Hello Everyone,
Thank you for your beautiful singing and hard work at rehearsal – I heard lots of progress on our music. I am enjoying our music-making more than I can say and hope that you are, too!
Many of my friends and colleagues at the NCMEA conference this past weekend asked how things were going with WVC and I told them how beautifully you are singing this wonderful repertoire. Hooray for us!
S2s had a very productive sectional rehearsal. Thank you to section leader, Virginia, and to Carol and Kate for your great questions and observations. They were very helpful in guiding the work that we accomplished together.
Rehearsal Reflection
What the Heart Cannot Forget
– we worked through pitches and rhythms mm. 22-26 and 58-end. Please review these so that we can move forward!
From the Stone Age
– we worked through pitches and rhythms m. 43-end. Again, please review these sections so that we can move forward!
– note the 6/8 section transition at m. 60
Gia l’ore sen volano
– we sang with a light tone (think cotton balls, marshmallows, fluffy clouds, meringue, kittens, balloons, feathers) and worked at a tempo closer to our performance goal.
– Sing lightly to the cadences, especially when we move from harmony to unison.
Seasons of Love
– we reviewed from the beginning (especially. m. 48)
– at m. 33, remember to breathe in the shape of the vowel (oo) to help us agree on the vowel and tune the first chord.
– mm. 62-77 sing in 2 parts. S1 and S2 will sing on the second staff, top note. A1 and A2 will sing on the second staff, bottom note. Rachel (soloist) will sing the melody on the top staff.
– Consider memorizing this piece so that we can add hand claps at m. 45.
Now I Become Myself
– we reviewed our starting pitches (notes are in the chords of measures 1 and 3)
– sing the repeated ostinato, “now I become myself,” a bit detached and very rhythmically. Putting a slight lift after “now” will help define the accent.
– clear, emphatic consonants are needed on page 6, especially the K sound of ‘crying.’
– at m. 44, everyone is singing piano but make sure that the melody in the soprano part is clearly heard above the alto ostinato. Sopranos, use as clear diction as possible to communicate this text to the listener.
– be sure to watch for the breaths in m. 55
– note that mm. 59 and 60 have 5 beats
– we worked through the tempo changes on pages 13 and 14. Be sure to watch so that we stay together.
Looking Ahead to 11/16/26
We will focus on:
Gia l’ore sen volano (syllabic stress)
Now I Become Myself (we will review all)
Grown Wild (dynamics, diction)
There Was a Time (dynamics, diction, tempo)
What the Heart Cannot Forget (review and polish)
From the Stone Age (review and polish)
Controlled Burn (review and polish)
Hope you have a great rest of your week!
Laura