Well, did somebody stand up and fling a glass of water on her . . . with the excuse that she must have been feeling faint to say such a thing?
You gotta call these people out SOME time . . . when people in our parish start going soft on feminism, I blast them with the Awful Warning of the Episcopal Church. It's all one package - feminism, heterodoxy, and disobedience.
. . p.s. . . . I sing tenor too, and baritone in a pinch. But now that we have a GREAT men's section in the choir, I can stick to singing alto. Now we need to work on stopping the excessive vibrato in the soprano section . . . < rolls eyes >
The candlestick comment was just so "over the top" it took a moment for me to even realize what her point was. The other gal at the table, (and one of my students) started to laugh and said that candlesticks were pretty and she wouldn't mind being one. I agreed and then she turned on me and complained that I had no clue what it was like before Vatican II. Which is true because I didn't become a Catholic until the late 70s, but I have been to Tridentine Masses and I certainly felt very much like I was participating in the Mass. Prayer is a wonderful part of our participation but of course I never think to say these things when I'm in the midst of an awkward situation.
Sopranos and vibrato can be a real problem. If you sing demanding music with lots of high notes their voices just get tired and they tend to push the sound out. Someone needs to work with them to get them to lighten their sound, they should sing as if they are about 8 years old, it works!