NOTES for Week of September 29, 2024

Friends,

We're making some good steady progress on our music. Continue to clean up notes and always rehearse with good vocal technique, attentive to expressive markings. Also, warm up your voice with breathing exercises using "ss" or "sh" and work up to 20 counts for good breath control.

This Endris Night

• We've already discovered that this one is going to take constant attention to pitch. Practice near a keyboard and continually check yourself that you are tune to the tonic D.
• Be aware of the breathing in this. There are multiple long phrases where you need to stagger.
• All the echo reponses need to be very light (ex. Tenors mm. 24 and 28, ATB m. 32, etc.)

He is Born: Il Est Ne

• Men sing with flawless unison and make sure of the pronunciation when you're singing the intro mm. 3-10.
• Memorize

Es ist ein' Ros' Entsprungen

• Continue to count while rehearsing the "humming" sections. That seemed to really help you know where you were and sing more accurate rhythms. When confident, sing the "n's", "ah's", and "m's".
• Practice your German

Festival Gloria

• Sing the opening with proper Latin pronunciation, ex. open "o" on Glo-ri-a. No American diphthong. Also roll your "r's". And a final "-ah" not "-uh."
• Even when singing mp, make sure there is dynmaic energy in your tone. 
• Move the 1/8th notes. They're a bit sluggish throughout.

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

• Count your rhythms while rehearsing this as well.
• Sing with tall, rich vowels through, regardless of dynamic level

My King is Comin' Soon

• Tighten up all pitches and rhythms.
• Pay attention to articiulation and expression marks.
• Make speaking and singing in mm. 83-98 very clean and crisp.
• Memorize

FOR TUESDAY,  OCTOBER 1, 2024

Caritas

Shalom!

Ain't That-A Rockin'

Let Your Heart Speak Music

I'll Be Home for Christmas (A Holiday Jazz Trio)

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NOTES for Week of September 22, 2024

Hello friends,

Let My Love Be Heard

• Practice singing with attention to dynamics
• NOTE: Rhythm is incorrect on the recording in mm. 14 and 23
• Women: begin subdividing into triplets as you sustain m. 30 so it proceeds smoothly into the new rhythm. Men: be aware that you're still in duple rhythm

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• Practice finding you pitch at the entrances based on the chords in the into
• Keep tempo stead in mm. 7-8 and following entrances like it
• Practice added cresc. poco a poco in mm. 19-20
• Close to -m on beat 4 in m. 31 and on beat 1 in m. 36
• Note you're in uniton mm. 53-54, and 61-62
• Write in crescendo on beats 2-3 with diminuendo to beat 4 in mm. 97-98

Fum, Fum, Fum

• Sing with stylized elegance, and not too fast
• Fum's in quarter notes, ex: mm. 11-12, 15-16, 24-25, 27-28, should be full value and almost legato in contrast with women in mm. 47-48, 51-52
• Men clean up pitches/rhtys in mm. 47-48, 51-52, and 55-56
• Women cleanly articulate mm. 50, 54, and 58

Let Your Heart Speak Music

• Begining will have some rubato.
• Men work out harmonic transitions in m. 16 and 21-22
• Watch and count in mm. 38 to end

Ain't That-a Rockin'

• ATB start diminuendo in mm. 3
• Highlight and sing all dynamics and articulations
• Expand wear- in m. 8, 28, etc.
• Write dim. in mm. 20.
• Write f in m. 37, mf in m. 39, mp in m. 41.
• ALL write in your beats in measure where rhythm is trick or there's a break before coming in.
• Write in note to remind you that basses start alone at 74, then repeat with tenors, then repeat with everyone
• Get right off mercy in m. 92
• Sing last chord pp swell.

Let It Snow! (X's 3)

• Remember to repeat back to m. 9

FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

My King is Comin' Soon

Est Ist Ein' Ros' Entsprungen

This Endris Night

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

Festival Gloria

He is Born (Il est ne)

NOTES for Week of September 15, 2024

Friends,

As of this last week, we have completed a cursory rehearsal of each piece. Now we need to dig in deeply getting into the notes and rhythms into our heads, into our bodies, and into our voices, while rehearsing with increasing musicality and expressiveness.  

