Hello Everyone,
Thanks for a wonderful rehearsal tonight. I think of these rehearsals as accomplishing all of the whats and whens…what is my note and when do I sing it?!? I do think that with the pieces we rehearsed tonight we are ready to continue on our artistic journey, answering the hows and whys. It is in answering how and why questions we are able to tap into our creative selves, which I think can be deeply fulfilling. This is where we really think about the meaning of the text and how it is communicated with the musical phrase through diction (vowels and consonants!), articulation, phrasing, and dynamics. We also work on balance and blend, always mindful of our intonation. We can explore different tone colors according to what is asked of us for each piece or section of a piece. So much to look forward to!
If you feel unsure about any of your pitches and rhythms of the pieces we rehearsed tonight, please take a few moments to listen to your practice tracks (on our website). Also, I especially recommend listening to performance recordings (on our website) of the pieces where the accompaniment is quite complex – Moon Goddess and In the Lavender Stillness of Dawn both fit that description.
Jasmine asked about the vowel for “fury.” If you are familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet, here is the IPA spelling of fury: [fjˈʊ͡əɹɪ]. If you are not, no worries. We will work on it together. We need to work on lots of vowels!
Just a reminder – upcoming 6:45-7:25 PM sectional rehearsals are 3/9/20 for S1 and S2 and 3/16/20 for A1 and A2.
If you missed tonight’s rehearsal or need to take specific notes in your score, below is what I had in my notes for tonight. Obviously, we only scratched the surface with diction, acticulation, and dynamics but we made great progress on pitches and rhythms. Yay us!
I Started Out Singing – Jocelyn Hagen/Naomi Shihab Nye
Mm. 61-90, then review all.
Diction
- Begin phrase with mouth in the shape of the vowel (rehearse audiating the first note).
- Final consonants on the rests.
- Elide the D of started to “out.” Soften the T. Minimize the R
- V voice
- K clear
- P penny
- Shape “singing” to IH
Articulation
- Second eighth note has less weight (press and release)
- Carry less weight on notes higher on the staff and then transition weight gradually through the phrase.
- Don’t overemphasize the pickup words.
- Legato but with clean releases for the rests – glide!
- Tenutos for mezzos m. 79
- Accents mm. 82-86
Dynamics and tempo
- As indicated in the score.
In the Lavender Stillness of Dawn – Jocelyn Hagen/Meggan Tavel
Mm. 40-56, then review all.
Diction
- AH beginning of “opportunity.” Breathe in the shape of the vowel.
- Elide “like a” kah
- Minimize the Rs of star and heart
- Lots of H heart
- V voice (sustain the first open vowel – the vanishing vowel is very quick and is connected to the final S).
- CH reach
- SP grasp
- D destiny
- J journey
- CH choice
Articulation
- Emphasize important syllables and words to enhance textual meaning
Dynamics
- As indicated in the score.
Some Glad Morning – Carolyn Jennings/Joyce Sutphen
Mm. 60-123, then review all.
Diction
- V very
- DH old-happened
- G green
- K came
- B-K back
- B branches
- G-D ground
- D-B ground-broke
- K broke
- K clouds
- Elide Kup Tookup
- P up
- D good
- D-CH and-cherry
- BL blossoms
- D sounded D
- K track
- Duh-M (shadow vowel after D) gla-duh–morning
Articulation
- Mindful of the important words in the phrases – often the first word should not be stressed.
Dynamics
- As indicated in the score.
Moon Goddess – Jocelyn Hagen/Enheduanna
Mm. 76-130, then review all.
Diction
- Breathe in the vowel at the beginning of phrases.
- Round oo “moon.”
- TH earth
- H harp
- H hear
- J dirge
F wife - D told
- F fury
Articulation
- Accents as indicated in the score.
Dynamics
- As indicated in the score.
Looking Ahead to our Retreat on 2/22/20 and our next rehearsal on 2/24/20.
Retreat:
We have many activities planned for Saturday. Musically, we will rehearse all together in the afternoon and have morning sectionals working on the following:
Joy mm. 45-91
Your World mm. 48-93
Song of Miriam mm. 31-54
The Birds’ Lullaby mm. 1-91
O Ignee Spiritus mm. 49-98
Monday, 2/24 will be our last rehearsal working in sectionals beginning at 7:30 PM.
The Imaginary Garden mm. 49-90
Joy mm. 91-181
Your World mm. 94-138
Song of Miriam mm. 55-81
My River Runs to Thee mm. 1-13
The Birds’ Lullaby mm. 1-91
I am looking forward to spending the day with you on Saturday!
Cheers!
Laura