Concert compliment

Sometimes a compliment lands badly, through no fault of your own.

After the concert yesterday, there was a reception, and at the reception a woman came up to me. "Oh, weren't you in the center of the front row?"

"Yes, I was."

"I'm pretty sure that I could hear you several times!"

"Oh, I'm sorry about that."

"No! You have a really nice voice!"

Thanks, but I really am sorry about that. Not sure what I mean? She also said she could hear the guy two down from me, and I was thinking that I was sure she could, because he routinely sings way too loudly and isn't very good at blending.

And that's the thing: in a choir, it's usually not a good sign when individual voices stand out, however lovely the voice might be. I really don't think of myself as having a particularly loud voice. I mean, sure, give me the right note, the right vowel, and a little permission, and I can definitely give you a fortissimo, but in general, that's not my goal or (I thought) my strong point. I mean, I'm not a soloist, I'm a chorister.

Of course, I didn't say anything. I just thanked her in the spirit it was meant, thanked her for coming and all that.