Thursday, May 30, 2019
Rudsambee notes - 29 May 2019 - Kirsty.
Hi all
Please see attached notes. We worked very hard and covered a lot of ground so even though some of the notes tell it like it is, we did make improvements in lots of the sections we practiced and quite a lot sounds good. The notes simply focus on what needs improved.
Thanks,
Kirsty.
Rudsambee notes – 29 May 2019 – Kirsty
1. Oro s’e’ do
Words have improved but keep looking at these.
All but basses and tenor in particular: Keep a sense of
phrase in long notes – don’t simply belt them out with an unchanging dynamic
Sops Bar 25 – sing out. Other parts should be quieter. Make
timing crisper.
Sops Bars 43-50 keep tempo.
All Bar 72 (mp) – be a little quieter.
2. Dreams (On the Underground)
Count in 4.
All parts - tuning on Bar 6. Listen to each other and know
your notes.
Bars 10-12: don’t slow down. In general, watch timing; know
length of each note.
Basses: Bars 15-17 – need to be quieter.
3. Piranhas (On the Underground)
All: Bars 13 (fish) and 17 (fed) – hold back for the whole
crotchet before finishing the words on the rest.
Altos/Tenors Bar 42 and 45 crescendo for those with a held
note
All: parts which are pianissimo require more effort to
support, not less.
Bar 60 goes from previously f (‘wide’) to p (‘in medical
schools’).
4. Abendfeier in Venedig
Familiarise yourselves again with the correct pronunciation.
Pitch a real issue; we’re sinking. When singing descending
notes; keep support up.
Bar 34 particularly problematic. David said to watch
intervals B flat to A and F to E.
Sops: pitch high notes brighter for this and other German
pieces..
Tenors, basses, tuning Bars 39-40 and 41-42. We practised
this section to the end.
5. Gondoliera
Pronunciation. We tried saying words in rhythm for the
second verse and moving this verse forward with more attention to dynamics.
Altos, All Bar 16: tuning, all parts, but Altos in
particular.
Tuning: sinking in pitch. We agreed to listen to this again
and practice our own parts.
6. Im Wald
No slowing down at the end; keep the tempo. German was better
in this piece.
Keep eye on Derrick particularly when time signatures
change.
Ge-sang, Ge-sang (isolate words, i.e. gap between each
Ge-sang)
Tuning; again we’re sinking in pitch.
7. Dream Angus
Ensure take deep breaths to sustain. Sank in tuning.
Bar 35 needs works – we practised to Bar 51, where the chord
didn’t sound quite right.
8. Nacht liegt auf den fremden Wegen
Should be sung quietly. Tuning issues; bars 1-7 were going
flat.
Basses: keep reviewing pitch. We tried mixing up parts and
pitch was much better.
9. Ave Regina Caelorum
We mixed parts again and it improved the pitch.
We lose enthusiasm a little after the first 2 pages and need
to sustain energy.
We agreed to listen again to this piece. Denise mentioned it
was on Spotify.
10. Non Nobis Domine
No rall or rit at end. Jeremy pointed out that this is not a
pretty song – sweet or dolce but not pretty – and we are singing it in such a
way that there are too many gentle sounding phrases; he mentioned that it
sounds almost militant online.
Enjoy the solo lines. Keep moving on.
Basses – keep temp on Bar 85. Good job coming in on note.
Basses/Tenors – review last page. The last few bars are
different than before.
11. The Optimists’ song
All: Learn words and notes! Revisit harmonies.
Bottom page 2 – top parts louder, tenors/basses quieter.
Sop1/Alto1 – sing out on last page (page 3), where it says
f.
12. Women then practised Lumen and Through the
House
Saturday, May 18, 2019
May 18th notes
REHEARSAL 18TH MAY PRIESTFIELD
General notes first, then detailed notes for Sop/Alto /Tenor/Bass
Daniel, Daniel
-Needs pizzazz
-Need to start mp
-'Oh' should sound like wail
-Accents imp eg Bar 7: 'Hebrew'
-Bar 28 - dim. and 'long' in Bar 29 is short
-Bar 11 & 31 - tenors dominate - listen
-Bar 38 - REST REMOVED - Gordon starts straight away on solo
-Bar 47 - ff then dim. like brush stroke fading out
Dreams
-Sing with conviction, hold onto own line
-Conducted in 4
-Whole thing lasts about 40 secs,
-needs arc from p to f to p
-needs good tone in pp
Subway Piranhas
-Can't get notes from harmonies - have to rely on what just sung to find notes
Oro
-PRACTISE THE WORDS!
