Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed our rehearsal last night – I hope that you did, too!
Here are some links that may be of interest to you.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) Interactive Pronunciation Chart
Witness the Hour: Conversations with Arab-American Poets Across the Diaspora
She Carries the Weapons; They are Called Words
Pronunciation of [ae] for Banyas (probably more information than you ever thought possible!)
We will continue to work with the tuning exercise that we began last night to help us tune I Sing That My Voice May Be Heard. If you are working with a tuning app (or your piano), practice singing a D major ascending scale: Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do then descending Do-Ti-La-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do-Ti-La-So then ascending So- La-Ti-Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So then skipping from So to low La and then ascending to Do. Check to make sure that you are high enough for So before skipping down to La and that you return to our hometone, Do.
The Tree of Peace – Gwyneth Walker
It was really nice to sing through this – especially with Debbie’s wonderful accompaniment. We have some knowledge gaps, especially in mm. 37-55. It would be helpful for you to listen to your practice tracks for this section, then sing through it all for a review.
My People Are Rising – Carol Burnett
It was a huge step forward to be able to sing this piece from beginning to end (with Debbie’s assistance playing our parts). Amy is going to ask a friend who is fluent in Arabic to provide a recording of the names/places we went through together last night. I will share that with you when we have it. Thank you, Amy! This is a piece that needs repetition so any time that you can give to it will be helpful. Please note the changing tempo markings. I recommend that you sing through the piece without the ornamentation (little notes) until you are confident, then add the ornamentation. If you are having trouble moving your voice quickly, try adding a slight H to help you articulate the fast notes.
The Imaginary Garden – Marie-Claire Saindon
Pleasee review the new sections that we covered last night – mm. 1-9 and mm. 91-106. Please pronounce “dum” as if it were written “doom” as you rehearse the other sections.
Faith is the Bird – Elizabeth Alexander
We have sung through this entire piece together but it sounded as though mm. 19-32 needs review. It has been several weeks since we sang through this section so it would be helpful if you could work with your practice tracks to check pitches and rhythms. When you have your part, rehearse it staccato. It will be vitally important that we move like a school of fish swimming – the fish turn simultaneously, instantly changing directions. That is how we will need to sing each of these notes because the harmony stacks vertically and changes rapidly. Ensemble is ALWAYS important, but especially so in this piece.
Looking Ahead to 10-29-19
The Tree of Peace – Gwyneth Walker
Pages 6-15, mm. 35-75
- Pitches and rhythms in all parts.
- Rehearse the tempo changes.
- Rehearse the dynamics.
- Work on clearly articulating the consonants.
- “listen” second syllable keep the vowel open for the length of the pitch (don’t close early to the N).
- Experiment with Laban Efforts to accomplish the articulation markings and express the lyrics.
The Peace of Wild Things – Sean Ivory
Pages 1-10, mm. 1-63
- Pitches and rhythms in all parts.
- Experiment with Laban Efforts to accomplish the articulation markings and express the lyrics.
- Rehearse the dynamics.
1941 – Andrea Ramsey
Pages 2-5, mm. 1-29
- Pitches and rhythms in all parts.
- Rehearse dynamics.
- Experiment with Laban Efforts to accomplish the articulation markings and express the lyrics.
- Sing all.
The Valley – arr. Beth Hanson
Pages 4-6, mm.37-60
- Pitches and rhythms in all parts. (especially mm. 46-48 and mm. 49-52)
Now Let Me Fly – Stacey V. Gibbs
Pages 7-8, mm. 37-44 and pages 10-11, mm. 53-60
- Review pitches and rhythms for the first and second verses.
Cheers!
Laura