Dear all
Congratulations to those present at tonight’s rehearsal – it certainly contained the best singing I’ve heard from the choir this year so far!
We spent about half of the rehearsal on the Vivaldi, which included an (almost) complete working run through! We sang through the movements in order (skipping the solo-only movements), with some notes on each one:
- I – Gloria – make sure the loads are loud! Breathing where the commas are, not breathing where they aren’t (“Gloria, [breath] Gloria, [breath] Gloria, [breath] Gloria-[no breath]-in excelsis…”)
- II – Et In Terra Pax – Forte-piano entry at letter D. In general, exaggerate dynamics – it’s the easiest way to stop a slow piece becoming dull
- IV – Gratias Argimus Tibi / Propter Magnam Gloria – this was very good, watch for crescendos, especially at the end when the notes are easier!
- VI – Domine Fili Unigenite – keep it happy and bouncy! Sopranos – don’t slide the octave drop in your first phrase (it sounds ugly)
- VII – Domine Deus, Angus Dei – the notes are easy, but need to be concentrating through the solo sections – the entries are never in the same place, so need to be ready each time!
- VIII – Qui Tollis / Suscipe – again, dynamics are key, especially the crescendi in the Suscipe
- X – Quoniam – don’t forget there is an extra phrase at the end which we always seem to forget (bar 20)! Make sure the volume doesn’t drop for this last phrase – it’s very noticeable if it does!
- XI – Cum Sancto Spiritu – COUNTING! Some of the entries are very close to other parts’ entries and I probably won;t be able to cue them all, so you all need to be 100% confident with when you start singing what! Sopranos – loud as you possibly can on the last entry (bar 72)
The rest of the rehearsal was dedicated to Vaughan Williams, in one form or another. We did some detailed work on the Festival Te Deum, focusing mainly on the section from page 9 to page 13. We spent a long time making sure the notes were secure, and once they were the sound was quite magical! We then built backwards adding sections we have already looked at, working to a full performance as far as page 13. This is a significant way through this (challenging) music, with much of what is to come variations on what has already happened, so it is now in a very good place! This will need a bit of TLC moving forward, to make sure we don’t lose that security with the notes – if you only look at one thing in your own time this week, make it this!
Lastly, we sang through the Antophon, which is sounding very competent, if a little unsure towards the end. This will come with more practice, but I think the notes are there now.
See you next week!
Dave