Rudsamblog

Here is what you've all been eagerly waiting for [no, I'm not really that deludtherin/deluded or whatever they say in Dublin, according to the Star of the County Down!!]

First in case you don't bother to read all the notes, if that's really possible , are the NOTICES.

1. Next week we'll be at Priestfield, 7:45pm for all but small group.
There will be a small group practice at 7:15pm but only for those singing Miserere Nostri, not for those singing Star of the County Down, although we will sing that also in the main rehearsal. Those involved [who did it before] are:
S1 - Helen
S2 - Claire 1 and Susan
T1 - Ollie
T2 - Jenny
T3 - Chris
B1 - John
B2 - Sebastian

2. We will rehearse things for the Portrait Gallery next week but please have a particular look in advance at Crucifixus, O Morgenstern and Lulling [especially altos].

3. Ignore Jenny's earlier note about a rehearsal on March 30, there isn't one [it's a Monday]. So Douglas, you aren't doing the warm-up that day! There is a rehearsal at the Wexlers on 1 April, the day before the concert, and no, this isn't an April Fools' joke!

NOTES

1. Envoi
We practised the bits that were tricky. 2nd sops look over bars 27 to 31, there is no rit in those bars and don't stop for breath, just expire! It may help to think of the groups of three semiquavers as o-o-wa. Keep your semiquavers in time with the 1st sops, and Ollie will give a big downbeat at the beginning of bar 27.
Everyone watch dynamics throughout, and especially the last line, come down from f to pp for the last bar as marked.

2. Green Fir Forest
Bar 10, all count 4 beats and come in together on the last beat.
Sopranos, no more rehearsal time will be spent now on notes or words where you have the melody, so please take a look and learn it.
NEW DYNAMICS:
Page 2 start FF, and decrescendo that line so the 2nd line starts F and also decrescendo to MF by the end of line 2.
Line 3 is FF for 1st sops, F for the rest, all decresc. last 2 bars of that line.
Page 3, line 2, cresc.bar 3 on, and line 4, decresc,from bar 2 to the end of the line.

3. O Morgenstern
A quick sing to remind us of this. Some pronunciation tips from Sebastian.
Bar 2 and the last bar, "stern" in "Morgenstern" is not pronounced as the English word "stern" but "shtare-n" to rhyme roughly with "stare" but with a "sh" at the beginning
Bar 16 and 25 "und" is pronounced as "unt"
Bar 17 "erleuchte", the "leu" is more like "lor-ee", a long "lor" and a quick "ee"
Bar 23 "Finsternis", the last syllable is "niss" as in "miss" not "nees" as in your knobbly "knees"

By the end he did say we almost [OK, he was being kind] sounded German!!

4. Hide and Seek
By this point of the evening we all obviously looked exhausted, ready for bed or needing a cuppa, so Ollie woke us all up with some rhythmic moving of legs, claps, mmmms, grunts etc. Now why is it [says the wife of one] that quite a few men just can't work out that we were all moving onto the right foot to start, then right hand or whatever . Hilarious from the vantage point of the altos, it sure were!! Anyway re-energised as we all were then, Ollie wanted us to be a bit more rhythmic and guttural in Hide and Seek, especially with the mmmms and all the places marked as stressed.
Bar 11 and 12, accent on "cir..." and "in" in the phrase "crop circles in the carpet".
Back to those mms and oos from page 9, hit the note, no scooping [I think he said the ones on page 10 were a bit scooping in some parts?].
Page 11 "oo" is angry [apparently, well that's what I wrote?!] and that phrase bars 94 to 96 is F, with a sudden PP in bar 97.

5. Dieu! Qu'il la fait
I wrote down that he was pleased, it was good......Yes!! Actually I'm sure he said other songs were also good, I just didn't write it down!
The most important message for those who weren't there....get your pencils out... was that he wants the p--p to come out at the very end. We have noted.

The beginning was beautiful, remember to come down from an opening mf on Dieu to a p for the next note.
Bar 6, watch Ollie as he may speed up a bit there.
Bar 11 Sops, tenors and basses keep the minim going for the full 2 beats.
Bar 13/14, ladies come in quietly on Dieu and stay p that phrase
Bar 18 is buoyant but not loud, the dynamics exactly as written.
Bar 20 [and same pronunciation in bar 23], the word written "scay" is "c'est" in modern French, pronounced "se-" as in "se-molina"
Bar 21 no break between "..selle" and "qui" but you can take a very quick breath.
Bar 25 there is a fermata [pause] on "ser" before "Dieu". Last line watch Ollie's speed, it may slow down.
Bar 28 don't forget the pp......................!

6. Star of the County Down [small group rehearsal at 7:15pm]
Sebastian tried to get us to think of this in a more jazz style, more relaxed, lazy tone, NO well-articulated rolled "r" in words like "bride" or "brown". Stress the 2nd and 4th beats of the bar. But that doesn't mean it won't move quite a bit, it is still fast and lively. The "bai a d'n da va da va" .....etc should sound like instruments, don't make a meal of the words, so forget all those lessons on diction!

Men page 9, break after "No pipe I'll smoke" then one phrase with no breath for "no horse I'll yoke tho my plough with rust turn brown".

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OK folks, that's your lot, I'm going for a cuppa and to watch some TV.

Have a good week and see you next week at Priestfield and DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Hello luvvies....either I got off very lightly last night or I wasn't paying attention but whichever it was, I don't seem to have much to impart.

"Small group" - we're improving - yeh! Keep an eye (ear) on the dynamics and give Ollie 2 a chance to be heard when he's got the tune.
Altos, when you've got an interesting twiddly bit in the accompaniment eg bar 11 or 14 bring the volume up a little then take it back down immediately.
No splurging. (Can't quite remember what that means but don't do it , anyway).
Make sure the 'da' s are short and sharp.
Page 10/11 Sops and Altos accents on the first notes of bars 80, 81, 85 and 86.
More dynamics next week.

Portrait Gallery concert Thurs April 2nd. Arrive 5pm for rehearsal in room upstairs. Concert 6-6.30 (or a little later if Ollie's list is anything to go by).

Ollie's list (probably in the right order!):

• Kanarbik
• On Hillisuvi
• Star of the County Down (big small group)
• Miserere Nostri (small group as before ie one or two per part)
• Lulling
• Green Fir Forest
• Bog Off
• Oh Morgenstern
• Envoi
• Gaelic set
• Hide and Seek
• Ae fond Kiss
• Dieu! qu'il la fait....
• Crucifixus

Phew! More than 30 mins worth there, I think.

So.

Men and altos went with Anne to practise Crucifixus.
Tenors - all your first notes are there in the bars before you come in.
Bar 21 Tenor 1 note (D) is the same as the alto 2s have just sung. Bar 26 Tenor 1 comes in on last beat of bar.
Tenors watch last few bars - you have to go very low (and Douglas doesn't like it).
Work towards a richer sound.

Sopranos, meanwhile, had a go at Green Fir Forest. Then we joined in.
Altos and Basses come in all at the same time and with the same dynamic. All lower parts should be p rather than mp at the beginning. (And we are singing 'oo').
Bar 10 there will be a pause between the Sops 1 and 2 with the lower parts establishing the 'oo' before the 1s come in.
Page 3 COUNT.
Second system down lower parts change to 'oo' from 'mm'.
NB 'a' = 'ah' and 'e'=eu
Middle system (2nd) crescendo from the end of the 2nd bar to the end of the line.
3rd system decrescendo from second bar to the end.
Tenors - watch (somewhere) you have a Bb not a B natural.
Altogether much better.

Crucifixus
Make sure the 's's on the ends of words come together.
Page 4 2nd bar the chords all move at the same time - listen.
Also page 4 we need to try and get through the long phrases without taking breaths so take in huge lungfuls of air and do your best (my eyes will be popping out and my face bright red so keep an eye on me in case of emergency, please xx).
We mixed up to sing it and, as Susan so neatly put it, took responsibility for our own parts and it was good (except for me having a choking fit - and that was before we got to the long phrases, God help me!)
The key is to listen to each other.
Ollie has suggested we try to get a rehearsal in a space with a good acoustic so we can hear ourselves singing this properly before the concert.

Envoi
Watch the beginning, Sops 2s and Altos - it should be pp.
Sops did a lot of work on bars 27-30. It has to be said it was needed (wasn't it, Claire?) but now it's sounding very good indeed.
Sop 1 bar 28 give us a big crescendo through to bar 30.

