Wow! I'm so impressed with the progress we made at this rehearsal, and also generally with how well eveyone is learning the music this season! I hope that these reports every week have been helpful, and I can tell that people have been reviewing parts at home, so I'm confident that the recordings we have and that Donna has made are also being used and appreciated. (I can also sometimes tell when people have not been availing themselves of the resources.) I do these rehearsal reviews mostly for myself, so that I can keep track of what was done, what we need to work on, and generally to help my scheduling. I also want people not to feel bad when they need to miss rehearsals. We all have times when we're away for all kinds of reasons, and I want to be sure that you know it's okay, and I want to help you to catch up, if you need help.
One of my goals with this rehearsal was to assign the solos for all the songs. I will publish a second post today with all the soloists and back-ups.
The Song Sung Blue small group met at 6:30 and waited patiently for the music to arrive. Once we got it, we worked on adapting the arrangement to our liking. We added some harmony in the alto section, and created a bigger ending, of course.
Our warm-ups included stretching, breathing, and our mummies going to Miami.
1. Why We Sing: We tried out a new approach to this song. We've sung it so many times that we need to give it a new spin every once in a while. This time, we'll have 4 soloists, a quartet at the beginning, and we'll have them sing the first chorus too. So, up to the pick-up at bar 42 on page 5 it's just 4 voices, one from each section. This time, we heard Mona, Stanley, Lauren, and Winston. It does add quite a bit of drama to the piece, as it builds up from single voices to two to four to everyone, and finally the very loud and complex last chorus and ending. I love it.
2. One Voice: There is the solo/trio section at the beginning in this piece too. It's a good way to start a song of soft, so that it can build up to a dramatic loud ending. This time, we had the 3 soloists stand at the front so that we could hear how difficult it is, to appreciate their work. The alto part is the most difficult, as is often the case. But, the soprano solo has tricky timing, coming from the accompaniment, mostly. I need to hear more soprano when we all come in at 23, so we reviewed that page a few times. Sopranos, make sure you're clear on the words and learn that part well. Altos, tenors, basses, not so loud there. You're the background. I'm very happy with this song. I love the ending!
3. Here's to Song: There are two solos here, and remember that we're eliminating the oohs under the second. We heard Winston with Colby on the first, and Sharon on the second. We reviewed the chorus, remembering that the first time we sing it, it's very soft, right after the first solo. It sounds really cool when it's soft, and just this big difference in volume gives it a very different sound. We also reviewed the second verse, the one where all four parts sing different things. It's amazing, so good. I love this song, and it was the one that was stuck in my head all night.
4. We Rise Again: There are two solos in this song, but I think we've always done it with one soloist singing both. It's a very high soprano part, and we're hearing one of our tenors sing it! Melinda has astounding range, and wonderful volume and control at the high end and the low end. We're so lucky! We reviewed the ahs under the solos (mm-oo-ahs) and I'm delighted with how well it went. I guess you must have learned it so well in the past that the new folks can easily follow you now. So happy with this. The chorus building up to the key change and big ending makes this song really rewarding to sing, and a beloved Canadian song. I heard Americans singing it at a demonstration (on Instagram) and it made me proud.
5. Hymn to Freedom: I was very happy with our performance today! This is also an excellent Canadian song that fills me with pride. I wondered if we should jazz it up a bit. But it's really good the way that we sing it. And, we're supposed to "own" our performances of these songs, make them our own. You are awesome, and I love how you sing it. You got the tricky ahs! Remember at the end, we're all together singing the same words on the last "we'll be free", (not free, free, free in the bass clef) loud with big harmony on the last note. Also, if you haven't already, be sure to add the missing words in bar 66: first soprano, "free", second soprano we'll "be" free.
6. Thank You for the Music: We fixed it. It was excellent. We heard Cathy sing the solo on the third verse, without oohs underneath, and with everyone coming in at the chorus with "so I said" and the timing was much better. We've got this! Remember at the ending that second sopranos and altos can move and choose notes that feel good, tenors and basses too should sing freely in the "me" at the end. Something I didn't say, but you always follow me at the end anyway, is that we will not be ending at pp. It's written as mf with a crescendo to f and then a decrescendo to pp. We will get louder and softer, but ending with some good volume still.
7. O Canada: Bonus. We had time so we stood and sang our national anthem, proudly and beautifully.
Next week: Tuesday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day, so party on the weekend)
6:30 Song Sung Blue and 7:00 Circle Game (and the seasons they go round and round...)
- Here's to Song
- Hallelujah
- Song for Canada
- I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
- Canon of Joy
- We Rise Again
No comments:
Post a Comment