-Needs bounce - aim for first beat of the bar and lighten later beats
-If 'Oro' not marked with accent, then don't accent unless just before cresc. eg Bar 70
Bar 31 - no pause, keep going
Bar 43-50 - all cresc are gradual not sudden and overall gets louder to join Bars 43 onto louder section beg Bar 51
Dream Angus
-Use consonants to make piece expressive eg Bar 67 'Dear'
-Take care over endings of words
-Turn early end of page 5
Bar 64-66 - no gap between 'Angus' and 'is'
Through the House (Women)
-Make it sound like a dance - beating 1 in a bar and keep light
-Keep it moving - flexible rhythm eg Bar 7 quavers
-When 'marcato' then emphasize notes
Bar 16 - 'Fire' will rall and sing right to end of bar - WATCH for start of next bar back in tempo
Bar 42 onwards is in blocks of 4 bars each with arc of cresc and dim
Bars 123-end (last 3 bars) rall. beaten in 3 and WATCH
Lumen (women)
-Is like a chant - put weighted stress on marked words in chant and lighten others
-Think about tuning all the time
-2nd line of canon - Bar 1 - dim on '-men' Bar 2 - cresc on '-men' into next bar
-Watch pitch of last note of canon (A)
Non Nobis Domine
-Tempo does not change esp after Bar 57
-No rit 2nd last bar
-Last bar short - don't hold , watch cutoff
Bar 41 - only mf but slight cresc T/B
Bar 81 to 85 - cresc only very slowly so not too loud when basses come in
Gondoliera
-This music 'breathes' like an accordion going in and out - each phrase must have an arc shape
-Pronuncation - care of 'ü' and 'Mondes-pracht'
-The more accidentals you have the more interesting your line is
- Builds from start to Bar 12 then p and start to build again
Bar 8-11 - imitations of phrases move between parts
Bar 14 - MUST cresc 'Herz' note both verses
Abendfeier
- MUST WATCH - only way to make this music interesting is variable speed during phrase to make expressive
- the most important words are 'Jungfrau Sohn' (the Virgin's son)
- Watch for Derek giving final consonants verse 2
- Pronuncation - watch Bar 29 2nd verse 'löst' and 'zieht'
Bar 10/11 - separte 'Glock - en Ton'
Bar 35 2nd verse - gradually quieter until very quiet at end
Bar 38/39 1st verse - 'sel'gen' stress is on 1st syllable only
Envoi
- This piece has no direction but tempo steady
- MUST LOOK UP TO CHECK STILL IN TIME
- Accents and consonants important to give pulse eg 'Fly'
Song of Sorrow
- Try not to be regular in entries or in length of phrase
- When cue comes - means finish phrase not finish singing
- Need to make sure singing correct rhythms - PRACTISE
Details for each Part
Daniel, Daniel
Bar 14 - Sop1 brighten 4th up C# to F#
Bar 18 - like whisper with percussive 'D/T' on Daniel
Bar 59 + 60 - Sop 1 make sure G# bright; Sop 2 - make sure E bright
Bar 59 + 60 - Alto 1 make sure C# not too sharp; Alt 2 - G# bright
Tenor - Bar 59 + 60 - make sure E bright
Bass - Bar 59 + 60 - make sure C# not too sharp ; Bar 15-16 - make sure notes in tune esp C in Bar 15
Dreams
Sop - Bar 9 - A♭ to B ♭ is much higher than expected as changing key
Ten - Bar 1 - cresc.; Bar 10 - watch E♭ to E ♮
Bass - Bar 15-16 - make sure notes in tune esp C in Bar 15
Subway Piranhas
Alto - Bar 57 - get notes right
Bass - Bars 4 - 7 - need to work out which are the 'weird ' notes eg F# in Bar 6; Bar 18-20 - careful of junction B ♭ to A♭ to B ♮ - B ♮ is not as high as you think;
Bar 49 at the end of page 15 - write the high C over the page in so no surprises
Dream Angus
Sop/alto: Bar 18 - no accent on 'Dreams'
Ten/Bass - Bar 4 - entry is pp and think about the note in your head before singing
Bass - Bar 20-21 - smooth line on word 'sell' over bar
Through the House
Sop - Bar 56 - Sop1 final consonant of 'grace' on 2nd beat
Bar 68 - 'hand' goes to end of bar
Lumen
Kay & NIcki #1
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1 Rpt
Susan and Klara #3
1,2,3,4
1
1
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
1 rpt
Claire and Denise #2
1234
1
1234
1234
1 rpt
Marie-Claire, Kirsty #4
1234
1
1
1
1234
1234
1 rpt
Non nobis Domine
Sops - Bar 37 - make sure not late
Bar 59 on - lines starting with 'Sed' like chant with high point at 'Tuo'
Bar 71 - keep pitch up during key change
Alto - Bar 17-22 - phrase like chant with 'Domine' high point.; Bar 71 - keep pitch up during key change
Tenor /Bass - Bar 1-16 - groups of 2 bars with accent only on first beat and Don't let rhythm run away - like 'West Side Story'
- Watch variations in notes between sections
Bar 45 and similar - cresc through 'Non'
Abendfeier
Sops - Bar 15 - practise notes; Bar 26 - Sohn is 3 beats
Bar 26-30 is one phrase and watch for changing tempo
Bass - Bar 17 - start p then dim.
