Dear Ensemble singers and
families,
It was so nice to be back
with you and see your smiling faces after two weeks away! It is a true pleasure to be able to stand in
front of you and hear your lovely sound.
We have an exciting event quickly approaching! Thursday,
March 12th, 2015, you will be treated to a clinic with guest conductor
Anthony Trecek-King, followed by the Cantabile
Festival for Young Voices on Saturday, March 14th, 2015! These two days will be wonderful, fun-filled
events, but we have a lot to do to be ready in a short amount of time. Please see below and take these rehearsal
notes seriously. Please come to
rehearsal next week fully prepared to move forward with your repertoire. Strive to be one of the people in your
section that others listen for because they know you will be correct. Do not strive to be the follower. Please have
all of the pieces solidly memorized for rehearsal next week. You are smart, talented, and dedicated
artists of choral music! You can do this!
Cantabile's Fifth Annual Festival for
Young Voices:
A Celebration of Negro Spiritual and
Gospel Music
Workshop with Guest
Conductor and Festival Clinician, Anthony Trecek-King at FCC in Parish
Hall: Thursday, March 12,
5.00-7.30 pm
Snack: Please bring a snack
Festival on
Saturday, March 14 at First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto:
Drop Off Time:
10.00 am
Drop Off & Sign
in Location: church courtyard on Hamilton Ave
Pick Up Time:
between 3.30-4.00 pm
You will receive a
letter containing more details (eg. attire, lunch, what to bring, pick up
instructions etc) on Monday, March 9.
Rehearsal Notes
Ol’ Time Religion: Re-visit your notes and rhythms on pages 9-11. Make sure this is SOLID.
1. Speak the text in
rhythm.
2. Sing through the notes
on Solfege.
3. Sing through using the
text.
Remember the tempo changes
that have been added. Slower beginning,
accelerando on measure 38-39 of page 7, and three times through the repeat on
page 9. Please come to rehearsal with this completely memorized next week.
The Storm is Passing
Over: Remember the tip passed along
to you straight from Rollo Dilworth…”chop the onions, spread the butter.”
Any note a quarter note or
shorter should be crisp and detached (chop the onions). Half notes and longer should be smooth and
full value (spread the butter).
Soprano 2s: Be sure to
look at your part on pages 4 and 5. Feel
very comfortable with your notes so you can really enjoy the special chorus! Please
come to rehearsal with this completely memorized next week.
Peter, Go Ring-a Dem
Bells: Re-visit your notes and
rhythms throughout. Make sure this is
SOLID.
1. Speak the text in
rhythm.
2. Sing through the notes
on Solfege. You can Solfege this
entire song. Just make sure to take note
of the key change from F-Major to G-Major on page 14.
3. Sing through using the
text.
Remember the change in
tempo and character on pages 11 and 12.
Pay special attention to
measure 133 to the end. Count and clap
your rhythm, speak the rhythm, write in the rhythm, move the rhythm with your
body, step to the rhythm, do anything you can to FEEL the rhythm in this
section. Please come to rehearsal with this completely memorized next
week.
Let it Shine: Please re-visit your parts on this piece. A little work to refresh your memory will go
a long way! Carefully review your
harmonies on pages 5 and 6. This was the
weakest area during the run through last week.
Give it some special attention and tender loving care! Please
come to rehearsal with this completely memorized next week.
Amazing Grace: Remember that you are switching to now sing the
harmony rather than the melody.
Please review your part
making sure to be singing the Treble III line on pages 6-7 and 9-10. Keep it
beautiful and artistic! Limit the
scooping and stylizing that is so easy to add.
What may be appropriate when you are singing as a soloist is not always
appropriate when singing with a choir!
Let it Shine: Sing this with a clean, bel canto, tone quality. It should be pure, floating, and utterly
beautiful. Pay close attention to the differences in the melodic line on page
7. It is not the same as the first
verse. Give special attention to measures 8, 26, 34, 45, and 53 (Sol, Mi,
Do). They are all identical and this was
the only measure of error in our read through.
Please come to rehearsal with this completely memorized next week.
Musicianship Notes
Hello Ensemble!
Here are your
assignments by section for the week.
For Musicianship A
& B:
This is the website
I was talking about with clips of different songs that you can use to hear
various intervals in. You can listen to as many as you'd like, but please make
sure to listen to at least two examples each of the major and minor sixth.
Musicianship A:
For those of you in
Musicianship A who did not receive the assignment that was given over the last
two weeks, please download and print it from the link here:
Here is the
overview of the assignment:
The first section
of the assignment is to identify the intervals - the space between the notes.
The bottom note should always be considered "do" for the purposes of
determining the quality of an interval. The quality of an interval can be
major, minor, perfect, augmented, or diminished.
In the first
interval for example, the notes are C and A. C is the bottom note, and so it is
"do" in the key of C major. A is "la" in the key of C
major, and from "do" to "la", the interval is a major 6th.
A capital M should
be used for major intervals; a lowercase m for minor; a P for perfect
intervals, a + (plus) for augmented intervals, and a o (circle) for diminished
intervals.
A major interval is
one where a tone goes to another note in the context of the key of the bottom
note, except for unison, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves. (Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and
octaves, are always perfect. If modified, they become augmented or diminished,
depending on the direction; augmented is if they are raised, and diminished is
if they are lowered. Remember, there is never such a thing as a major 4th,
etc!)
A minor interval is
one where the tone goes to another note in the context of a key, but is lowered
by a half step. For example, the second interval is a minor 7th. C to B is
normally a major 7th, but because the B is lowered by a half step, it becomes minor.
Please make sure
not to rush through the problems, especially with those that contain either F
or B! Those two notes especially can be very tricky. (e.g. B to F natural is a
diminished 5th!)
I have also noticed
that not everyone is handing in their work from the class time. Please make
sure to hand in all your assignments to me after I ask for them, so that way I
can make sure I'm helping you all in the best way I can.
Everyone should
have received a copy (or a photocopy) of Book IV. Please have pages 1-7
completed for next time and have your book ready to hand in to Gwen.
Musicianship B:
Please make sure to
listen to as many interval examples as possible during the week. There will be
a quiz next time!
Also, be sure to be
ready to sing your parts in a quartet for next time. You will be given a grade
and feedback on how well you are able to hold your part independently. Please
make sure to write in the solfege and counts as needed. If all goes well, I'll
have pages 4-6 ready for you next time!
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