Monday, February 28th, 2022
Well, while it wasn't the rehearsal I had planned, the joy of reunion and of being where I need to be was there, and the beautiful sound of a choir in front of me was fantastic.
We sat less than 2m apart, but wore masks or face shields for extra safety. I'm hoping we can sing with naked faces soon. We are all vaccinated and I hope we're all self-assessing (link to the provincial self-assessment site)
Our new accompanist was sick, so I had to switch to Plan B. It was disappointing. I'm so looking forward to working with Weichen! Luckily, the technology was mostly working and we could sing with recorded performances and accompaniments.
I already knew that the sheet music was late, so our binders wouldn't be complete. Getting binders of music into choristers' hands is always challenging. This season is no exception. Thank you to Lauren who stepped in to bring us our binders which Peggy and Anne assembled (thanks too).
Here's what we did:
Warm-ups: We had a physical warm-up with the Beatles' Here Comes The Sun playing, for relaxing and opening up our bodies-our musical instruments-to prepare for singing and singing together. We did some breathing exercises, and some vocal exercises on different syllables.
1. Somewhere Out There: How very far apart we were during the pandemic! But, we thought about each other and loved and figured out ways to see one another.
We will not have a soloist at the beginning. Sopranos will sing softly. You might want to write in the ending, as it's not what's written. I've added the words "come true" on the last two notes, and redistributed and added notes. We'll review it for those who missed it.
2. Seasons of Love: How do you measure 2 years? Don't do the math, measure in love.
We need a soloist for this @33. Nicole and Joanne have done it in the past. It would be good to have some jazziness. The tenor line after the solo can also be a solo. We'll see. We'll need to sing this when we're all back together and preferably without masks so that the balance can be worked on. Be sure to come in with confidence on every phrase, whether it's beat one or two or the pick-ups to one ("how about" and "remember the").
3. We Rise Again: Our theme song. As sure as the sunrise, as sure as the sea, we rise.
We need a soloist for this. Marlene has volunteered and she did a great job last night! We will work on the oohs, but they're not super-important. We will work on the first singing of the chorus @19, which is different from the others. Tenor and Bass especially have cool parts. Second Sopranos move around a bit, but you'll be happy because you move to the melody. First sopranos are on the top line of the choir bracket throughout. Remember to ignore the solo line on top. Tenors move a bit too, happily out of the tenor clef and into the bass clef mostly. The accompaniment recording is fast.
4. Sunshine Medley: My own arrangement! I'm kind of excited and proud of this. I started to plan it about a year ago. I wanted us to sing all of these pieces but not in whole, so I took parts and sewed them together.
This is very new, so we don't have a recorded accompaniment, so I just kind of walked (sang/talked) through it to give you and idea of how it goes. It should be fun.
5. Blue Skies: Nothing but blue skies and sunshine from now on, no more pandemic.
We need 2 soloists. Lauren can do either of the solos. We'll do the snaps and the jazz hands.
6. This Little Light of Mine: We're gonna let our big, bright lights shine. It's really up to us to be the sunrise.
We need a soloist, and Mary-Ellen has volunteered. There's a solo and repeat @35.
7. Hallelujah: We're going to invite the audience to sing with us.
No solos this time. All tenor and bass on first solo, all soprano and alto on second. Fun!
I handed out a few copies of Good Morning, Sunshine to make a small group. They will start rehearsing on March 14 at 6:30. We'll talk about that next week.
Next week: Monday, March 7th
- Blue Skies
- On Eagle's Wings
- Sunshine Medley
- This Little Light of Mine
- We Rise Again
- Wonderful World
 |
| Choir is my happy place |
No comments:
Post a Comment