September 19, 2019, Music Notes

by | Sep 19, 2019 | AD Music Notes

Hello Everyone!

I enjoyed being with you at our rehearsal! Please excuse my not sending these notes Tuesday. I was already well on my way to Boone when I realized that my laptop was not in my computer bag. Please accept my apologies as I know this may have negatively impacted your personal practice schedule.

One item that is not specifically musical but does affect our music making…

Let’s give our attention to ensuring that we make the most of our time together each week. I can tell by the number of times that I hear shushing during the rehearsal that members are not always able to hear instructions or notes because of chatter. I ask that collectively we all do our best to minimize conversations that slow us down and that can be a distraction, especially during transitions. Our acoustically live rehearsal space amplifies even soft conversations. I will do my best to keep rehearsal moving at a musically appropriate pace so that we move forward with intention and purpose. I know that the social aspect of our community is very important so we will certainly continue to connect with one another during our mid-rehearsal break.

We will continue to work on strengthening our audiation skills as I feel sure it will help our overall intonation. Please include scales in your individual practice sessions and challenge yourself to audiate pitches. You may want to consider an app for your phone to check your progress. I use an app called Sing In Tuna for my iPhone (so far there is not an android version). This app gives me immediate feedback because it shows the note that I am singing on the staff and indicates whether or not I am singing in the center of the pitch. If you can’t use that app, here is a link to other tuning apps that might be helpful. If you use an acoustic piano, obviously it should be in tune or it won’t be much help with intonation exercises. Forgive my stating the obvious but my own piano is overdue for its tuning so I know how that can happen even with the best of intentions.

Cheers to all – see you Monday!

Laura

The Tree of Peace – Gwyneth Walker

Pages 11-15, mm. 55-75

We accomplished pitches and rhythms for this section and now need to address some details. We will rehearse these together and give our attention to the following:

  • m. 55 observe the rit.
  • m. 56 add a crescendo on “then.”
  • m. 57 practice the accents, articulate the K in “shackles” and the F in “fall.” Let’s write these consonants in our scores as capitol letters to remind us.
  • m. 58 accent on the first syllable of “violence” and minimize the Rs in “war” and “over.”
  • m. 59 minimize the R and emphasize the TH in “earth.”
  • m. 59 practice the accents and decrescendo. 
  • m. 59 and whenever it occurs, round the vowel in “cease.”
  • m. 59 take a half beat breath at the end of the measure.
  • m. 60 emphasize the V in “love,” the D in “tread,” and the F in “fire.” The vowel in “of” should be shaped toward an AH and the F pronounced as a V. This is true almost anytime we sing “of.” Minimize the L of “shall” and the R in “fire.”
  • m. 61 decrescendo to a p.
  • m. 61 carry “anger” to “and” without a breath and minimize the R in “anger.”.
  • m. 62 the Z at the end of “ashes” should be connected to the P of “plant.” This is always true. Don’t breathe between “ashes” and “plant” whenever that text appears. Emphasize the P of “plant.”
  • m. 63 crescendo on “peace.” Round the vowel on “peace.” Sing all the way through the end of m. 63 and articulate the final S of “peace” on beat 1 of m. 64.
  • m. 64 is rehearsal marking G, not rehearsal marking F. (F occurs at m. 56)
  • mm. 64-76 – S1U, S2U, A1U, A2U your rehearsal notes from mm. 55-63 apply in this section, as well.
  • mm. 65-67 – S1L, S2L, A1L, A2L for your entrance on “O, my sister”… breathe with your mouth in the shape of an O on beats 1-2-3 and sing O on beat 4. Emphasize the “sis” of “sister.” Minimize the final Rs in “sister” and “brother.”
  • m. 68 S1L, S2L, A1L, A2L emphasize the F in “fold.”
  • m. 69 S1L, S2L, A1L, A2L minimize the Rs in “hearts” and “other.”
  • m. 70 S1L, S2L, A1L, A2L decrescendo. 
  • mm. 64-73 make note of all of the rests in your part so that you know individually where your releases are. My conducting gestures in this section should affirm what you already know to do.
  • m. 71 S1U, S2U, A1U, A2U decrescendo but S1L, S2L, A1L, A2L sing mf. 
  • m. 72 S1L, S2L, A1L, A2L add a crescendo on “dwells.”
  • m. 73 S1L, S2L, A1L, A2L add a decrescendo on “there.”
  • mm. 74-76 continue the crescendo until beat 4 of m. 76.

Faith is the bird that feels the light – Elizabeth Alexander

Thank you for not rushing – but, we will take this a bit faster. Right now we are at about a quarter note=85 beats per minute and we will take it closer to 100. Great start on this piece – I have attached our first rehearsal recording.

  • Always a strong initial F on “faith.” The F is just ahead of the beat so that we open to the vowel on the beat. The F should feel percussive as it energizes the beginnings of phrases. It should really help us to get our breath moving.
  • We will breathe together on the rests, otherwise, stagger breathing.
  • m. 57 the K of “dark” is on the rest.
  • m. 59 the T of “light” is on the rest.
  • m. 61 the T of “light” is on the rest.
  • mm. 54-63 starts p and ends f with a continued crescendo as we sustain our final light with the fermata marked lungissima (very long!)
  • we will end with a percussive T.

