Hello lovely singers,
It was so nice to have a (close to!) full house last evening. We rely on everyone for support, musical and otherwise, and are able to get a better idea of our choral sound.
So… at-home practice. A necessary part of community ensemble music making. Please take time each week to review scores, practice tricky sections, drill text, and give focused attention to your own vocal strengths and challenges. We are aiming to steadily grow and learn, seeing improvements from week to week. Life happens, OF COURSE! Some weeks we have more time than others. Totally normal.
Believe it or not, we have only 6 regular rehearsals before we get to December. Then it’s a combined rehearsal with guests, our own dress rehearsal, our big concert, and an outreach performance at the library. So much to cover before we get there! All of the amazing musical details that give a connected performance!
We’ve had a few people raise concerns about chatting during rehearsal. Please be mindful of this in your sections. Talking with neighbours, even when it is about the score, is distracting and prevents other singers from hearing instructions and starting pitches.
Take a minute to celebrate your sightreading in “The Snow” last evening. Awesome. This piece is going to be one of our favourites. I promise.
As always, your first resource is the content of our Shared folder:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EfLf1-sEfJVt7YmOIGG47DB1LxhchnTI
*I’ve just added recordings to help with notes for “Good King” verse 5, “The Snow,” and a very slow speaking of the Ukrainian text.
A few things for at-home practice this week:
Suai’r Gwynt
– We have now worked on the text for all of verse 1. Slow and steady. Embrace the struggle. It’s good for us to push ourselves 🙂
– I will email Anne to see about the TB text at m.9-12
The Hands
– m.26-42 – our TBs really showed us how to sing a legato phrase. Beautiful. Let’s all do that. Sing on the vowel (don’t allow your tongue or jaw to move to a consonant or new syllable too early)
– m.46-62 – independence of notes. Dean doesn’t play here.
When Christ was Born
– it’s starting to get FUN!
– m.7-end – big difference in style and comfort level this week!
– the ST “Christo paremus” section needs some work
– again, Dean doesn’t play! As you’re practicing, constantly check in with a piano or tuning fork or app to see if you are still on pitch. Think light and free and listening! No tension!
Of course, keep everything fresh with regular practice. Remember, we are not simply learning songs. We are growing as musicians and striving to present a performance that will reach out and grab audience members. This is important!
Happy practicing and have a wonderful week!
Krista