Other things worth mentioning: John has no objection to whips being wielded (is there something you need to talk about, Susan? There are many ears ready and willing, I'm sure).
Ollie 2 has a choir sock. Just the one but a very fine one adorned with treble clefs.

Doned and didded. See you next week xx

Arno warmed us up with a boogie woogie ape song and some huffing and puffing.

GREEN FIR TREE

The words are holding us back, so please try and get to grips with them and where they fit into the music
On first and last page - DON'T seperate the UH from the UN. They should run into each other smoothly
Last page - Chin(g) tsue-y shun(g) uh
Last page - 2nd system. Phrase goes over the bar
Last page - Sop 1 top line the whole page. Sop IIs jump down to alto line and sing the top notes there. Then ATB as usual. In other words, the altos aren't splitting
Top system is UH bottom system is M
A - is AH sound or AR as in Car
WRITE IN your vowel sounds in your part as it's only written in the middle at the moment
Sops - have too many notes somewhere, make sure you're all singing the same words on the same notes. It's somewhere at the beginning
Hard T's - (would you ever believe someone would actually tell you NO Gaelic T's!!)
3rd bar, 3rd page - be ready to turn. Tenors and Sops have to jump 5ths.
Make sure you know where you're going
WATCH for SPEED CHANGES - mainly top of page 2 and 3rd bar top of page 3
Sop IIs have an awkward rhythm somewhere. Pay attention to what you're doing instead of panicking about it!

DEBUSSY

Not going into detail about the pronounciation, but agree with Claire II that we shouldn't sound sloppy or like Yorkshire people when singing regardez - ri-gah-daaay, lad -no no no!
Be DEFINITE with the words, especially the altos
Sing Dee-uh NOT djzi-ew - is French not Polish - sing it with pursed lips (but no kissing)
NO GAP between Dieu and qui
Crescendo through SE MADAMOISELLE
NO GAP between selle and qui. And same value given to the notes connected with these words (Page 3)_
TENORS - sing through Regardez and mind that c sharp which appears somewhere in your music - try to find and circle it for next week, maybe;p
Watch the dippythongs
NASAL tones on words like Songe and grande bien
Look up more for dynamics.

Think that's all, but I was told to concentrate more on singing it, so I might have missed something. Am I the only person who, when taking notes, gets paper everywhere, loses music (and yes, it is in alphabetical order, but it still gets muddled up), is always on the wrong page we're supposed to be singing, can't listen to the next thing if concentrating on the last one, runs out of paper at the bottom but hasn't time to turn over so ends up with instructions squished at the bottom, has arrows everywhere because the next note will refer to something said half an hour ago, sometimes has to mouth 'what?' or 'eh?' at thy neighbour, and the longer s/he leaves it to write them up the less decipherable the scribble. I could write it in my music but that it's already full of instructions from last week, month or 5 years ago. Not to mention it being interspersed with snide remarks I've added myself! However, somehow they always end up in a proper format for all to read!

P.S. Those of you who weren't at the Buster Keaton film missed a rare treat, especially the music - well done Sebastian and 4tet.

Hope those who were off ill and what not are better. Unfortunately you missed some pronounciation. WE WON'T BE GOING OVER IT AGAIN cos we've got to move on. And EVERYONE - EVEN those who were there - needs to look at FIR TREE and LULLING for next week IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE. Thanks. (If you're struggling with my notes and getting a hang of where they go in the music, then I suggest you come a bit early and someone will go over it with you, or muddle through and ask questions after rehearsal)

GREEN FIR TREE

(Under chords oooo)
Shan lin(g) tschin tschin shan lin(g) tschin tschin - The lin is like ling only without a 'ng' sound. The tschin is inbetween a 'ch' and 'sh' sound
Shan lin(g) chew shoe
Don(g) tsya dee sin(g) uh - The don is like dong only without a 'ng' sound, and is quite nasally. Uh is like the 'e' in the.
Shung tsya shan lin(g)
Chan(g) tsya shan lin(g) - The chan is like chang without a 'ng' sound.
knee too lee tcha sya
wan tiao g'n uh wan tiao g'n uh - tiao as in a cat's miaow

