SPRING 2022 - Rehearsal Notes for Tuesday, March 1

Dear Friends,

I've been very pleased with the sectional rehearsals we've had over the last few weeks. You've worked hard, and I'm hearing more and more musicality in your singing. Keep up the good work!

This next rehearsal - Tuesday, March 1 at 6:30 (Harvest Middle School) will be the entire group.

This week, I would really like you to go over the following. These notes are going to be quite specific and I want you to mark all comments/notes in your scores.

Abendleid: 

• This is a piece that requires rich, Romantic style (think Brahmsian) tone. Some vibrato is ok, but be careful on longer, sustained phrases as you're running out of air--it can become quite apparent. Sopranos and Tenors can minimize it on higher notes using greater airflow.
• Have all dynamics highlighted.
• In German - energize the strong syllables and recede into week/unaccented syllables. Ex. A-(bend) WER-(den)
• Imagine this is a musical representation of a gorgeous sunset
• Here's the breath marks to put in your score (not including rests):

Soprano I      

end of m. 5, 

luftpause in m. 7, 

end of m. 14, 

middle of m. 22, 

end of 25, 

end of 27, 

after -get m. 39,            

luftpause m. 40, 

middle of m. 45.

Soprano II

Middle of m. 5, 

luftpuase in m. 7, 

middle of m. 16, 

middle of m. 24, 

end of m. 27, 

middle of m. 42,            

middle of m. 45.

Alto

luftpause after uns in m. 8, 

luftpause after -get in m. 28, 

middle of m. 45.

Tenor I       

luftpause in m. 3, 

middle of m. 13, 

luftpause after uns in m. 30, 

middle of m. 39, after uns in m. 42, 

middle of m. 45.

Tenor II/Baritone

luftpause in m. 3, 

after -den in m. 14, 

middle of m. 25, 

luftpause after uns in m. 30, 

middle of m. 36, 

middle of m. 45.

Bass      

luftpause in m. 3, 

end of m. 8, 

end of m. 25, 

luftpause after uns in m. 30, 

middle of m. 36, 

middle of m. 39, 

middle of m. 42,

middle of m. 45.

Sing Me to Heaven:

• Memorize!!!!
• For clarity of diction - stretch the vowels and bite the consonants. Consonants occur at the beginning of the following syllable.
• I will reiterate the breaths (and non-breaths) in our rehearsal.
• Practice singing the cadences at mm. 34 and 57-58 with a warm, rich, non-vibrato tone.
• Soprano divisi is SI: Suzanne, Lisa, Melody; SII: Hunter, Carissa, Dana
• Sing the words soloistically. 

I'm Gonna Sing 'Til the Spirit:

• Soloists: Dan (fairly straight forward), Chuck (a little more freely done), Joe (take expressive liberties), Thom (bring it back in). Please practice and be ready to sing confidently.
• Treble divisi is SI: Lisa, Melody, Carissa, and Hunter, SII: Suzanne, Dana, Joanna, and Wendy, and A: Michele, Suzi, Cyndi, and Cassi.
• Sing the 'Oh yea' parts in mm. 20-25 easily and with open vowels. 
• Review mm. 35-43 for accuracy, smoothness, and dynamic shifts as marked.
• Review mm. 53-56 for intonation accuracy
• Be ready to move it!!!
• Begin to memorize

Os Justi:

• Highlight EVERY dynamic mark and observe.
• Practice singing mm. 10-16 and 51-57 with dynamic shift from f to p with beautiful tone and managed breath. This is full Romantic (a la Bruckner) tone.
• Tenor I don't over sing at mm. 11, 27-31, and 53.
• Then, starting in m. 16 and on, sing with a more fluid Renaissance tone.
• ff should be powerful, rich, and full rather than loud.
• Practice the slow sustained chordal harmonies (mm. 43-49 and 65-69) to keep them moving and articulated (diction).
• Soprano sing the measured chant in 65-69 with a sense of movement and freedom. Stress su-PLAN-ta-BUN-tur   gres-SUS   E-jus.
• Memorize the Alleluias.

 The Cuckoo:

• This should be memorized by all but newest members
• Highlight EVERY dynamic mark.
• Sing with a warm, resonant tone even though it's folk song. (tall vowels)
• Sopranos, work on the lift mm. 9/25 to the pp in mm. 10/26. It can't be scooped! And it needs to be light.
• Sing an American "r" on clear (m. 12) and year (m. 16). Put it on as you breathe.

