Practice

Another good rehearsal made even better with cake from Gill.

We sounded very good and earned quite a lot of praise from our MD. The pieces are almost secure but needing a bit of tweaking here and there. Keep up the practice so that everything is perfect for the concert.

• Viva La Musica

  • This was good but we need to smile more and convey to the audience how much we love music.

  • The first page is loud and fast. 

  • Viva needs to be two short notes with a definite rest after them. Vi /va rest la music/a rest. This keeps the music moving forward with energy.

• As Long As I Have Music

  • This was good. Still a few stragglers who haven’t quite memorised all the way to the end but over all a lovely sound. 

  • If you forget the odd word just keep smiling and catch up when you can and no-one in the audience will notice – but better still if you can manage to glue it in.

• Tantum Ergo

  • Remember to switch the character of the music after romping through Viva La Musica. This is gentle and quiet in comparison. 

  • Bars 8 and 9 need to grow to the top note. 

  • 1st sopranos: come in at bar 10 with confidence and balance with the second sops. If you’re not sure where the note is, try singing the interval B (2nd sops) to D natural (1st sops) as the first two notes of Greensleeves - 'A-las'. Sing it a few times until it’s glued in. Then add the right words and join to the rest of the phrase.

  • In the final stave, the 'Amens' from the chorus need to be very clear to contrast the other parts who have '-men' at that point. 

• Simple Gifts

  • Exaggerate the dynamics in this to give it definition.

  • Be accurate with the rests at the end of phrases – don’t drift into the gap. It makes the music sloppy when everybody does their own thing. Ian will bring us off in the concert so watch him.

• Stabat Matar

  • Number 1 

    • Ian will bring us off at the end so we don’t have hissing snakes so watch him.

    • When we have notes preceded by a small note, treat the small note as a quaver and emphasise it slightly to give pathos to the text.

    • In the sixth bar on page 3, sing the notes as three even crotchets.

    • Ian thought we made a lovely sound in this movement.

  • Number 8 (page 20)

    • Imagine you’re speaking like an Italian waiter. Try saying it with exaggerated pronunciation and roll your 'r's.

  • Number 13 (page 39)

    • This is mainly loud so cut out all p markings until the 4/5th bars of the second stave on the last page. Go suddenly quiet and keep that dynamic for six bars - be quiet but make the sound carry - then go back to being loud at f.

• Spinning Chorus

  • Ian’s comment for this was “Not bad at all”. This constitutes high praise so well done and make sure we can repeat it next week.

• Ascot Gavotte

  • Keep up the posh voices. 

  • Remember there’s an 'h' in 'what'. 

  • Watch Ian carefully for the top line on the last page.

  • Remember the horses come from the right at Ascot.

• Ching a Ring Chaw

  • Very good until the end, which went a bit pear shaped, and most of us forgot to raise our right hand and shout 'Chaw!' at the end. 

  • Ian will take it a bit slower for the concert but be ready for anything and write something in your part to remind you about your hand at 'Chaw!'.

• I Have A Dream

  • This sounded good. 

  • Be very careful when turning back to the beginning at the end of page 11. We’re singing quietly and there’s no piano so practice turning back without rustling the pages. Turn early if need be.

• Annie’s Song

  • This is soft and gentle. Imagine it being accompanied by a guitar.

  • Keep your finger in page 36 so you can turn back easily to the second verse.

  • Second time around remember to jump straight across from page 40 to page 41, to the second time bar.

• Thank You For The Music

  • Make sure you’ve got the geography sorted and put markers in to help.

• Well, that’s the whole programme. We’re close to being concert ready which shows how much work everyone has done so far – even more impressive because of the changes we had to make to the programme at the last minute. 

• Go through everything in the week and make a note of anywhere you’re struggling so that you can ask Ian to go over it next week. 

• Whatever your problem is, you can be sure you’re not the only one so don’t be shy about asking.

Have a lovely week practising and I’ll see you next week, all bright eyed and bushy tailed (and note perfect?)

Ann

You may have noticed that we have a couple of new pieces. After receiving input from the church, Ian has decided not to do Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen today and the Easter Hymn. 

