Hello Everyone,
Good work last night! Thank you again for my beautiful birthday flowers (and birds!) and thoughtful card (I loved reading your messages) and birthday singing (so happy to share with my February sisters).
Below are my rehearsal notes. In addition, here are a few things to think about:
- Each time we begin a phrase, it is important to audiate the pitch (hear it in your head) before phonating. This will definitely improve the clarity of our sound. Using a tuner is a helpful tool in developing accuracy.
- Some consonants have pitch – voiced consonants – and they should sound on the pitch of the following vowel. As Deb noted, the inaccurate pitch at the beginning of one of the phrases was due to singers phonating the W on a pitch below the target pitch and then sliding up. We definitely want to avoid that. Here is a fun link – check it out! Lawless English.
- Joy is so far our biggest challenge. I recommend that you listen to the performance recording of this piece (on our website!) and the practice files (on our website!) so that you can hear all of the parts. It will be a joyous sound when we have this one polished.
- Know where the melody is and how your part relates – if your part supports the melody, make sure that you (and others!) can always hear the melody. This is especially true in The Imaginary Garden.
- I encourage you to vocally lead “without proving or provoking.” Choral director Dave Fryling says this a lot – I agree.
- Take stock of how loudly you sing. If you are naturally blessed with a robust voice, listen to yourself such that you know that you are not oversinging your neighbors and that you can hear the other parts. In a chorus, we should all bring our voices to the ensemble – otherwise, we are a room full of soloists – not an optimal choral sound.
- Sing in front of a mirror. Are your vowels round? Are you overextending your jaw on open vowels (overextending can cause tension in the tongue and jaw and should be avoided)? Does your face reflect the meaning of the text? You can also use our concert videos to see how you are doing.
- Speaking of videos, keep sharing on social media!
Rehearsal Plans for 2/10/20 (for your review or if you missed rehearsal)
My River Runs to Thee – Jayne Swank/Emily Dickinson
Mm. 1-13
- Begin the phrase with a resonant M then open to Ah.
- Emphasize the BL of blue
- clear T wilT-welcome
- Soft American R (we might flip it softly)
- mp-mf
The Imaginary Garden – Marie-Claire Saindon/Mahvash Sabet
Mm. 1-48, 91-106
- Speak the text – strive for rhythmic precision – consonants bring textual clarity!
- Mm. 1-48 Bring the melodic line out of the texture.
- Observe dynamic markings.
Mm. 91-106
- Speak the text – strive for rhythmic precision – consonants!
- Observe dynamic markings.
Joy – Kathleen Allan/Sara Teasdale
Mm. 1-44
Mm. 1-11
- Articulate D: wil-duh-I (with slight glottal on the I), final D on the rest at the end of the phrase
- Accents on wild
- S1 no breath m. 11.
Mm. 11-20
- Long notes support the moving notes of the other parts, S1, A1, and A2 move as a trio.
Mm. 21-32
- Mm. 27, note the A1 G-natural against the F# of S2 and A2.
- Accents on wild.
Mm. 33-44
- Mm. 33-40 is the goal…all of the “I am wild”s lead to these measures.
- Articulate V: lo-vuh-I (with a slight glottal on I)
- Observe dynamic and tempo changes.
- Mm. 43 no breath.
Your World – Joan Szymko/Georgia Douglas Johnson
Mm. 1-44
Mm. 1-16
- Observe dynamics
- Minimize R of world.
- Resonant M of make – move the K of make forward to it: ma-kit
- Resonant N of narrowest nest
- K close
Mm. 17-45
- S1, A1 oos – rehearse on doo, S2s moving rhythmically mm. 26-28.
- S2, A2 desire: dih-zah-yuh
- S2, A2 listen for this duet.
Song of Miriam – Elaine Hagenberg/Rabbi Ruth Sohn
Mm 1-30
- ST-D stand
- D-T and-turn
- F face
- T-ST desert-stretching
- D-D dazzled (use the D to launch the accent)
- B-T brilliant
- BL blue
- T-S sunburnt-sands
- H white (H sounds before the W)
- V dove
- S breathe m. 15 after wings.
- No breath m. 18
- S breathe m. 21 after sing.
- All breathe end of m. 23.
- Flip the R of rising
- P stop (note first stop is eighth and second is quarter)
- Inhalation after melody then hold breath before continuing pick up into m. 31
O Ignee Spiritus – Carlotta Ferrari/Hidegard Von Bingen
- Tune open 5ths – (3rdpartial tuning)
- Sing on oo to facilitate tuning.
The Birds’ Lullaby – Sarah Quartel
Mm. 55-91. (review)
Looking Ahead to 2/17/20
7:30-8:30 PM Sectionals 3/6-part divisi. Locations TBD (in Sunday’s announcements)
- I Started Out Singing mm. 61-90.
- In the Lavender Stillness of Dawn mm. 40-56.
- Some Glad Morning mm. 60-123.
- Moon Goddess mm. 76-130.
- Review all as time allows up to 8:30 PM.
8:40-9:30 PM All rehearse together, seated in 3/6-part divisi sections.
- Sing through all sectional music, focusing on expressive elements.
9:30-10:00 PM Chamber Choir Rehearsal – S1s and S2s please be prepared to shift parts as needed. We will focus on Hope is the Thing With Feathers mm. 1-40 and My Life Closed Twice mm. 15-51 to find our best balance.
Cheers!
Laura