6 January 2026
Dear Singers,
Happy New Year and welcome back to an exciting term tackling the Verdi Requiem. A very special welcome to our new members – thank you for joining ECS and I hope you enjoy the experience, it’s great to have you on board.
The concert will be at Southernhay United Reformed Church, Dix’s Field, EXETER EX1 1QA on Saturday 9 May @ 7.00
We are performing the 2023 new ‘reduced version’ for Organ, two pianos and percussion. A recording of the whole Requiem can be found here:
SPOTIFY:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3kS2YcIMv0CCMVALcGE1sy?si=k3c4PZfCTge5l2Rih_QcDg
YOUTUBE:
WHAT WE DID ON 06.01.26
We warmed up in the usual way, the intention being to:
Focus on being in the room, leaving the world and our preoccupations at the door
Prepare for singing by paying attention to physical posture, connecting with our breathing, stretching our voices and producing a good sound
We sang Oh what a beautiful morning from the musical Oklahoma – it has a wide range, moving mostly be leap, and with some awkward intervals. All good practice for the Verdi tunes! I confessed to this being my least favourite tune – sorry if this offended anyone who loves it……
We sang through and worked on the following:
Requiem (p2-5), Libera me (p127-129) and final fugue (p130- end)
This was all very encouraging – there is a good choral sound already, and we picked up things quite quickly. Sectional rehs will help, and here will be plenty of these going forward.
MUSIC SCORES – DIFFERENT EDITIONS: We could only get the Peters Edition. A few members have the Ricordi publication, on my advice last term, but we were unable to procure enough, apologies. The page numbers differ substantially, and there are no bar numbers in Ricordi. It saves a lot of time in rehearsal (and the locations in my notes) if we all ‘sing from the same hymn sheet, so please can everyone make sure they have a Peters Edition? Corinne has plenty. Thank you.
I mentioned Rehearsal/Practice support resources. There are plenty available, both free and for ££. If it’s a new experience for you, here are some handy considerations:
Do you want your parts sung, or are you happy with an instrument or an electronic keyboard sound?
Do you want flexibility in being able to control the tempo so you can sing more slowly or are you happy with ‘concert speeds’?
Are you prepared to pay some ££, or must it be free?
How easy is the site to navigate?
Here are four suggestions…..
Chord Perfect
Cost $20 - Actual voices performing, with orchestra accomp. Ability to slow the tempo. Not always easy to locate passages in the middle of movements
https://www.chordperfect.com/verdis-requiem-1st-bass-chorus-rehearsal-aid/
Choraline
££ - Instruments used for the voices, quite clear though. Spoken voice helps with entries.
https://www.choraline.com/learn-to-sing-verdi-requiem
John Fletcher
From £4.40 for 4 months access. Electronic sounds but ok. Site simple to navigate.
https://johnfletchermusic.org/
Choralia
(free with a donation) Electronic sounds but ok. Very flexible – tempo adjustments
https://www.choralia.net/index.html
HOW TO PRACTISE BETWEEN REHEARSALS:
It’s a good idea to listen to the music, with your score, to become familiar with the big picture, if not the detail. Focusing on the sections from the previous rehearsal can help to ‘lock in’ what we have worked at.
Preparing in advance by listening (at least), using the tracks, or just marking places where the notes, or text need unpicking etc ready to look out for it in rehearsal.
WHAT WE WILL DO ON 13.01.26
Libera me (p130 to 138) Ricordi scores: Page 193 - Sectional rehearsal: S/A & T/B
Requiem (p127 to 129) Ricordi scores: Page 189 – Tutti
Agnus Dei (p104 to 108) Ricordi scores: Page 155 - Tutti
All good wishes, thank you.
Peter Hunt