• Practice with attention to pitch/rhtymic accuracy, intonation, and tone - ALWAYS.
• Be bold in your approach to dynamic shading and expressiveness. Remember slurs. 
• Begin working on memorization. Here's a list:

1. My King is Comin' Soon
2. Ain't That-a Rockin'
3. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
4. I'll Be Home for Christmas
5. Fum, Fum, Fum
6. Il est ne

This endris night

• Women mark in crescendos in mm. 5, 7, 9, and 11, and diminuendos in 6, 8, 10, end of 11/12. Also, stagger breathing until m. 8.
• Altos, take a luftpause in m. 14. NB in m. 18.
• All, breathe only in the rests on pp. 4-5.
• Use oh in mm. 53-64.
• Please note and mark your variations in rhythms in the various verses. 

My King Is Comin' Soon

• All, please practice all dynamic shifts on the oo-ing, especially the fp's in m. 3-5. Basically swell to a forte on downbeat, then instantly sing sub.p and begin to cresendo again.
• Keep energy in the sustained oo's.
• Remember to mark where words close to n's, m's, and ng's. When they don't, extend the vowel.
• Remember to not swell on the glissando in the penultimate measure so you can swell on the final chord.

Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen

• Keep the n's, ah's, and m's seamless.
• Those singing the German, make the tone on the vowels gentle, but warm and rich.
• Sing this song dolce throughout.

Festival Gloria

• Crisply enunciate the Gl- of Gloria and then crescendo on the sustained -ah. 
• Tenors, cresendo from Gloria to in excelsis in mm. 13-14, 17-18, and 27-28. Sopranos do the same thing in mm. 25-26 and 29-30.
• Altos and Basses really observe the dynamics on et in terra pax.
• Men, sing with rich, warm sound at Lento mm. 75+. Women also mm. 79+
• All write in "Big Breath" at m. 95.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Let Your Heart Speak Music

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Let My Love Be Heard

Ain't That-a Rockin'

Fum, Fum, Fum

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

KNOW YOUR NOTES and RHYTHMS!

 

NOTES for Week of September 8

Hello Friends,

Thank you for the good work you've done in rehearsals, as well as the preparation you're doing at home. It makes a difference.

Shalom!

• As I said in rehearsal, the individual parts are not difficult, but there are a lot of cross melodies and rhythms. 
• Please get very comfortable with you part, especially at harmonic pivot chords such as mm. 41, 59, and 81. 
• Next time we rehearse it, I want to be able to go straight through.

While Shepherds Watched...

• WOMEN, I apologize for misspeaking about the 3-part divisi. I was confusing this with another piece. The arranger does want equal balance of voices. when going to three part, here is the voicing. SI: Carissa, Melody, Suzanne, Hunter; SII: Lisa, Vania, Anna, Brittany, Toni ; Alto: Michele, Cyndi, Susan, Joanna, Cassi.
• Please practice with your highlighted dynamics. 
• NB (no breath) in m. 16, stagger from m. 12 to rest in m. 18
• Stagger from m. 25 to m. 29 (luft pause) 
• MEN, NB in mm. 35 and 40 - keep energy flowing. 
• ALL, stagger breathing in oo-ing sections mm. 46 until you have a rest

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• Review pitches and rhythms noting dynamics. 
• Add mezza di voce (crescendo followed by diminuendo) in mm. 97-98, making -men of Amen softer.
• Next time we rehearse, I want to be able to go straight through.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

• WOMEN: Equal divisi on 3-part. I think we assigned that, right? 
• This is not complex, but please know your part. 
• Sing with rich, warm tone, through.

Ain't That-a Rockin'

• Clean up pitches and rhythms. Some are tricky: Altos: page turn from p. 5-6. 
• This will be memorized. Start working on that.

For TUESDAY, September 10, 2024

Festival Gloria - review 1st section and then work mm. 75 to the end. 

This Endris Night

My King is Comin' Soon

Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen