SPRING 2022 - Rehearsal Notes for Tuesday, March 8

Dear friends,

My apologies for not getting this to you before the weekend. I had a concert this weekend and my grand kids came with their dad to spend the day yesterday on short notice.

A few announcements:

1. WEDDING: Thank you for those of you who have agreed to sing for the wedding, but as I told a few of you something came up that conflicted with the Memorial Day weekend date and so we have had to postpone. We are looking at the end of August. Once we have confirmation, I will reach out again.
2. BIOS, HEAD SHOTS, and NEW GROUP PHOTOS: As we work to update our website, we will be needing some help from you. Firstly, I will be sending out a template to help update each of our bios so they are a bit more consistent. Also, we're working on finding a photographer to get some new group shots as well as some uniform head shots. We may decide to use part of a rehearsal to do that once we set it up.
3. ADVERTISING and PROMOTIONS: This week, I will be working on the concert concept for promotional materials, so would appreciate in writing all the connections that we have established or know of where we can promote our concert. I would like to see our waking from musical hibernation to be a celebration to large, enthusiastic audiences.

HERE ARE THE NOTES FOR THE REHEARSAL

Beati Quorum Via

·        Think more Renaissance in style – easy flow of quarter notes

·        Breathe phrases where parts of phrases are repeated, for example SI in m. 24, SII in m. 22, TI in m. 24, A in m. 22, etc.

·        Highlight EVERY dynamic marking and sing you line as a solo. It is.

·        Sing every in as een.

Grace Before Sleep

·        Delay but emphasize the consonants l, m, n in your enunciation of the lyrics.

·        Sing all chordal harmonies (ATB) as if it were a solo.

·        Sing as if a Benediction of peace. Emphasize important words, not every word.

Alleluia

·        Highlight EVERY dynamic and tempo marking

·        This whole piece is myriad little phrases on Al-le-LU-ia, with the last syllable of the word being the lightest.

·        Having enough breath is crucial for keeping the tone light and not too focused. Please mark the following breaths (predominately luftpauses) to follow Alleluia in measures where there are no rests. Otherwise stagger or breathe at the rest.

Soprano: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 25, 26, 29, 30, 37, 38, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 59, 61, 62

Alto: 1, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14 (after 4^th beat), 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 29, 33, 35, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, 55, 62 (after 1^st beat)

Tenor: 1, 2, 4&5 (after 3^rd beat), 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 25, 29, 30, 33, 36, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, 55, 56, 60, 61, 64, 65

Bass: 1, 4, 7, 3, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55, 57, 59, 62, 63

 A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

·        Men sing the solo in mm. 23-28 in a light #3 quality.

·        Women work out the harmonies of mm. 22-30.

·        Move the lyrics as if singing (in a speech rhythm) a solo.

·        Make the syncopations (mm. 43-44) clean, but don’t emphasize.

·        The whole piece needs a light, almost breathy tone.

There is a Pleasure

·        Sing with relatively little vibrato.

·        Stagger breathing from m. 4 to fermata in m. 8.

·        Stagger breathing from m. 11 to 15 with a luftpause after may be in m. 14.

·        Read through the text a couple of times to get an understanding of the poem. And then sing with meaning:

There is pleasure in taking the individual and truly personal path—the path less traveled, as opposed to the one most others take, or the one most expected of us. The rapture described on the lonely shore reflects a joy that comes from solitude, purposeful time spent enjoying one’s own company—being present and mindful. The seaside is often a place where many seek to be alone. There is a private, “quiet” world that the sea creates. Often, you can only hear what’s in your heart and in your head amid the sound of the crashing waves. This is not an avoidance of social contact, but a necessary, personally shared communion with nature in which we take time to reflect on who we are past and present, and our existential place in the cosmos. What we discover is often unable to be expressed in words, but also is unable to be hidden. It shows in our lives.

·        Highlight EVERY tempo and dynamic marking.