20 January 2026
Dear Singers,
A wonderful turn out this week, and a warm welcome again to some new members - good to have you on board! I was very pleased with the quality of the sound and response in the warming up, in particular:
Improving 'choral sound' created by better balance of voices (more tenors and basses)
More consistent tone and blend (matching vowel sounds)
Greater expressive articulation (consonants)
Growth in musical expression (dynamic contrasts)
This is encouraging! The next few weeks will focus on learning the notes, and as confidence grows, these features will take centre stage for the performance. We have glimpsed the possible!
I am delighted to announce that our instrumentalists have all been engaged, they are: Peter King (Organ), Peter Adcock and Alec Hone (Birmingham) on the two pianos, percussionistMichelle Bird.
WHAT WE DID ON 20.01.26
The warming up was particularly productive this week as we explored dynamic range and articulation - staccato and legato, followed by sectionals on pages 1 to 16 which present all of these musical features. The challenge in this section is the short phrases ('requiem' & 'luceat eis'). They need the following:
good breath preparation
confident placement of the first consonant - The letter 'R' needs care and attention!
careful placement of the final consonant, particularly 'S'
Staccato - Detached, separated but still one line/phrase. An effective way to practise is to set your voice up and sing a phrase legato (good breath, connected flow of air) then repeat, setting up in the same way and the same feel, but separating each note by interrupting the air flow. Takes longer to explain than do - WE WILL VISIT THIS NEXT WEEK!
Legato - Smooth, connected, flowing. Try singing a phrase using only the vowels, then repeat, gently dropping in the consonants. Imagine an empty washing line - when the pegs (consonants) are put in place, the smooth line still continues. Consonants should not interrupt the flow, but should still be audible. WE WILL VISIT THIS TOO!
VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Regarding the staccato phrases on p11/12 (bars 119 & 120) we noticed that altos and basses do not have any staccato marks, similarly the solo parts. In the Ricordi score the basses DO have them! To add to confusion, in Ricordi score, the alto solo does have them, but on only two notes!! This points to inconsistency in editing.
I have made an artistic decision: ALL voices please sing the quaver notes staccato (like the sops), and make the final note a full non-staccato crotchet. This command will not be rescinded!
Agnus Dei (p104) Coming along nicely, and tuning is much better. The 2nd phrase (top of p105) needs extra care with the C# (bar 24) - it is very close to the D just before it. Here's a fact: Although intervals are technically all the same in 'equal temperament' tuning, in context they often aren't!
Libera me (p130) We sang through this section having studied it in sectionals last week to see if it had survived! Good to keep it on the boil.
WHAT WE WILL DO ON 27.01.26
Requiem (p1-5) - Tutti, sorting the key changes
Agnus Dei (p107-8) Harmony section
Libera (p130-134) Slowly, taking a bite-sized approach to this tricky movement
Thank you everyone, enjoy your week.
Peter Hunt