These have been replaced by Viva la Musica and Tantum Ergo from the Messe Basse book, and Ave Maria for the chamber group.

Ian was very positive about the standard we've reached so far.

• Viva La Musica

  • Ian was very impressed with our memories as most of us who’ve done this before remembered it well.

  • This will be from memory and for those who are new to this piece , if you can remember the title, you’ve more of less cracked the words for the whole piece so you’re half way to memorising it already.

• As Long As I Have Music

  • Ian was pleased with this but commented that we’re still not quite as secure with the second half. We’re getting very close and he said that it sounded as if we should have a stunning finale to the concert. 

  • Keep up the practice to make sure the second half is very secure.

• Simple Gifts

  • Again, Ian was very positive about this. 

  • Take note of the dynamics – they bring the piece to life.

  • Note the three 'right's at the end. Make the 'ri...' last right up to the end of the note, adding the '...yt' at the last second, NOT 'riy – y y y y y y  t'.

• Thank You For The Music

  • Again lots of praise from Ian for this. The only thing he really commented on was the geography of the piece. Put markers in so that you can turn back easily when needed. Go from the beginning to the first time bar then go back to the letter A on page 2 for the second verse. Then go to the second time bar and sing to the top of page 7, and then you turn back to the letter C on page 4. Then sing to the hot cross bun sign just before the first time bar and jump over to the coda half way down page 7.

  • Make the tramlines before the last quaver of the third bar of the coda very clear so you make a distinct stop there. 

  • Watch Ian for the speed after the tramlines.

• Ching A Ring Chaw

  • This is coming along well. 

  • When you get to the phrase 'has one, two, three, four courses', it’s best to cross out the last 's' and write it in under the last crotchet in the second bar of the last line, to avoid the snake effect.

  • Don’t forget the rest bar at the top of page 6.

  • It goes too fast to read the words on the last page so it would be a good idea to memorise them. 

  • Don’t forget to practise punching your hand into the air on the last 'Chaw'. (If you can’t lift your arm that high just do the best you can whilst smiling. No one will notice.)

• Stabat Mater

  • This is sounding good.

  • Number 8 (page 20) 

    • The pianist will give us a D followed by a chord to help us to find our notes.

    • We need to make a contrast between notes which are smooth and those which are staccato. e.g. at the bottom of page 20.

  • Number 13 (page 39)

    • At the beginning of the Amen, the piano will give us a C followed by a chord to help us in finding the note. 

    • The loud section at the top of page 40 is followed by a very quiet section. The 6 quiet bars mustn’t sound as if we’ve lost the plot. It needs to be quiet but intense and carrying like a stage whisper.

• Tantum Ergo (Page 34 of the Faure Messe Basse)

  • Pronunciation:

    • Any word that ends in a vowel should be sung with the short vowel and as if there’s an 'h' on the end - Ah eh ih oh uh

    • Cernui is chernuih

    • Jubilatio is yubilatzioh

    • Antiquum documentum is anticuum docoomentum

    • Cedat is chaydaht

    • Genitori is jenitorih

    • Salus honor virtus quoque is Zalus, onor veertus kwoh kweh

    • Procedenti is procheydentzih

  • The final stave  - the back row of the 1st sops do the first line, the back row of the 2nds do the second line, the back two rows of the altos do the third line. 

  • On the fourth line the front two rows of the 1st sops do the top notes, the front two rows of the seconds do the middle note and the front row of the altos do the lowest note.

• Annie’s Song (page 33 in Five Pop Ballads)

  • Note that in bar 64 the rhythm has changed from three straight crotchets which we've sung several times before to crotchet, dotted crotchet and quaver.

  • After the first time bar, go back to bar 37 on page 37. 

  • Don’t forget to jump across to the 2nd time bar after bar 64 on the second time through.

• I Have A Dream

  • At the bottom of page 11, go back to the beginning. Then at the top of page 8, jump to the coda which is the back page.

  • There are several times in this piece where there is no piano and we’re on our own. Don’t let it put you off.

  • 1st sopranos – mark in tramlines where the comma is in bar 37. There needs to be a distinct stop at that point. 

