Dear Singers,
Congratulations again for the excellent workshop on Saturday, everyone has been very positive about the experience and grateful to Ghislaine for such an inspiring session. Thank you for coming. Shall I invite her again next term?! I have always believed that choir singers should have vocal coaching and support in addition to the ‘weekly dose’ as part of rehearsals, and in an ideal world, given time, everyone should have some one-to-one time with a coach too. Think of this: You can learn the notes at home; you have to be present IRL to sing in a group and blend with the ensemble. Individual singing lessons are useful if you find a good teacher and can afford it, but the next best thing is learning in a choir – the workshops support this process.
Ghislaine wrote to me:
I enjoyed it enormously….am so glad that they feel more confident. They really rose to the challenge and changed the atmosphere in the church by such expressive singing. I love making music with people but really enjoy teaching. I too am always being reminded of things I’ve previously learnt! Any future bookings…much appreciated.
WHAT WE DID ON 10.11.26
We started (at 7.00) with O Holy Night from the song sheets. You are the supporting chorus to Catherine. Please mark your line in the scores so there is no confusion about what you sing. Of the 3 lines of music bracketed together – Catherine is the top line, S & A line 2 (S tails up, A tails down, T & B line 3 (T tails up, B tails down).
Brahms Movt 3 p38 Der Gerechten…. Sectionals, then singing together but very slowly. This is a bit tiring for the voice but gives some brain space for finding the notes! We made good progress here.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS A SECTION TO PRACTISE.
Movt 5 p54 Ich will euch… Short sectionals again. This has to be accurate and subtle to support the soprano solo. Note the dynamics! Tenors in bar 43 please sing the lower A.
Although the pace is slow, on p60 it’s worth speaking the words in rhythm to practise the upbeats and syncopation (bars 76 & 77).
WHAT WE WILL DO ON 17.11.26
I would like tenors and basses to sit IN FRONT of the sopranos and altos (respectively) please.
Carols: Another look at O Holy Night
Movt 6 p61 – We have not yet worked on pages 61-65, but pages 65-72 we know well (sang it in the workshop too). Another look at Page 73 Herr du bist… to the end.
THE NEXT PRIORITIES – LOOKING AHEAD….
Pages 20-27, pages 35-38, 38-43 and movement 5 + Carols Silent night and O Tennenbaum
Well done everyone, keep it up.
Peter