The Sweetheart of the Sun:

• Use minimal vibrato throughout - stagger your breathing so ends of phrases don't kick it in.
• Highlight and practice EVERY dynamic and tempo marking. 
• Highlight and practice all the articulation markings (tenuto - , accent >, and messa di voce <>)
• Enunciate words like your life depended on it! 
• CHANGE: In m. 17, only sopranos have a luftpause after ripen'd. All others continue to next breath. 
• Divisi for Basses in m. 17 is BII: John, Matthew, and Robert. BI: Andrew and Gregory.
• Continually think warm tone on the "ah" in mm. 32-35. Practice the quick diminuendo and molto ritardando there as well.
• Mark m. 57 mp.
• Upper Soprano part in mm. 70-73 are Melody (I) and Suzanne (II) 

I look forward to really making beautiful music on Tuesday.

Thank you,

Ted

SPRING 2022 - Rehearsal Notes for Tuesday, February 22

Hello Singers,

Tuesday evening at 6:30 I will meet with the Sopranos. We will work on:

• Os Justi   Make sure of balance on divisi sections and accuracy of all eighth-note runs.
• Abendleid and Beati quorum via  Make sure all divisi sections are confident and intonation is perfect. Work on singing with expressiveness.
• Grace Before Sleep  Make sure all unison melody sections are uniform and in tune and soloistic.
• The Sweetheart of the Sun  Work on clarity of diction, dynamics, and intonation.
• Music Down in My Soul  Make sure all unison and divisi is confident and clean.

All our sections (ATB):

• Work sections of any songs where you might be uncertain.

Next Rehearsal - March 1 will be everyone and we will rehearse:

Beati quorum via

Abendlied

There is a Pleasure

I'm Gonna Sing 'Til the Spirit

Sing Me to Heaven (practice memorization)

The Cuckoo (practice memorization)

Thank you,

Ted

SPRING 2022 - Rehearsal Notes for Tuesday, February 15

Dear Singers,

I'm back in circulation, finally. Here are what I'd like you to cover for this weeks rehearsal:

Basses and Tenors

We will meet Tuesday, at 6:30 pm at Harvest Middle School. I'd like to focus on:

• Beati Quorum Via - I want to make sure we have the three parts evenly divided and there is a good blend and balance in each section
• Abendlied - The same things goes for this one in regard to blend and balance
• I'm Gonna Sing 'Til the Spirit - I want to make sure we have a balance between the solo melody and those singing the tenor part of the chorus response. I also want to synchronize the timing in ms. 35-43
• Grace Before Sleep - Make sure you know your parts as I want you to work on singing the chordal harmonies musically (word stress, movement, crescendo/diminuendo)
• A Nightingale Sang - Intonation and uniformity especially in the solo section starting ms. 23.
• The Sweetheart of the Sun - Make sure of pitches, rhythms, and expression marks for the sake of balance and blend

WOMEN

• Work on memorization: The Cuckoo and Sing Me to Heaven
• Sing through Alleluia at least twice for endurance and control
• Work on full, rich tone (don't over sing) on Music Down in My Soul
• Review Os Justi for all notes, rhythms, and sing soloistically (from the standpoint of musicality--make each phrase musical)
• Sing through A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. Make fluid and musical. Begin to memorize.

I will plan to see the Sopranos next week.

Thanks,

Ted

SPRING 2022 - Rehearsal Notes for Tuesday, February 8

Hello friends,

Well, I ended up with Covid-19. I feel fine, but I'm annoyed that I'm on lock-down for the next week. Consequently, there will be no in-person sectional this week. You will have homework, nonetheless.

This will be a general assignment for all parts:

Sing Me to Heaven

• Work through the unison and two part solo/verse section (ms. 1-14, 35-38) concentrating on diction (long vowels and brief, sharp consonants). The poetry needs to be understood. 
• Practice tonal control on sustained (fermata) cadences. Sing with clear, in-tune, non-vibrato tone both forte (ms. 33-34) and mezzo-piano (55-end).
• Begin to memorize (this will be a standard in our repertoire)

Beati Quorum Via

• Number the measures

Os Justi

• Make sure all dynamics are highlighted
• Practice going from crescendos and diminuendos so they feel like a natural product of the musical line (such as the p in ms. 1 going to mf in ms. 5 and back to p in ms. 7)
• Sing the forte section in ms. 10 -14 smoothly and beautifully. Avoid over-singing.
• Work out all eighth-note pitches and rhythms in ms. 16-42. This should sound effortlessly accurate. Also, do so with the dynamic shifts.
• Work on staggered breathing so it feels in control

The Cuckoo

• Work on memorization
• Practice singing musically. Think - I'm singing this as a solo. How do I approach the words in the phrase and what do I do dynamically to make in expressive

Grace Before Sleep

• Sing through musically/soloistically. 
• Emphasize words or strong syllables in words as if reading the poem out loud. Avoid singing monotone because of even note values.

Alleluia

• Sing through at least 2 times being mindful of dynamic shifts and breath control

      Thank you. I'll look forward to seeing the basses with the tenors next week.