Rehearsal Notes - August 31, 2021

 It was great to meet and sing together in the courtyard at NHS. A few notes regarding subsequent rehearsals:

• It gets cool, plan accordingly
• It gets dark, so if you have a portable light, bring it
• We will continue to evaluate the mask policy as we proceed
• Parking can be challenging to find depending on other evening activities, so plan to come a little early so we can start on time

As for rehearsals and notes, I will give thorough notes about the music that we have rehearsed. Please review and apply those things to your scores so we don't have to repeat--things like breaths, diction, etc.

Here we go:

Sing Me to Heaven

1. Rehearse on rich, tall vowels until each note/rhythm is flawless.
2. Words should be vowel focused. Consonants are brief and crisp.
3. Every time an interval of more than an upward 4th is approached, energize the previous note to avoid scooping, and ease off the upper note.
4. Highlight every dynamic marking and tempo marking.
5. No vibrato on heaven in ms. 34, and ms. 57-58.
6. BREATHS by measure (all printed breath marks/caesuras observed): 2 - none, 4 - all, 10, 11 - none, 14 - none (women), 16 - none, 18 - all, 20 - none, 22 - all, 24 - none, 26 - all, 28 - none, 30 - all, 32 - all, 34 - all, 36 - none, 37 - all (men), 38 - none, 40 - all, 41 - none, 50 - none, 54 - all (huge breath to go to the end).
7. Sing with an earnestness

I'm Gonna Sing 'Til the Spirit

1. Solos are: Phrase 1 - Dan (pretty straight), Phrase 2 - Chuck (more emphatic), Phrase 3 - Joe (pretty improvisatory), Phrase 4 - Thom (reining it back in).
2. Solo Melody on Chorus: Dan, Joe, Chuck - Tenor part in chorus: Dana, Thom, Andrew
3. Highlight all dynamic and tempo marks, especially accents
4. Observe all rests.
5. First Chorus (top of pg. 3) First Time - mf, Repeat - p
6. Keep energy through sustained yea on pg. 4-5
7. All tenors lightly on Hallelu pg. 6. Also sing can-tchoo (minimizing the "n") measure before Rehearsal 36. Basses do the same thing with the rest inserted.
8. SAT accent beat 2 in moovin line pg. 7-9. 
9. Let the ng of sing at 54 be the diminuendo of the stzp then expand a bit on 'til my Jesus.  
10. SAT whole fermata while Bass cut and sing til he then cut on downbeat of penultimate measure.
11. The hum (like a moan) will be free so watch. There will be a big crescendo on the last note before the "bump" cutoff.
12. SOPRANOS AND ALTOS let me know who's doing which part in the SSA divisi section of the chorus

Beati Quorum Via

1. Think English choir sound - purer and especially lighter in the trebles...like boys
2. Make pitch progressions clean yet legato, without glottal articulation - practice this
3. Please let me know who is doing SII and TII/BI
4. Highlight and observe all dynamic changes - but don't make it too schmaltzy (look it up). Think Neo-Renaissance rather than Late Romantic, meaning lighter and brighter (#3 on the tonal spectrum of 1 being bright and 5 being dark)
5. On pg. 5-6, let the crescendo and diminuendo be evident but as much from the opening and closing of the mouth for the vowels Be (closed) - a (open) - ti (closed)
6. Sing pure, rich Latin vowels (without diphthongs on e and o) with Latinized consonants (n, t, l, and r)
7. And don't let me hear anything but een in the word integra

Music Down in My Soul

1. Let me know who's doing what in the SSAA and SSA division.
2. Trebles: sing the word head on pg. 4 in #3 tone for aid in keeping it on top of the pitch.
3. Make sure of accuracy in chromatic progressions pgs. 6 onward. 
4. Really rehearse and tight the modulations pgs. 10-11 for intonation accuracy
5. Note were the repeat and Coda markings are.
6. Practice singing with a full, warm, robust sound without over singing. 
7. Make each repetitive phrase and repeat of the chorus sound fresh and different. Don't just get into a groove.
8. Don't anticipate the final l, r, or ng in words like air, somewhere, soul, Lord, everlasting, and heart, or the diphthong in day. Sing the pure vowel and tap the consonant upon release.

Abendlied

1. This is Romantic. Highlight and rehearse the dynamic changes.
2. I have SII/AI as Carissa, Hunter, Wendy, and Cassi.
3. I have TII/BI as Dana, Thom, Andrew.
4. Sing with rich, warm, tall vowels. Observe all diphthongs and elongate the ah on Bleib, bei, Abend, Tag, hat, geneiget
5. Make sure the f sections are warm and not over sung. 
6. Note (and mark) the implied diminuendo on pg. 4 ms. 38 so that the Soprano entrance in ms. 39 can be heard at p. 
7. Thing of the most beautiful, warm summer evening watching a spectacular sunset when you sing. 

REMINDER: We are doing There is a Pleasure and Modimo. We are not doing Little Birds

WARM UPS:

I mentioned in rehearsal the importance of vocalizing daily to regain vocal fitness. I'm still looking for great warm-ups/vocalises, but here are a few good for a variety of reasons.

1. Basic warm-up and fairly accessible exercises. Really focuses on breath-support action at beginning. NOTE: Do NOT pulse the pitches as is being demonstrated on the arpeggios. Make them legato!!!    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egr4f3fIIus
2. This one is good for breath control and sustaining the tone - encourages singing longer phrases. Also reminds you of technique.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXYpioJJsOE
3. This one is about building your vocal energy and agility with some good vocalises. This coach is enthusiastic. Some of the exercises are a little tricky melodically. I found myself just having to jump in and work out the pattern with repetition. You can even dance. haha    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XHXezdnL0A