  • 2nd sopranos and altos, turn the page as soon as you’ve sung the dotted crotchet in bar 37 as we have a new rhythm over the page. 

  • All parts mark tramlines by the comma in bar 39 as a reminder to stop briefly.

 Wow. What a busy afternoon – but we’re sounding good and Ian was generally very positive about how we’re coming on. Should be a good concert.

Happy practising

Ann

Ian has had to modify the programme slightly after discussion with the venue so please bring the Faure Messe Basse book on Wednesday and Viva la Musica which most of us have memorised but we may be a bit rusty so it might be an idea to remind yourselves.

• As Long As I Have Music

  • We’re almost there on this but we’re not fully secure so we need to keep up the home practice. Remember to sing in phrases, which can be quite long (e.g. 'when the world seems far beyond me, and I have no place to go') and take sneaky top up breaths if needed.

  • In the 3rd bar on page 6, take the dot off the dotted minim and sing it as a minim to give the altos and seconds a chance to breathe.

  • Third bar from the end – all take a breath before the ff. The final chord can last as long as Ian chooses!

• Ascot Gavotte

  • This needs to be even posher.

  • Be careful with 'race' and 'space'. Don’t sound the 'ce' until the very end of the note.

  • Be ready for the top line on the back page – the parallel lines meaning stop, the decrescendo mark (getting quieter) and the fermata (posh word for pause). 

  • Be ready with your horse impression after the starting bell.

• Spinning Chorus

  • We were a bit rusty today.

  • Mark in that Ian has added two bars at the end of the second stave of the piano part, to make it easier for us to come in with the vocal parts. 

  • We also need to be looking more carefully at the dynamics. It starts quietly but from bar 32 on page 22, the dynamics change rapidly and are important. 

  • Make sure you can turn back to page 20 for the repeat – it’s probably best to turn after rehearsal mark D.

  • Sopranos note that the note after the page turn into page 24 is an F – some people were anticipating the G in the third bar.

  • Ian suggested that we would all benefit from reading the words at speed over the next week.

• Ching-A-Ring-Chaw

  • Think of the 'ch' as a rhythm representing the banjo.

  • The third bar of page six is a full bar rest. Mark it in so you’ll remember. It’s really embarrassing if you’re the one who forgets and tries to sing through it!

  • The third bar from the end of page 8 has a semi-quaver at the end. It’s very short. Everywhere else you meet this pattern, there’s a full quaver so you need to be aware of the difference.

  • 'When the mornin’ come' on page 7 has no 's' after 'come'. Ian suggested you write an 's' after 'come' and then cross it out to remind you.

  • The words need to be enunciated very clearly so probably another piece that would benefit from reading the words through at speed.

• There’s then a gap in the notes as I was in the kitchen helping the tea ladies because the urn wasn’t working and we only had cold water, so I hope you were paying attention and absorbing all the Pearls of Wisdom.

• We finished by singing through movement 1 and movement 8 from the Stabat Mater.

Ann

Sadly we were missing a number of singers due to illness including our beloved leader - so I am therefore turning my attention to giving you some rehearsal notes which are in no way designed to match the thoroughness and insight of Ann - I, of course, was not on the receiving end of the rehearsal so my judgement is less perceptive!

Get better soon Ann and take up your scribing position for future weeks!

• Thank You For The Music

  • Just be careful with the syncopated rhythms and the geography with all the repeats and coda etc - especially the ending. 

  • In the bridge passage in the middle - seconds and altos need to be quieter on the 'Ah' accompaniments to allow the tune/words of Sop 1 to be heard.

• As Long As I Have Music 

  • It is getting better week by week. 

  • Some still ostentatiously held their copies in their hands - I DID see!!!

• Christ The Lord Is Risen Again

  • Please continue to listen to this. It improved considerably-WELL DONE all!

• Spinning Chorus

  • We went through the notes of this and tidied it up. 

  • It is still a challenge to read the English words - we also sang to la la to get the notes learnt. The English is clumsy I admit but probably preferable to me having to teach you it in German though! 

  • Please work at the text and reading in rhythm.