Swing Low – Rosephanye Powell

Page 12, mm. 60-end.

Nice sight reading! I have attached our first rehearsal recording.

  • m. 62 sopranos float the O of “over” and minimize the R.
  • m. 63 observe the breath mark. Ss and Ms will breath together and As will breathe at the end of the measure.
  • m. 63 the melodies take a bit of a twist so review your notes.
  • m. 65 the sopranos will breathe before the Ms and As.
  • m. 67 add a crescendo for everyone but As be sure to not punch the “jah!” of “Hallelujah!” even though there is an exclamation point and your interval ascends.
  • m. 67-68 connect with no breath.
  • m. 68 observe the tentuto. We will work on our collective pronunciation of “glory.” It is a tricky word! As float your ascending interval on “ry” of “Glory.”
  • m. 70 emphasize the K of “comin” and “carry.”
  • m. 73 breathe on beats 1-2-3-4 in the shape of the vowel O in preparation for “home.”
  • m. 74 strong H at the beginning of “home” on the downbeat. We will work on this phrasing together. When we touch our lips together to form the M on beat 3, be sure to keep a resonant space on the inside and then decrescendo to the end.

My People Are Rising – Carol Barnett

Pages 6-13 mm. 22-79

We continue to make good progress on this piece. Overall, we need to find and tune all of the augmented 2nds and the minor 2nds. Our minor seconds (1 half step) should feel very close together and our augmented seconds (3 half steps) should feel very spacious. I recommend continued listening of the recording of this piece – it will help! The clear and precise articulation of the consonants will emphasize rhythmic intensity and accuracy.

  • The primary vowel of “my” is AH. The second, vanishing vowel should happen at the very end of the note and should not be emphasized. If you have a southern accent (as do I!) let’s be mindful that diphthongs are not always our choral friends.
  • We will always need a strong P at the beginning of “people.”
  • Remember to lightly flip all of the Rs in “rising.”
  • “earth” and “underneath” always need to end with a strong and percussive TH.
  • “marching” always needs a strong and percussive CH.
  • “shaking” always needs a strong and percussive K. The initial SH should have a quick burst of air and be percussive.
  • “crouching” always needs a strong and percussive initial K.
  • “stooping” always needs a strong and percussive initial ST and a strong P.
  • mm. 61-79 observe the dynamic markings.
  • “shaking” always needs a strong and percussive SH and K.
  • “off” always needs a strong and percussive ending F.
  • “bound” always needs a strong B and D. (the D should not sound like a T)
  • “bonds” always needs a strong B and Ds.
  • “scatter” needs a strong and percussive SC and T.
  • observe throughout this section almost all of the notes are marked with staccatos. 

The Valley  – Jane Siberia, arr. Beth Hanson

Good review at rehearsal F! Our sight reading on the rest let us know that this piece certainly has its challenges, especially rhythmically  Listen to the recording as you have time and chant the text because as I mentioned in rehearsal, the rhythms are often as we might naturally speak the text.

A Path to Each Other – Jocelyn Hagen and Timothy Takach

I have attached our sol-fa recording. Our tuning is vastly improved but we need to be mindful that during the cannon we don’t let the pitch slip. Our “Ti” should always feel high as though it is less than a half step from Do. You can hear at the end of the cannon we didn’t quite get back to Do but we were very, very close and then tuned as we continued to the end. Continue to rehearse this using solfeggi and then we will sing it again with text once we are really confident with our tuning (hopefully on 9/30). Please have this piece memorized using the text, not sol-fa, for our rehearsal on 9/30. You are almost there!

Looking Ahead:

Rehearsal Plans for WVC 9-23-19

Now Let Me Fly – arr. Stacey Gibbs

Page 15 mm. 85-88 (review), page 16, mm. 89-94 and page 14 mm. 77-84 (with the pick up). We will sing this piece up a half step.

  • Sing an F# major scale.
  • Strong F on “fly.”
  • mm. 89-90 add a crescendo on “fly” and breathe together after “Zion” (be sure to watch me there because we are in the rit.)
  • m. 90 observe the rit.
  • m. 91 observe the agent on “yes” and the fermata on “Lord.”
  • m. 91 end “Lord” with a strong D and take a breath.
  • mm. 92-94 crescendo as if you are riding an escalator and not stepping up stairs. You should have an energetic and continuous flow of breath that fuels the crescendo.
  • mm. 93-94 we will sustain the AH vowel of “fly” until the release when we will add the vanishing vowel.
  • mm. 77-84 always emphasize the F of “fly.”
  • m. 78 all parts crescendo.
  • m. 79 add a crescendo in all parts on “fly.”
  • m. 80 strong D on the final eighth rest.
  • m. 81 S1 we will work out the 3 part divisi in rehearsal – we will just have a few voices pop up to the A5.
  • m. 81 S2, A1, A2 add a crescendo on “fly.”
  • m. 82 observe the dim. 
  • m. 82 S2, A1, A2 put the D of “Lord” on the quarter rest.
  • mm. 77-84 breathe on the rests – if you need a breath elsewhere, stagger breathing.
  • mm. 77-84 note the other parts that have the same rhythm as your own.
  • mm. 77-84 note when parts sing unison notes

I Sing That My Voice May Be Heard – Gwen McLeod Hall

We will review the opening section and then work on this entire piece so that we have it it ready for our fall retreat when Gwen Hall will be with us as our guest clinician. We will use the phrasing on the recording posted on our website so please listen as you have time. Rubato will be used as an expressive tool throughout. We will begin with a D major scale.

