I'm grateful for my church for providing the space for us to rehearse, and thankful to you all for your patience, generosity, and creativity with parking and setting up and taking down our space there.
The small groups had their patience tried. We sang My Heart Will Go On beautifully. It's such a good song. We're not all fans of the movie the Titanic, but Celine Dion and her song stand somewhat apart from that, in that the song is a huge pop hit, one of the best-selling singles of all time and Celine is the most successful, the best-selling Canadian recording artist and a Companion of the Order of Canada. We will have to start Song Sung Blue next week, as we didn't have copies of the music on time. We had some time to sit and relax.
Warm-ups included breathing and releasing air and sound with control. We did a couple of things we used to do all the time: me, may, my, mo, moo and Maybe my mummy will go to Miami, and maybe my mummy will not. Fun, and helpful.
1. Hymn to Freedom: We reviewed the tricky ahs, and the second soprano parts, and sang through beautifully.
2. We Rise Again: We looked at parts at "That as sure as the sun rise" starting at the pick-up to bar 40 on page 9. First sopranos are at the top of the Soprano line in the choir bracket, but sing the bottom of that line at bar 42, the melody. Second sopranos join Altos on the alto line, the second line of the choir bracket, with melody in 40 and 41, harmony in 42. Tenors are at the top of the Bass line, in the bass clef, Basses at the bottom. And, we looked at the ending, page 12. We're all in the choir bracket. First sopranos are on top, at the top of the Soprano line, the top of the choir bracket. Second sopranos start with Altos on the second, but move up to the top at the pick-up to bar 60, "and then". At 62, the second sopranos are on the bottom of the top line, their usual place. Tenors are at the top of the bass clef line, and basses are at the bottom, but free to improvise a good low note. There are lots of notes to choose from and you land on: any Ab, Eb, or C.
3. Song for Canada: Robyn brought her flute and it was really cool! We sang from 81 to the end with the flute coming in at 89. Our focus was the end of the song. On page 13, we're all in the choir bracket for this song's ending. On page 12, we're all singing in the second line, the tutti line, and then we all move down into the choir bracket for a big ending. Sopranos in the first line, divided, as written. Altos are in the second line, and it's divided but if you want, you can stay on the Eb in bar 114, and sing only the lower notes in the last system. However, altos can choose to sing any of the alto notes. So, if your neighbour is singing different notes, do not worry. Tenor and Bass, same thing. You're dividing. Tenors on top and bass on the bottom, but there are 3 notes in 115 and 4 in the last bar. Tenors can chooe the highest notes, and basses the lowest, but if a tenor chooses the middle note, it's fine. It's a big ending, and look at how many notes there are to choose from in bar 115 Bb, Ab, C, Db, F, Ab. And on the last note: any Ab, Eb, or C. You will land very well, no worries. We talked about how you have an instinctive feel for endings, and it's hard to mess them up.
4. Thank You For The Music: My focus in this song today was the third verse, particularly how to get from the third verse to the segno/chorus. I decided to simplify that section, by eliminating the oohs. We'll have just the soloist and the piano, and when the soloist finishes "chance", we all go to the bar before the segno, on beat 2, the beginning of the chorus, "So I say Thank you..." Remember to go to the CODA on page 8 after that chorus. We can fake the ending here too. Funny, it's the same key as the other two songs, so we can end on any Ab, Eb, or C again. Second sopranos can take the top alto part, but you don't have to. Altos might want to?
5. Grand Night For Singing: It was a grand night for singing! We went over parts in the Interlude, and sang the whole song. It's really very good already!
Next week, Tuesday, March 10thWe're back in our room.
6:30 Song Sung Blue Small Group
- Here's To Song
- Hymn to Freedom
- One Voice
- Thank You for The Music
- We Rise Again
Here's a video with a really fun Mi Me Ma Mo Mu exercise:
