7. This wedding is the one that I've been dreading.

It's my "best" friend from high school... and I'm singing. I haven't sung out loud in front of people in almost 3 years. I've been practicing my ass off... I've already warmed up my voice today (8am! My neighbors LOVE me). I have my music with me at work... I have lots of tea and lots of water (cuz oh yeah, I still have a cold and nasal congestion! awesome.)

The music has already been changed once a few weeks ago. I'm singing Schubert's Ave Maria (that's the one everyone knows), You Were Mine (which I thought was a funeral song...), the funniest Responsorial Psalm EVER (May your children flourish like olive plants. I have to sing that. And not laugh), and then the bane of my existence.

I suggested to the bride that we do Panis Angelicus for the Eucharistic hymn. She said that she loves that song... and that it's a great idea. Wonderful! Well, I couldn't meet with the music director when they all wanted to do that, so I met with my accompanist the next day. We go over the Panis Angelicus...and it is SO not the version that I know. And I even said to them "MAKE SURE IT'S THE CAESAR FRANCK VERSION." That's the one everyone knows. It's beautiful. Apparently, the music director said "I have two versions of this song. A really really complicated version and a much simpler composition." Guess which one I know. They picked the simple one. I only discovered this seriously like 9 days before the wedding, and at this point, that's way too late to say "Yeah.. um.. we need to do the other one." I did call the bride IMMEDIATELY and warn her that the Panis Angelicus that we're singing is not going to be the Panis Angelicus that she thinks it is. She asked if it was still going to sound good. I mean, it is.. it sounds like it belongs in a funeral because of all the flats.. but it'll sound fine, I suppose. It's a bit boring because it's the same 4 notes over and over again.

I'm still not comfortable with it. And I no longer have a piano (well, keyboard) on my person, so I couldn't even teach myself the song. I'm hoping that it'll just come to me at the rehearsal tonight. I'm a bit terrified. It's funny, because I was fine with the Panis Angelicus and worried about the Ave Maria before this... because it's the song the bride was most excited about.

Please let this go well.