The Imaginary Garden – Marie-Claire Saindon

Pages 4-6 (review) mm. 49-72 and pages 7-10 mm. 73-90.

  • Sing an E major scale.
  • mm. 49-72 bring the S1 melody and the S1 S2 duet out of the texture.
  • mm. 49-72 review the supporting parts.
  • mm. 73-80 listen for the melodic fragments in the S1 part.
  • mm. 81-90 listen for the melodic fragments in the S1 and S2 parts.
  • mm. 73-87 review the dum-bay-ah phrases for S2 and A1 parts.
  • mm. 73-87 review the harmonic foundation for the A2 part.
  • mm. 73-90 breathe on the rests.
  • mm. 73-90 observe the dynamic markings.
  • mm. 90-91 the crescendo extends to the phrase release (observe the fermata).
  • mm. 90-91 the vowel AH remains rounded on the crescendo with interior resonating space.
  • m. 90 strong D at the end of “wide.”

The Peace of Wild Things – Sean Ivory

Sight read through all, review mm. 60-91.

My People Are Rising – Carol Barnett

Pages 6-13 rmm. 21-79 review this section.

  • mm. 32-39, mm. 50-56 mark the augmented 2nds and work on tuning.
  • The primary vowel of “my” is AH. The second, vanishing vowel should happen at the very end of the note and should not be emphasized. If you have a southern accent (as do I!) let’s be mindful that diphthongs are not always our choral friends.
  • We will always need a strong P at the beginning of “people.”
  • Remember to lightly flip all of the Rs in “rising.”
  • “earth” and “underneath” always need to end with a strong and percussive TH.
  • “marching” always needs a strong and percussive CH.
  • “shaking” always needs a strong and percussive K. The initial SH should have a quick burst of air and be percussive.
  • “crouching” always needs a strong and percussive initial K.
  • “stooping” always needs a strong percussive initial ST and a strong P.
  • mm. 61-79 observe the dynamic markings.
  • “shaking” always needs a strong and percussive SH and K.
  • “off” always needs a strong ending F.
  • “bound” always needs a strong B and D. (make sure that the final D is not sounded as a T)
  • “bonds” always needs a strong B and D.
  • “scatter” needs a strong and percussive SC and T.
  • observe throughout this section almost all of the notes are marked with staccatos. 

The Tree of Peace – Gwyneth Walker

Pages 11-15 mm. 56-76 and pages 16-17 mm. 77-91

  • Sing a D major scale.
  • mm. 77-80 learn pitches and rhythms in all parts.
  • shape each AH phrase with dynamics – in general, crescendo as pitches ascend and decrescendo as pitches descend.
  • observe the rit. in m. 80.
  • mm. 81-91 learn pitches and rhythms in all parts.
  • m. 81 observe the tentuto on “love” and bring out the V. Emphasize the F of “fire.”
  • m. 82 observe the accents on “anger,” minimize the R of “anger,” and observe the breath mark.
  • m. 83 connect the final Z of “ashes” to the P of plant.
  • m. 81 shape “of” as previously rehearsed.
  • mm. 85-91 round the vowel of “peace” and being with a clear P.
  • m. 91 the final S of “peace” is on the eighth note, beat 1.
  • mm. 81-84 note the dynamic contrast f then p. 
  • mm. 56-76 sing through noting the tempo changes.

1941 – Andrea Ramsey

Pages 5-9 mm. 27-51

  • pitches and rhythms in all parts.
  • note the phrase markings for breaths.
  • note the tempo changes.
  • note the accents.
  • note the dynamic contrasts.

A Path to Each Other – Jocelyn Hagen and Timothy Takach

All.

  • Sing an F# major scale.
  • m. 9 tune beat 4 – Ti needs to be higher.
  • m. 11 tune – Re needs to be higher.
  • m. 12 tune beat 1 – Mi
  • m. 12 tune – La and Fa both need to be higher.
  • m. 13 tune – Sol in the lower part dropped too low and lost focus.
  • Sing m. 11-14 mindful of overall tuning.
  • Sing an F# major scale then sing a d# minor scale.
  • Sing all.

The Valley – Jane Sidberry, arr. Beth Hanson

Pages 2-4 mm. 1-36.

  • Chant text in rhythm, breaking it down into smaller sections as needed.
  • Sing an E major scale.
  • Learn pitches in all parts.

Chamber Choir

We will sight read through all of Nada te turbe and then rehearse specifically mm. 56-102