27 January 2026
Dear Singers,
Excellent rehearsal last night with a good turn out. I hope everyone who couldn't make it is ok, and that things don't get any worse for you.
My sister is on a Caribbean cruise right now and she keeps sending me photos of sunsets over the beach in Antigua and Barbados etc - I am not amused......! I didn't know the Met Office has moved St Swithin's Day from July 15 to January!
WHAT WE DID ON 27.01.26
This was a good session, bearing down on a lot of notes, with slow practise on short sections.
The warming up focused on perfecting good LEGATO and STACCATO singing, using 'Row row row your boat' as the tune. We explored how to sing the letter R with a good tone (lips forward, tongue well placed), essential for 'Requiem'. The short phrases on pages 1, 2 & 4 need placing well - a good breath to start, and the final consonant placed ON the beat to make them sound unified and tidy. We covered pages 1-10.
Agnus (p107-108) T & B must sing through their leaps in bar 43 - crescendo as you do it! Well done sops with the top As.
Libera (p 130-133) Looking carefully at every part, singing it slowly. It started to sound really good. Once we have the notes firmly nailed, we can increase the speed, and pay attention to text. Promising progress, well done.
WHAT WE WILL DO ON O3.02.26
Come prepared to consume cake! It's also PUB NIGHT (first Tuesday of the month). To business:
Pages 11-16 with attention to the unprepared key changes!
Pages 127-129
If time - Sing through Agnus (p106-108)
HEADS UP.....
The HUGE 'elephant in the room' is the Sanctus, which is divided into 2 choirs. This effectively divides our resources in half, which for a choir our size this term, is very manageable. This will also provide the 'firsts' and 'seconds' in the few places we divide elsewhere (eg opening Requiem). We will divide up the voices so that each choir has a similar spread of voice 'types' and range so they match in size and sound. This won't be for a few weeks - it's important we gel as a whole choir and establish our resources well with the four-part choruses first.
Many thanks everyone, the term is going well, thank you.
Peter