Hello Everyone,
Thanks for a craic rehearsal last night! We sucked diesel! Delira and excira! (pronunciation of ‘delira and excira’ is at around 2:15 with some other funny Irish slang in this video).
https://www.vanityfair.com/video/watch/slang-school-niall-horan-teaches-you-irish-slang)
I appreciated the update and instructions from Jackie – we are in very capable hands! Now we all need to ‘get our stuff done!’ (if we have not already).
Our next Irish fun activity, Ireland Fact or Fiction, is attached in case you are joining via Zoom on June 3rd. If you will be in person, please don’t peek ahead of time. I will have copies made and ready for us to play (they are actually already in my bag, ready to go – yay me!).
Zoom Link for Rehearsal: You can join the Zoom Rehearsals here. Meeting ID: 858 3293 4624; Password: 121074.
The Netflix series that some of us are watching is Bodkin. Set in Ireland, it is described as a lightly comedic mystery series centered on podcasters researching a cold case about people who went missing during a Samhain festival. There is a lot of quirky Irish humor with a fair amount of drinking, cursing, guns, violence….definitely meant for adults (in my opinion).
Last night we covered the following:
– A Stór, A Stór, A Ghrá – we worked on clarity of text, dynamics, and a faster tempo. (Rebecca’s adorable daughter is a shining star!).
– Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy – we learned section by section at a slower pace. If this is a new piece for you, I highly recommend that you use the – YouTube practice files that Karla created for this song. You can slow it down to .25 speed and work your way up to performance speed.
– Down By the Salley Gardens – beautiful work on this. We worked on the differences in the phrases beginning with, ‘She bid me…’ as well as dynamics and phrasing. m,. 31, 53, and 61. Thanks for your compliments to Chamber Choir, Deb G!
– Let Us Break Bread Together – this is a very straightforward piece, but we will need to purposely sharpen our pitch at the cadences, especially if your part is singing a B-flat. In the key of Gb, it is the third scale degree – so important for establishing (and maintaining) the key/tonal center. Also notice if you are singing Gb, our home tone, as it is often sung in octaves by the S1 and A2 singers. Definitely need to listen closely and sing on the high side of the pitch. We worked on coordinating the breaths in mm. 12 and 30 – A1/A2 hold the half note a full 2 beats. S1/S2 change the half note to a quarter note and a quarter rest for the breath. At m.16, S1 changes the half note to a quarter note and a quarter rest for the breath. The S2/A1/A2 parts hold the half note full value and breathe on beat 3.
– My Shepherd Will Supply My Need – we worked through pitches and rhythms – please review as you have time. The pronunciations of ‘oil’ and ‘anoint’ are challenging – sing with an open vowel and sustain on the first vowel…then don’t close to the L or N early. Sounds lovely!
-Mo Ghile Mear – all went well and sounded wonderful with just a bit of unsteadiness at the page turn mm. 10-11. Let’s all turn sooner and look up there. I will do my best to be clear.
– Stand By Me – very fun run through. A1 part was much improved mm. 8-10 and similar spots. The B has been under pitch with a strident tone – much better last night. S2 we need to work on rhythmic accuracy when you have the melody, especially pg. 5. A2s have their part memorized – yay!
Looking Ahead to 6/3/24
We will do lots of ‘sing throughs’ on much of our repertoire so between now and then, please work on the spots that are challenging for you. Make a list of questions if you have places that you are having difficulty working through on your own and we will try to cover as many of those spots as possible.
We will begin rehearsal seated in sections (same as last night).
Thanks everyone!
Sláinte!
Laura