Rudsamblog

Just before a piece starts:

THINK: switch my brain on and concentrate,
THINK: dynamics, what kind of attack, any emphasis, legato, bouncy, or otherwise
IMAGINE: what note am I going to sing, hear it in your mind,
ADJUST (optional): actually, better pre-auralize it as slightly sharper than what I just thought because otherwise it'll come out flat as soon as I start singing,
BREATHE: silently (using Sebastian's frog and tongue down in the mouth), give yourself plenty of air just before the first note. Start outward air flow just before you need to produce the note rather than doing so right on the entry beat. This helps you control your entry timing more exactly and I think also helps eliminate pitch wobbles that are due to initial variations in air flow physically affecting sound production.

I think we've become better at entering in tune compared to when I first joined, i.e. I think Ollie's insistence on imagining the note in your mind is really helping.

Initial pitch wobbles can also be due to your brain trying too hard to adapt to other people's tuning (also known as UCDM, Ultrarapid Choral Discordancy Minimization). I think our experiences with mixing positions, i.e. not standing next to other people of the same part, is that if you learn to trust your own mental image of the note to come and take responsibility for it rather than coming to a gradual consensus with all your neighbours, then this actually leads to a better tuning for the choir as a whole. So we just have to remember this when we are surrounded by the same part!

Jede Sedlak:

Dynamics:
When BASSES start the piece, the repeated "jede jede jede jede" should be light and bouncy, not loud. It shouldn't sound forced and scare people!

The 2nd verse will be faster than the 1st verse, and the 3rd verse faster still. When we come in on verses 2 and 3 he will not have the chance to beat a bar or anything to indicate tempo, so look at our human metronome (Ollie) and synchronize your tempo ASAP.

The last "pum" in "vydr um pum pum" in the women's verses should be short, don't linger. This is especially true in bar 18.

Note for the women: all 3 choruses are the same, namely "Jede sedlak do mlejna" - there was some confusion over this.

Hebrew Love Songs

I.
ALTOS in bar 18, careful with tuning the semitones C natural, B, C natural on "no-fel". This was sounding pretty good by the end of the bashing!

II.
Bar 55, BASSES, the "U" in "Uve kalut" should sound deep, rich, and sonorous. And, oh yes, in tune :-)
Bar 57, EVERYONE, watch Ollie to put the "t" at the end of the fermata.

III. (Larov)
Bar 6, EVERYONE, the "U" entries should be confident and in time, and should be an open and rich sound (BASSES, use the same sound as described for the "U" in II. above.). The "U" should grow in intensity, i.e. crescendo through the note.

Nice 'swell' ( <> in terms of dynamics) on "chad" in bar 9, but not too sharp - then it feels as if you're swerving in a car at high speed around a hairpin bend, it's kind of scary.

IV. (Eyze sheleg)
Make sure you're bonging, not monging: monging is minging.

Bar 8, BASSES, use similar sound as "U" as for II. above. Not too soft. Watch tuning. Whatever you do just don't mess up the lingering aural memory of AL's beautiful solo....

V. (Rakut)
Bars 28 - 31, EVERYONE, Ollie asked for an open sound for the "ha - chi". Balance: slight emphasis on the lower voices.

Une Seule Fleur
See take home messages. The entries and tuning were quite sloppy to begin with again. We just have to focus for this one.
START /p/!! NOT LOUD! Don't make Ollie cringe.

Middle section:
Not too loud, it's only /mf/.
Bar 45, EVERYONE, hold that note for its full length, even if we do decrescendo.

Green Fir Forest
Middle system p. 2, SOPRANO melody should be legato. Last page, deep breath and hold for long!
BASSES look up (yes, but I still need my squiggled phonetic writing out of the chinese! :-(

Morgenstern
Top parts /p/, emphasis on BASSES brain on, tuning (see take home message)

Spring Time
Dynamics!:
Start pp
Hold back substantially until the f, bottom of page 2.

Lulling
BASSES & TENORS, louder at first before the other voices come in, after which we're in the background.
ALTOS, your melody when you first come in should be a bit louder, and not sound airy / breathy. The latter timbre should be reserved for "Su su tas" (last bar, third system, first page). This later bar and the following few should be phrased, difficult as they are kind of wandering, but try.
"Bah" should sound like the "a" in an English chocolate "bar".

Anouncements

• Rehearsal saturday before the concert, 2pm-4:30pm. Had said until 4pm earlier but would be good if we can stay longer because the handbellers may not arrive until 3pm or just after.
• There will be NO INTERVAL in the concert
• Someone from the Bosnia project will talk at some point during the concert (not while we're singing, I assume)
• Also during the concert, right after we finish singing the second to last song (Une Seule Fleur) and before Cloudburst, Claire Two will mention the retiring collection to take place the end, and the gift aid vouchers. Then, while we bring the music stands into position and get the percussionists, handbellers and pianist onstage, Claire One, Oliver Two, AnnaLauren and I will distribute 'gift aid' vouchers (stapled to envelopes, apparently) to anyone in the audience who is willing to fill one in. The retiring collection at the end will be done by those same people holding buckets, as I understand.
• We will be using music stands for Cloudburst, not for anything else, so bring all your music (no sharing until Cloudburst). We should have enough stands, but if you have extra music stands and it's not inconvenient, bring them just in case we need for percussionists / handbellers. Best if Douglas brings his black one that is in line with the Reid Hall ones, and I will bring two differently shaped but still black ones. If Ollie thinks we need more than three extra stands, other people please bring.
• We need an audience! Get mass-mailing! (prod) Flyering! (prod) Poster-sticking! (prod) Tell your friends! (prod prod prod prod prod prod prod prod prod). See Chris for flyers / posters.

# posted by rudsambass @ 11:44 pm