Hello Everyone,
Thanks for a lovely rehearsal last night. We did well learning new material.
I encourage everyone to continue to review measures we have already covered in rehearsal so that we won’t have to relearn material. Especially in the spring, with fewer rehearsals, we really need to move forward so that we have the time we need to polish. And, working on expression and finer details, especially in mixed formation, is more fun for everyone than drilling down pitches and rhythms!
We briefly worked on resonance/formant tuning as it relates to vowels – noting that in the Ah, we can hear the ‘Oh’ when we bring our hands up to our mouths and in the Ee we can hear the ‘oo.’ If we are singing a resonant vowel, the pitch won’t change. But, if we are not, the pitch drops as dramatically as a half step. So even if we think we are singing on the correct pitch, if there isn’t the resonance we need, ultimately it will sound flat. This is quite a complex topic…and I don’t expect that you take a deep dive unless you are particularly interested…but it does reinforce that our basic technique of singing posture related to resonant singing (open tube, space inside our mouths) makes a big difference in our vowel tuning. Since I have been working on my overtone singing (yes, still annoying Joey with it!), I find that I hear differently – in a good way.
Here is one link you might want to explore…but there are many. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=788HxAisxe4
And, I am a big fan of Donald Brinegar’s research on choral intonation and how it impacts expressiveness. I have his text, Pitch Perfect: A Theory and Practice of Choral Intonation and it is very informative. Here is a link to a recent podcast on the Choralosophy series, if you are interested:
Here is the link to the WVC Ireland Tour video – feel free to share.
Solo auditions – please email a voice memo recording by 3/9/25 for any of the following – use the practice track ‘All’ playing in the background:
The Harbor and the Sea mm. 20-32, 43-55 You can stop and start the practice track so that you can skip to ahead to the next section
Crowded Table mm. 41-48
Across the Sea (Chamber Choir singers only) mm. 1-9, 78-79 You can stop and start the practice track so that you can skip to ahead to the next section
Rehearsal Reflection:
My Name is Lamiya mm. 43-88 (reviewed mm. 1-42)
– we worked through the especially tricky spots – mm. 59-64, 72-84
– as you have time, S1 and S2 review mm. 28-32
– as you have time, everyone please review mm. 43-54, especially the chord for ‘house’ in mm. 53-54
My Lugar mm. 35-50
– we worked on pitches and rhythms
– A1 mm. 42-43, sing Eb on beat 3 tied over to beat 1
– A2 mm. 42-43, sing Ab for 3 beats then join the A1s on beat 1 of m. 43 (add a stem pointing down so that note has a stem going up for the A1s and a stem going down for the A2s. Then be sure to hold that Eb a full beat so that it elides with the soprano Ah on beat 2.
– as you have time, please review from the beginning through mm. 50.
Deep River mm. 19-28
– we worked on pitches and rhythms
– we reviewed mm. 29-37 (A2s please continue to work on your Ab entrance – I know it is tricky)
– mm. 27, only S2L and A1L sing ‘is’ which is then held through to ‘peace’ in m. 28. Then, only S2L and A1L sing ‘peace’ while everyone else rests.
– the biggest challenge with this piece is tuning all of the rich chords, many with pitches that are wonderfully unexpected! This is a perfect opportunity to sing slowly with a tuner to see that you are as accurate as possible. I’m happy to show you how to use a tuner before rehearsal if you need some help.
Walk Together Children mm. 15-29
– we worked on pitches and rhythms and reviewed from the beginning that far – great job!
– this is a good piece to work on with the practice files, with the tempo slowed down. Then, build up your speed to singing accurately at performance tempo.
Grace Before Sleep mm. 21-34
– we worked on pitches and rhythms, recognizing that A1s sing almost always on Do for this section – important to help us stay in tune! We will count on the A1s to keep the repeated D tuned and then everyone else tune to the D. Lots of responsibility for our A1s!
– S1s and then S2s will need to stagger breathe through this section on the eighth notes patterns – please leave out word(s) to get a good breath before rejoining.
– breaths: m. 22 S2, A1, A2 breathe after ‘storm,’ m. 25 A1 & A2 breathe after wolves, m. 26 A1 & A2 breathe after ‘storm’ (we may take this breath out – I need to hear you!), m. 28 A1 & A2 breathe after ‘road,’ m. 30 and m. 34 everyone breathe after ‘warm’
– practice singing a D Major scale, then singing Re, change it to Do and sing an E Major scale. It’s important for our tuning that everyone can hear the shift between these two tonal centers. A1L and S2L specifically move from D to E and will be especially helpful in making this modulation successful. The next most important note for tuning is m. 35, S1 beat 2, when the sopranos sing G# on ‘this’ since G# is in the key of E, but not D. Then, in m. 35, the A1s sing a D# on ‘shelter’ which is in the key of E, and a half step up from Do in the key of D. If we can tune these notes accurately, we are on the road to success!
– this piece gives us a very wide dynamic palette, we will need to pay attention to not sing the soft sections too loud. And singing those sections softer will make our fortissimos even more dramatic! Love, love, love this beautiful piece and it is one of the most often performed in the WVC library.
Chamber Choir:
Across the Sea mm. 60-end
– worked on pitches and rhythms – great job!
– sang through the piece
Shenandoah mm. 1-11
– worked on pitches and rhythms
– worked on singing F Major in tune, using Do and Sol drones as our ‘guideposts’ – great job on that!
Looking Ahead to 3/3/25:
The Harbor and the Sea mm. 10-17, 35-42
Mae-e (Forward) mm. 23-30
Entrance mm. 1-20
Crowded Table mm. 84-119
We Are mm. 14-44, 73-107
No Chamber Choir on 3/3 but looking ahead to 3/10:
Across the Sea mm. 44-59
Shenandoah mm. 32-45
Hope everyone has a great week!
Laura