September 29, 2026, Music Notes

Thanks for all of your work last night – we covered a lot of measures and are almost on schedule (we just need to catch up on the measures we missed in Seasons of Love). I especially appreciated how quiet all of our transitions were – thank you for that – it really helped our rehearsal to move forward calmly and efficiently.

If we accomplish our rehearsal schedule in the next two weeks (and I think that we will!) we will have covered pitches and rhythms for all measures of all pieces before our retreat – and that will be outstanding! Please review what we have already covered so that we don’t have to relearn sections. We will be rewarded by spending our time on expression (text and music) and singing in mixed formation (which is so much fun and will improve our intonation).

If you didn’t hear Kirsten’s recital in Raleigh last week, you have another opportunity to hear it in Burlington on October 23 (that’s the performance I am looking forward to attending). Yay Kirsten!

Please make sure you know what part you are supposed to sing – you can check the part splits info that came with your music packet…or ask your section leader…or ask me when you come into rehearsal if you have a question. While it is all detailed in the info given, it can still be confusing since choral scores are formatted in so many different ways.

Please be aware of your attendance responsibilities and remember that everyone has a limit of 4 allowed absences for the winter semester and that the retreat counts for 2. It’s important that we learn and grow in our music together. While absences are at times unavoidable, your presence and contributions are missed when you are not there. And please know how much I appreciate the extra effort that it takes at times to get to rehearsal when circumstances are challenging.

Rehearsal Reflection

Controlled Burn – mm. 1-109

– We worked through pitches and rhythms.

– Great work on this wonderful piece – we are making good progress!

Grown Wild – mm. 32-63

– m. 35 mezzos have the melody which is similar to the opening phrase sung by the sopranos. Altos and sopranos should sing one level softer than the mezzos so that the melody is clearly present.

– note the part crossing in m. 38 where altos sing above the mezzos.

– m. 47 we begin this phrase as we began it in m. 25 but then it is embellished by eighth notes for the mezzos and sopranos.

– mm. 54 & 56 note the b-naturals for the mezzos (the singers in the reference recording are very out of tune here).

– mm. 61-63 note the f-sharps and f-naturals (the difference between D Major and D minor). Makes a very interesting contrast in this section.

– Nice work on this piece – we are already finding dynamic contrasts to bring out the text.

There Was a Time – mm. 24-49

– we worked through pitches and rhythms

– as you have time, review page 9 and note that mm. 46-49 are similar to the opening (same harmonic progression) but the chords are voiced differently

– nice work!

From the Stone Age – mm. 124-150

– we worked through pitches and rhythms

– this piece (obviously!)  has some challenging sections. I recommend that you listen to Zanaida (composer) sing this on the reference recording. You will be inspired! Also, especially mm. 139-148 use the YouTube practice tracks that you can slow down…especially m. 148. What a great measure that is (when we have learned it!)You can adjust the playback speed to meet your needs. Please reach out to your section leader if you need help doing this.

– m. 145 there is a mistake in the score. Sopranos have a G-natural along with everyone else in that measure. It is a lot of work to fix the practice files so we may not…but as long as you know the G# is an error, we should be fine!

– mm. 136-148 the mezzo soprano part is quite high. Anyone who needs to join the altos on this section, please do so. Once everyone is singing where they are most comfortable, we can adjust for balance, as needed.

– altos, check your first pitch in m. 141. If you listen to the soprano part when they sing ‘stone’ on a C#, your first note for ‘I’ is a whole step higher on a D#.

– this is definitely one of our ‘challenge pieces’ but I am confident that we will sing it beautifully.

The Circle Game – mm. 42-73

– great job on the pitches in this piece, but let’s be mindful of the rhythms. We need to sing the syncopations accurately.

– altos and mezzos, please review your parts in m. 9-20. They are tricky!

Looking Ahead to 10/5/26

We will work through pitches and rhythms on the measures below. As time permits, we will review from the beginning of each of the pieces. If we cover the measures outlined below in the next two rehearsals we will have reached the double bar line in ALL pieces before our retreat.

Chamber Choir – when we next rehearse Wanting Memories, A2s need to please figure out the best way to accomplish your part because it is indeed exhausting to sing. I recommend that everyone sings several measures then take a measure off but that you offset them so that three are always singing while one is taking a measure rest. You can try different combinations until you are satisfied with the result. It would be best if you all sang the first 4 measures and then begin staggering breaks at m. 5.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week as we enjoy our last days of September and welcome October on Thursday!

Laura