Envoi
Sops - Bar 1 - lift and accent to show clear 2nd beat
Bar 27 onwards - don't rush - relax
Friday, May 17, 2019
Notes Weds 16th May
Notes Weds 16th May
Abendfeirer
Kirsty helped us with pronunciation and explained the importance of the meaning of words, especially where they are mirrored by the music.
Beware of phrasing and of dynamics.
Note rest on 4th beat of bar 34 in second verse.
Sops need to think 'up' on solo entries.
Make the most of constants.
Ave Regina
Needs to be lighter, dance-like.
Note Vale and Valde are different words
Nacht liegt
Sang through, but too loudly.
Daniel
Gordon's section will be a little slower so we need to follow his lead.
Envoi
Bar 50 ensure Altos can be heard
Worked hard on the ending, especially getting our notes for final chord from the held bass note.
Im Wald
Sang through
Lumen
Sang as a 4 part round, but will try with the first line as an ostinato.
Glimmering Light
Getting there, words need to be clearer.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Weds 8th May
Limited numbers again - where are all our sopranos??
Kay, April and Rachael did a great job, however.
Oro
Coming on. More work on the words needed (and not only from the new people!).
Men, at the beginning note the accents and give it more laldy. In fact do that whenever you have the same eg bars 17 and 35.
Bar 25 lower parts more p than sopranos.
Bar 43 needs dynamics and shape.
Bar 72, note that we go down to mp from f and then cresc to ff.
Last three notes staccato.
Non Nobis Domine
Rhythm needs work.
Generally, don't sing every note with equal weight, give it some shape.
'Domine' is speeding up, it is slower than you think.
Watch dynamics at 'Sed gloria...'
Stop cutting off the longer notes eg '..da' bar 68. We do this a lot. Keep a flow; there should be no break between '-da' and 'gloriam'.
Bar 101 top parts sing out - should be f. Also bridge the gaps between 'Domine..' and '-tu' ( I think people are breathing inappropriately here maybe).
Bar 139 note the contrast in rhythm between the sops and altos.
The upbeat to the last bar is a bit soupy. A conductor may help!
Se del tuo corpo
This was blobby with no sense of phrase. Back off on the long notes, sing out if it's interesting, if your line is going up sing louder, if down softer.
Ténors you need to have the note in your head before you sing it. Make sure you all come in together and don't force it or it sounds strangled.
We should mix up to sing it next week so have a look at it with this in mind.
Second time of singing we took it faster, this helped a bit.
Note page 5 sfz in bar 61-63 and down to p in 64. Huge contrast.
At 'subito lento' it is a bit slower. There's a surprise.
Bars 68/69 need attention. Know what is coming over the page. This improved with practise but keep working on it.
In general know when and what you should be singing with other parts. This will help and don't breathe in the middle of words.
Envoi
Not enough of us present to sing it but please practise at home so we can give it a good go next week.
Dreams (On the Underground)
We listened to a recording first, a couple of times.
Worked in parts bar 7 onwards ('by night..). It was improving. But there is still a delay on the page turn which I think is partly caused by fear. Know what's there and go for it!
Remember pp start, consonants very important, COUNT.
Piranhas
Wasn't too bad.
Where to go with this...it's all in the expression. Sing it as if you're telling a bedtime story - lots of face. Think about the atmosphere. Eg in the 'la la' bits the music goes from quite light-hearted to, suddenly, rather more threatening so go with it vocally.
This doesn't need to be madly fast but good enunciation is paramount to make it appear so.
Try and get it off the page as much as possible as this will really help with performance.
Gondoliera
We sang the second verse, going through the words, in rhythm, with Kirsty first.
Bar 13 through to the end was a bit dodgy tuning-wise but we worked on it and it improved.
There is a diminuendo at the end.
Kirsty noted that this is a restrained, romantic text.
Daniel
Jeremy is going to take the tenor solo. He did it extremely well.
Altogether not bad. Basses need to work on each of their 'That-a Hebrew Daniel' bars 14 and 34.
Charlie sang for Gordon and we have a fine substitute if required.
Everyone needs to relax and forget to sing beautifully (!!??).
Friday, May 03, 2019
Notes for 1.5.19 - Priestfield
| Notes from the practice in Priestfield Church Hall on 1.5.19
- Ave Regina Coelorum: More is needed on the dynamics and phrasing.
- Im Wald: The main weaknesses were due to stumbling over the words: more private work is needed.
- Daniel, Daniel: Again, the dynamics were the weakest point. It was suggested that significant variations at page turns should be marked.
- The Optimists Song: Note that page 2 should start piano.
- Nacht Liegt: There were still many errors in the notes; some remedial work was done, more is due.
- Envoi: This was messy in terms of timing and coordination. More study at home is needed.
- Dream Angus: Basses should note that the bass rhythm in Bar 66 is not the same as for SAT, and everyone should try to remember or mark that the piece does not stop at Page 5.
- Sel del tuo corpo: The main problems again were timing and coordination. We had a run through at a faster pace too.
- Oro s e: It was recalled that this was still rather new for the basses present, so we spent time on that line.
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