Thursday, January 21, 2010
John's notes, 20th January
Une puce
We now have the full version - three pages.
On the last page, the second system is a four-part alternative to the first system. We're singing the first - five parts - and not singing the second.
We began by singing the first page, first verse, from memory, at all speeds up to prestissimo.
Remember phrasing - legato in the first line, staccato in the second.
Ollie gave us the pronunciation for all verses - old(ish) style. Don't read the words off the page, because they've been edited into modern French spelling, and we don't want the matching pronunciation. We're doing something much more like the version that Chris has found (see his e-mail).
New this week. Since the basses don't sing in this, we did a bit of note-bashing on A boy and a girl. Consequently I have no notes about it. It sounded lovely when we came back to listen.
A boy and a girl
We concentrated on getting everybody to match vowel sounds.
We ended with a run-through of Une Puce, to reinforce our memory, and then of Cheenar Es.
Before the main rehearsal, the small group made a first attempt at My funny valentine
Mostly note-bashing.
Loos need a clear attack, exactly on the note.
Une puce
We now have the full version - three pages.
On the last page, the second system is a four-part alternative to the first system. We're singing the first - five parts - and not singing the second.
We began by singing the first page, first verse, from memory, at all speeds up to prestissimo.
Remember phrasing - legato in the first line, staccato in the second.
Ollie gave us the pronunciation for all verses - old(ish) style. Don't read the words off the page, because they've been edited into modern French spelling, and we don't want the matching pronunciation. We're doing something much more like the version that Chris has found (see his e-mail).
- No gutteral rs. Most rs are a single flip of the tongue. The first r of retire is rolled.
- nuit has a touch more u than our usual nwee, as if it were nuït
- mord is very short, almost mo, with o as in hot
- livrer ends with something like an English air, so it might be livrair rather than livré
- similarly donner=donnair, piquer=piquair
- quand is a bit more like cown or kaoun, depending on how you like to write these things
- vient - the ent is strongly nasal, but more like an English e than the modern French pronunciation which sounds a bit like a. vien(g) is the best that I can offer.
- similarly, bien is more like bien(g) than bian(g).
- mange - nasal, of course, but more like an a then an o. Sing mah-nge, rather than a modern French monge.
- point=pwen(g) using a nasalised English e
- moi=mwé
- voir=vwair
- vieille=vyé-l-ye with an audible l sound followed by y. Something like a Castilian Spanish ll.
- je t'en prie: en sounds more like a nasal a than a nasal o.
- cruauté=cru-o-té
- and finally: hélas=é-lass, not é-larse
New this week. Since the basses don't sing in this, we did a bit of note-bashing on A boy and a girl. Consequently I have no notes about it. It sounded lovely when we came back to listen.
A boy and a girl
We concentrated on getting everybody to match vowel sounds.
We ended with a run-through of Une Puce, to reinforce our memory, and then of Cheenar Es.
Before the main rehearsal, the small group made a first attempt at My funny valentine
Mostly note-bashing.
Loos need a clear attack, exactly on the note.
# posted by rudsambass @ 6:58 pm 
