NOTES for Week of March 2, 2025

Friends,

Just a reminder that Bel Canto Boot Camp is coming up on March 22. For those of you who are new, it’s a most-of-the-day rehearsal (9:30 am -3:00 pm) to go through everything and see where we are as well as begin refining things. Cindy and John have graciously offered to host us again at their place. 

Time

• Work on pp 8-15 to clean up rhythm in gaps
• Sing with a detached articulation except in the sustained sections. 
• Synchronize your tick-tocks

Rise, My Soul 

• Highlight all dynamic markings and slurs
• Most phrases are 4 measures. Don’t breathe in obvious places when staggering
• Sing Rise with a messa di voce technique (Google it)
• Be aware of melody moving from part to part

Witness

• Clean up parts and rhythms
• It should have a sense of power especially in the divisi sections, but should never sound heavy or ponderous. 
• Make the story telling exciting

Sacred Heart

• Keep the ostinato sections light and moving with a slight detached feeling 
• Sing the melodic sections lyrically and with freedom of movement, but be careful not to over sing. 

Inkosi Namandla

• Practice p 9 to the end focusing on pronunciation, rhythmic accuracy and correct pitches 
• Begin to speed up and memorize. 

For TUESDAY, March 4

Now Is the Month of Maying

Sicut Cervus

Bring Me Little Water, Silvy 

I Love You/What a Wonderful World

All of Me

Music Down In My Soul

NOTES for Week of February 23, 2025

Dear friends,

Please continue to mark your music and rehearse anything for which you are unsure on the pieces we worked these past weeks. If you're absent from a rehearsal, you need to check with your section leader for any directions that you missed. 

If you have not done so, please send your music payment to Lisa Skinner at Venmo @LisaSkinner16 ($40)

Inkosi Namandla

• As previous stated, write the correct pronunciation in you score, that way you'll see it as you sing.
• Most of this is phonetic vowels are like Latin, and consonants are in somecase just more intense.
• The exceptions are Namandla which is pronounced nah-mahn-zha (like Zsa Zsa Gabor). The hl combination is pronounce sh, as in Wenhliziyo (wehn-shee-zee-yoh), Mawuhlakaniphe (mah-woo-shah-kah-nee-peh), Ungalahli (oong-ah-lah-shee)
• The click consonants need to be practiced. They are produced by creating suction with the tongue pressed to the roof of the mouth and then released quickly. We are not differentiating the placement of the tongue (roof vs. aveolor ridge). Do whatever works for you. Practice clicking first, then when comfortable, do it with the accompanying vowel. The clicks are in Zikuhaq'i (zee-koo-hah-*click/ee), uzoqeda (oo-zoh-*click/eh-dah), Cela (*click/eh-lah)
• As you practice begin memorization.

All of Me

• Practice the rhythms so that your unison is precise. In the phrases Look at my or look who I, the rhythm last note of that beat is the longest so think of stressing the words my/I. 
• NOTE the combinations of 1/4-note followed by 1/8 note patterns and vice versa. 
• Circle the breaths in the ascending and loudening passage in mm. 66-70. Get of the 1/8-note in m. 70.
• Hold the dotted-half-note on skin in m. 71 to the downbeat of m. 72, with a forte nuh release.
• Sopranos and Altos work on your oo's starting in mm. 89 and going to 97.

Seat Me As a Seal

• Number your measures.
• I've changed my mind. There will be no luftpauses in mm. 3, 12 but there is in m. 29.
• Breathe at all marked breaths.
• Watch carefull in mm. 9-10, 14-15, 26-27, 29, 34-36.
• Women sing mm. 18-25 with more movement and a full, rich tone. Men sing more gently.  Keep energy in the sustained notes, but sing lightly unless you have neither can the floods. Neither is pronounced nigh-ther.

Time

• Sing the whole song in a detached manner, with the exception of the tenuto (-) marks. Don't accent them, stretch them. 
• Work pages 8-15 which has the omitted words with rests to clean this up rhythmically.
• Begin speeding up the tempo when you're more comfortable. 
• Sopranos clean up the phrases in mm. 12 and 16 with the 7th leap. It's a bit ragged. 

Sing Gently

• This isn't a complicated song, but because is so languid, it needs to be song with rich, full, vowel tones and delayed and brief consonants. 
• Please highlight all dynamics and observe while practicing.

Music Down in My Soul

• If you're unsure of the divisi, check with your section leader - the three part sections for men and women is evenly divided. 
• Melody, please sing the I've got joy parts by yourself.
• Women please note the back and forth from B-flat to B-natural starting mm. 38-62. Be very accurate. 
• Basses be very accurate in your ascending line starting mm. 47-48 and repeating.
• This will need to be memorized.