1ST REPEAT
Tsya woe-men shuh shan lin(g) dee ar - woe as in woe to thee. ar as in car
new woe-men shuh da dee dee tsuh s'n
woe-men huh tsoo gwo guh w-eye tschin guh w-eye tschin guh w-eye tschin - 'o' in 'gwo' as in 'hot'
yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh (JUST NOTICED THERE'S AN EXTRA 'A' IN SOPRANOS BETWEEN THE YE. you are allowed to ask about this in rehearsal!)
woe-men huh tsoo gwo guh w-eye tschin guh w-eye tschin guh w-eye tschin

lin(g) t-ow shun(g) shun(g)- t-ow as in ouch. Shun as shung without the 'ng'
lin(g) t-ow chew shoe
don(g) tsya yin uh
hu hwan (lan tian) - (you're allowed to ask about these two words in rehearsal! )
huh hwan b-eye yun
shung yin(g) dzjon(g) g'n don(g) wan - dzjon(g) as in the French for jean-paul
dzjon(g) chin(g) uh shung yin(g) dzjon(g) g'n don(g) wan dzjon(g) chin(g) uh

2ND REPEAT
woe-men shuh chan chi dee pin(g) - Pin as in ping without the 'ng'
dzjon(g) woe-men shuh loo - A short 'oo' sound on 'loo'
suh dee chon(g) chun(g) - like chong and chung without 'ng' sound
woe-men huh tsoo gwo chin(g) tsu-ey - chin as in ching without the 'ng' sound and the 'chi' is like a cymbal or train sound. Tsuey as in chop suey
shen chin(g) tsu-ey shen chin(g) tsu-ey shen
yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh yehlin(g) t-ow (as in ouch) shun(g) shun(g)
woe-men huh tsoo gwo chin(g) tsu-ey shen chin(g) tsuey shen chin(g) tsu-ey shen
TURN OVER PAGE!!
chin(g) tsu-ey shen
uh (or whatever vowel we're singing this long note on. Holding it on Uh I feel would make us sound like der-brains)

OTHER NOTES FOR THIS PIECE
for long 'n' notes as in bars25, 29, 32, 48 (and any others you can find) go straight onto the n sound. Don't hold on the vowel sound.
Sopranos are splitting somewhere but I couldn't follow it, sorry, it seemed to switch backwards and forwards everywhere on the last page.

LULLING

bah-you bah-you tan-yen cod (yes, this is about lambs and fish)
bah-you bah-you meel-yen cod
mam, kana ro-bo-tush-ki
napee ko vair ro-bo-tush-ki
shoo shoo tash ke ayah dah dah - ke has a hard 'e'. Ayah as in eye-ya
mee day tan yan bah you jzen
coy voo jzoo dah cor ye jzoo,
a lye pay zju dah re goo doo - (note the difference between jzen and zju)
mee de tan ya vag high n-yeh
vash isht va gasht mai dah kush isht koo yosht mai
bah you bah you tan yen cod bah you bah you meel yen cod.

Altos watch phrasing - ask someone if you've not marked it in - basically two bar phrases EXCEPT brs13 - 15
Sops - C Sharp must be sharp. Hold B through. Be exactly on the beat. NO SCOOPING NEVER EVER. Add extra p on for balance
Basses - Start was nice volume but go quieter for next bit.
Tenors - don't be flat
Aim for quality NO SCOOPING especially in bar 1

CRUCIFIXUS

Cru - good rolled 'r' (or it'll sound like coochifixus)
Ci - always chi. And make it a hard 'ch' sound
Fi - Fee - project out. Avoid wide mouthed frogs

t's - are 'ts' as in pon-ts-ius
poo - round mouths. poo is a quiet bowel sound - sorry, vowel sound - so on moving poo crotchets change the 'oo' to 'aw' (as in gnaw). This is done by keeping the mouth shape and just dropping the tongue down

Page 3 - Sop IIs don't go flat in bar 23.
Watch the chord tone at end of bar 17

Well done you've read all the way through the notes! No notices apart from Ollie has a show on Saturday and Sunday at 7pm. It's part of his music in the community course and I'm sure he'll let us know where it is. Tickets on the door. I'm going on Sunday. Jenny