Halloween! We had a few people who had Halloween responsibilities that kept them away for some of or all of our rehearsal, but most of us came to sing. And, we enjoyed some treats at break. Thank you to the Wanda and the other bearers of goodies.
Canon of Hope met at 6:30 and it was super! I got to sing a bit and it felt good. After that, we had the Winter Song Treble Group gather to learn the building repeat part on page 12 (starting at the bottom of page 11)
We warmed up with Why We Sing. First, we sat and grounded ourselves, breathed in the good and peaceful Canadian air and sent it into the earth to everyone standing on it, and we did a little stretching. Then, we stood up and sang this beautiful song about the power of music and singing together, the power to make connections and build peace.
1. Winter Song: The Treble Group is making good progress and with their help we managed not to get lost on page 12! Remember to pay attention to the rests, so you don't sing through them. We looked at page 3 and 4 as examples and I've made a snip for you to see here. Sea has two beats, then there's a two beat rest followed by a half-beat rest. Don't hold sea by yourself. Then, at the bottom, there's me, short and alive, short. Dont' hold them. Pay attention to this thoughout. And, really, always, in every song. I try hard to show you when to hold notes by holding up my left hand and holding it open to show to hold the note, and making a fist, or closing my fingers together, to show to cut it off. While looking at your music, try to keep my hands in your periphery.
2. Do You Hear What I Hear: So good! Same issue here though. Some people are holding notes too long and some notes are not being held long enough. Watch me and watch the signs in the music. Tenors and Basses, please give me more when you have the melody, which is a lot for a change. Where it says P for piano, sing MF, and so, when it's F, well, FF. In the loud sections, you are up against so many sopranos and altos who also want to sing loud. You need to lean into the melody with all your strength. This arrangement is so good, I practically fly directing it. So much drama and fun!
3. One Voice: The soloists rehearsed their part and we sang all the way through. Right now, we have 2 or 3 people on each of those solo/trio parts, but in the concert it will be only one on each, probably... Watch for the cut-offs in this one too, especially words ending in s, like voice and darkness. I love this song! I think one day I'll find myself airborne directing this. Hopefully I'll land safely.
4. Somewhere in my Memory: We did the oohs and la-las on page 5 and 6. Not as hard as they look. This is a more gentle and wistful and less dramatic song, but I love it too, and the audience will need it to calm their hearts. We have some work to do on the key changes. Donna will give us some extra chords to help us get our notes at 38, 40, 42, and 46. We need to look at the first soprano solo at 42, but whoever sang it did a great job sight reading! Tab has put recordings of parts up on the website. The solo is there too. Do visit the website to hear your parts if you've had to miss some rehearsals. We're more than half way to the concert.
Tickets to the concert were sold at break. $20 each- everyone gets the senior's discount! Also, pointsettia sales have begun $30 for a large and perfect pointsettia. You can use a credit card, write a cheque, or pay cash.
Next week: Tuesday, November 7th
Stanley and Mona will rehearse their duet at 6:30.
- Breath of Heaven
- Christmas Waltz
- In Our Town in December
- Somewhere in My Memory
- Winter Song
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