Our first night back was excellent. It was so good to be "home" again, in our room in the Regional Building on Yonge Street. (Hopefully, they'll have the timing of the doors opening figured out soon)
It was wonderful to see so many people returning to choir again, some of whom we haven't seen since before COVID.
Best of all, we sounded beautiful. I got goosebumps!
We had a brief physical warm-up and did a few vocal exercises. We talked about breathing using our whole bodies with a focus around our middles. Your belly should stick out and then go back in (and your shoulders should not go up toward your ears).
1. Why We Sing: So beautiful! We all sang all the former solos at the beginning. It sounds good both ways. We'll see how we end up performing it this season. If you have any strong preferences, let me know.
2. One Voice: This is a powerful and dramatic song that fits my theme even though it's not explicitly about being a light. It was extra-dramatic one year when the power went out just as we were starting our concert. Luckily, the piano is acousitc, and our soloist didn't need a microphone. Heather started singing "One voice, singing in the darkness..." and it was funny and wonderful. Take a look at that solo, and then duet and then trio, and let me know if you feel like it's something you'd like to do. We learned the parts and sang to the end of the piece starting at bar 39. The first sopranos have to warm up really well on concert day, because I want this to be our first song.
3. Winter Song: I love this piece. This was a duet which we all loved and wanted to sing. Maybe we'll do that other One Voice some day too. We had a young cellist play as well and it was so moving. We laughed a little about how everyone loves "bum-bums" (Sopranos generally don't). We sang from the bum-bums at 43 through 47 to 54. When we sang through the first time, we noticed some interesting repeats toward the end. We'll look at that next time. It's one of those things where different parts come in at different times, but most of the choir repeats the same thing 3 times, so don't worry.
4. In Our Town in December: This is a perfect song for my theme, and I love how sweet and clear it is. We have had solos in some sections in the past. I'm not sure if we'll do that this time. We had a special ending last time which I think we will do again. We repeated "in our town" with some improvised harmonies. We'll see. We definitely need to improve on the ending that is there. We didn't review any parts, just sang it, sight reading and following the choristers who remembered. We have the parts recorded and available on our website.
5. Mele Kalikimaka: Impress your friends and relatives. It always surprises folks when I can sing along to this holiday favourite. Most people have heard it but don't know it. It fits the theme beautifully and it's pretty easy and fun. We didn't do any learning, just sang it through. We have the accompaniment recording, but no parts.
6. You'll Never Walk Alone: One of our favourite pieces. I love the piano part, so cool. We're very strong on this one, so new folks always catch on quickly. (However, it took us ages to learn it the first time.) New folks, we have recordings of parts for S1, S2 and Baritone (TB) on the website to help you practise at home if you need extra help. If any of the altos have the alto recording saved somewhere, please send it to me!
A big thank you -THANK YOU- to Carol, Debbie, Peggy, Ann and Lauren who made sure we could all register quickly and easily and get our binders. Big thanks to Melinda for dealing with the equipment and for bringing treats for break time. Yum! Bill, thanks for bringing some of the harvest of your vegetable garden. We did a lot of talking at breaktime, maybe partly because we had food to eat and talk about. Food is always good for talking.
Think about a small group offering or solo or duet in our theme. Tab is going to send me something to look at. Blair and Marlene have a duet. I'd like at least 2 more and up to 3 more.
Next week, Tuesday, September 19
- In Our Town in December
- Shine Hanukkah
- Winter Song
- Christmas Waltz
- One Voice
Thank you to Robin Trasmundi who had saved the alto recording and sent it to me! Now it's up on the website. Robin, you're a star!
ReplyDelete