• Stabat Mater No. 10 'Amen' 

  • No problem with words this time!

  • It is difficult but not as much at the other two movement. 

  • Please listen to the recordings.

• Ching-a-Ring Chaw 

  • We struggled through - more or less descending into laughter and hilarity! 

  • Work at ready for the next session!!

Well done - some of this music is definitely a challenge. IT IS GOOD FOR YOU - honest!

Have a good week and Please get better Ann!!!!!

A good rehearsal with some really delicious cake courtesy of Sheila Price. We’ve been really spoiled this term.

• Alleluia (no video available)

  • Ian was pleased with this and had little to say. We looked at him and smiled and were confident with our parts. Yay!!! 

• As Long As I Have Music

  • More of us were able to do quite a lot by heart but this is still a work in progress as far as memorisation goes so keep trying to sing it without the copy. We’ll get there. 

  • Ian has asked the seconds and altos to sing slightly more quietly when singing the 'ahs' because they fall in a comfortable range for our voices so we tend to sing out. However the soprano part is at the bottom of the soprano range so it’s difficult for them to get enough volume to overcome a combined force of seconds and altos.  

  • In the 3rd bar on page 6, could you cross out the dot after the minim and put a crotchet rest there instead.

• Christ The Lord Is Risen Again

  • Look at the signs over the notes. The sideways on arrow (>) means emphasise this note and the horizontal line (-) means lean on the note – still emphasise but less so.

  • Altos at bar 90, be really confident when singing here as you have the tune and the other parts are singing against you.

  • The page turn from 9 to 10 has to be very quick. It’s probably a good idea to memorise the last two bars on page 9 and turn early.

  • Seconds – don’t try to count bars 195 and 196. Do them by ear and listen to the altos and 1st sops so you come in with them in bar 197.

  • Bar 203 – molto allargando means broaden a lot. Watch Ian. The music will be louder and slower.

  • Watch Ian for the last note: we’re all on an F but the note stops at the beginning of bar 210. After that it’s the piano’s turn!!

• Ching-A-Ring-Chaw

  • Mark where the 's' at the end of 'courses' sounds and don’t let it arrive too soon. 

  • In the last bar on page 5, sopranos make sure the last 'ching' is just one quaver long. Circle the rests to remind yourself. It’s the altos’ turn!

  • In the third bar of page 6, there is a two beat rest. Mark it in. At the speed that this piece goes it’s easy to get carried away and sing on.

  • Altos - The final note of the fourth bar on page 6 has a D and this is repeated on the first note of the next bar. It’s a bit unexpected and may cause confusion

  • At the bottom of page 7, take a good breath between 'splendor' and 'Stand' (Even my computer threw a wobbly about the spelling of splendor and kept wanting to correct it.)

  • In the second bar of page 8, seconds stay on the top D for the long note.

  • The page turn from 9 to 10 has to be done really, really fast. This may be another occasion when you just have to memorise the last page. It’s probably going to go too fast to read anyway. 

  • We will be doing all 3 of the Copland pieces in the concert.

• Stabat Mater No.8 (page 20)

  • There are two beats in a bar in this movement and they’re fast (Allegro). This equates to a minimum of one beat per second, which doesn’t sound too bad until you get to the crotchets which are two beats per second and are inexorable, so be ready. I don’t know about you, but my problem is that at the moment I can either read the notes or the words but not both and if I get lost, I’m really lost! I know this will get better as we work on it but I think that’s my target for this week. 

  • The 'a' in the 'com-pla-a-a-a-a-etc' on the first page is pronounced 'ah'.

  • The 'me-e-e-e-um' in 'meum' is pronounced with the open Italian 'eh'.

  • But I’ve just realised that when the extended word included a long 'man'   as in 'a-man-man-man ………do, as at the bottom of page 21, I was singing 'a' again. I’m not sure if that was right.  Could someone who knows please let me know if that’s what I should sing or perhaps Ian could advise (please) and I’ll forward it on.  

  • We will be singing No. 1 and No. 8 in the concert and also the last movement, No. 13: 'Amen' on page 39. 

Have a lovely week and keep up the practising.

Ann