Rudsamblog

Denise started us off with a warm up covering the first section of the piece we will be performing in October.

Reminder:

Emily Dickinson poem, first line : I felt a cleaving in my mind as if my brain had split.

Sopranos, all on an F.

Altos F Eb Db C C - changing note on CLeaving, mind, brain

Tenors F F# G G# A - changing on CLeaving, mind, brain, split

Basses F F F F F# - moving to F# on split. 

Five Hebrew Love Songs

We began with number IV, Eyze Sheleg 

Think Song of Sorrow on the bongs. The idea is to create a vast possibility of bongs. Try changing the speed at which you sing them.

Basses - circle bar 7 and make sure you stop bonging before everyone else.

Starting the bongs again at bar 18 the BPM (bongs per minute) should NOT match the crotchet beat of the previous bars.

Tenors - you start on a C, bar 10, top of page 20...the altos have a C so listen to them.

V. Rakut  

Tum - tuhm- not toom or any other variation. Close to the m quickly.

2nd alto, more of the D at bar 11 onwards.

Everyone, make sure you know where the semi-quavers go, they were slightly early each time.

Altos, really dig out the G natural at bar 35.

Basses - engage with what you are singing or it will go flat.

I. Temuna

This will be beaten in quavers.

Watch the timing.

Look up at the tenutos.

II. Kala Kalla 

Watch out for the heffalump traps eg bar 3, notes not what you may be expecting and bar 39 where it is faster than expected.

Altos, need to practice, faster sections messy at the moment. Think Teddy Bear's Picnic.

Need more alto at bar 55.

Bar 58 on, generally there is a temptation to make crotchets and quavers the same. Even with staccato notes a crotchet is longer than a quaver. If the crotchets are cut short there is a rush to the following bar and all goes to hell. Give crotchets their full value.

However, Basses, don't peck like chickens at your quavers.

Altos and Sops, crescendo through your first, paused, note.

Tenors and Basses, lighten up at bar 26, it is supposed to be TENDER.

DON'T SCOOP.

III. Larov 

Basses, to help with tuning centre around D. D sounds all the way through the bars.

We will go over pronunciation but 'ch' should be soft as in 'loch'.

When David Heard - Weelkes (Book of Tudor Anthems, page 343)

This is hard stuff. Work on it at home. Memorisation will help.

While doing homework, have a look at Sing Joyfully, page 287 of same book.

A general note: when sight-reading don't slow down in the difficult bits, it doesn't help. Keep going even if you are getting it wrong and try to get the next bit right. Simples.