For TUESDAY, February 25, 2029

• Nella Fantasia
• Inkosa Namandla (particularly the section starting on p. 9)
• Sacred Heart
• Rise, My Soul
• Witness
• Time (particularly pp. 8-15)  

NOTES for Week of February 16, 2025

Friends,

• Per request, and because I think we might need one more upbeat piece to round out the program, I have decided to add one of our favorites from the past (plus it's thematically appropriate). It is Music Down in My Soul arranged by Moses Hogan. Quite a few of you have sung it and so dig out your copies. For the rest of you, Chuck will add a pdf to the resources site that you can print out. (We've purchased almost 3 dozen copies over the years, so I think we have enough originals to avoid copyright infringement). 
• Tickets will be going on sale soon, so let your family and friends know, especially those who want to attend at Mont La Salle, we've sold out there for the last few years.

Now is the Month of Maying

• We worked through the fa-la-la's in mm. 28-32 and 36-39. Please review and remember to keep the fa-la-la's consistently light and detached throughout. 
• Continue to rehearse towards memorization.

I Love You/What a Wonderful World

• The ensemble parts will be sung by Suzanne (SI), Brittany (SII/A1), Susan (AII), James (T), and Ronnie (B). Mm. 59-62 will be James and Ronnie on the solo section, then Ronnie will drop to the ensemble part in m. 63. Then sing ensemble from mm. 78 to the end.
• Chorus needs to be sustained, but have a sense of movement so it doesn't sound lifeless.

Sacred Heart

• Keep the 1/8-note ubi caritas et amor chanting gentle, but rhythmic. It should have a light pulsing, chanting feel. 
• When the various voices have the more elongated melodic lines, make sure they are very legato and not over sung.

Rise, My Soul

• Sing with a lilting, upbeat movement. 
• Enunciate the words, making sure vowel sounds are warm and rich.
• Any time Rise is song on dotted-whole note, make sure there is a crescendo into beat 2 then a diminuendo to the end of the measure (EX. mm. 17-19 for ATB)

Nella Fantasia

• Work on the notes and rhythms (securing the multiple triplets) before adding the words. 
• Practice saying the words in rhythm before combining with the pitches.

For TUESDAY, February 18, 2025

Inkosi Namandla - practice the isiZulo words. Write in the phonetic pronunciation of the unique consonants in your score.

Set Me As a Seal

Sing Gently

Music Down In My Soul

All of Me

Time

NOTES for Week of February 9, 2024

Hello friends,

A few things:

• We had several people absent last Tuesday who neither posted their absences on the calendar nor communicated with me to let me know that they were going to be absent. Remember: If you have a planned absence, you need to post it on the website. If it is last minute, please text me at (707) 815-1733 and let me know. It helps me plan for rehearsals.
• Continue to review the music in advance of the rehearsal. It makes our time together more productice.

Sacred Heart

• Because there is little in the way of dynamics noted, please use the language to help with phrasing. expand to the strong syllables: U-bi CAR-ri-tas et a-MOR and DE-us I-bi est, regardless of the beat. 
• At B, note the crescendo, being aware of who as the melody. 
• Work through the cadence harmonically in mm. 30 to 33.

Bring Me Little Water, Silvy

• Chuck will putting up videos of me demonstrating the body percussion - both from the back and mirrored from the front. Continue to practice and begin to speed it up.
• Women sing mm. 13-38 lightly. Men join in lightly at m. 22. 
• Basses sing lightly starting m. 49 and move to harmony part in m 55. 

All of Me

• The trickiest thing about this song is the pop-styled melodic rhythms. We'll need to work these together to make them sound relaxed and natural. Listen to the performance recording as a guide.
• Women, please note that the 32nd-note ornaments in mm. 29 and 33, need to be gentle. 

Inkosi Namandla

• Transfer the IPA (or at least your transliteration) into the score through out. This will help you become consistent the pronunciation.
• I have recorded the pronunciation so you can practice slowly until you become comfortable with it.

Time

• Write in the beats starting on p. 8 so that it helps determine counting the rests and re-entrances.
• Practice your clicking for the tic-tocking of the clock.

Witness

• Be aware that most of this is written in even 1/8th note. Only mm. 45 - 52 are swung. 
• Be careful with the syncopation on Lord in beginning and in various places throughout.

For TUESDAY, February 11, 2025

I Love You/What a Wonderful World (Suzanne, Brittany, Susan, James, and Ronnie sing the ensemble part starting on p. 7)

Nella Fantasia

Now is the Month of Maying 

Rise, Rise My Soul

Sacred Heart