Hi everyone, I hope you've had a lovely weekend? A busy weekend here with the OUP Choir concert on Saturday, but we got to enjoy some of the sunshine.
What we did on Tuesday 6th June - (Rehearsal 7/10)
A great run of the Chilcott - not perfect by any means, but it was really useful to put it all in context. We then worked backwards through it, tidying up little moments, starting with the motion and character of the Agnus Dei, and the preparation of each entry. Then we looked at the melodies in the Benedictus, balancing each one against the others carefully, and ensuring the Basses are prepared for their entry on page 30. After this we looked at the direction of the long notes in the Sanctus, and how the breaths can impact the start of each phrase. Finally, before the break, we worked on lots of the Gloria, again tidying up entries, fixing notes and tuning, and looking at the final 'Amen' - we rehearsed it down the octave Soprano 1s to prepare what the sound will be without tiring the voice out singing top As on repeat.
After the break we dug deep into In the Mood, learning in great detail bars 53 onwards, channeling our inner trumpets for the 'instrumental' section from bars 65-76, and checking the notes for those more exposed sections. We consolidated it all by running the entire piece, finding the rhythms on pages 175 & 176 were much more secure than before half term. Then we we did some really solid work on Ain't Misbehavin', looking at the final modulation, the trickier rhythms again, and then running it to put it all in context. Just keep working on those rhythms on pages 4 & 5. We ended with a quick look of 'S wonderful which was very good - a little more focus on the central section may be needed, but we got the ending really light and tightly together.
What we'll do on Tuesday 13th June - (Rehearsal 8/10)
We'll begin with a look at the Birthday Madrigals, in particular movement 5 When daisies pied. We'll then look at Summer time, Deep Purple, and end with Tea for two.
Please make sure these movements/pieces are marked up by the rehearsal!
I know you've all been practicing hard at home, looking over all the pieces and focusing on the bits you personally need the most work on, so thank you for that; please try to come as prepared as possible, with 3 weeks left.
Spotify Playlist:
The Spotify Link only includes the Chilcott and the Rutter.
Recordings from 'The Pink Book' have been shared via email as a private link, so hopefully everyone has this now.
Marked Scores:
It is now the second half of the term, so these should all be in your scores!
Posters
We've now got our own poster, so share it far and wide, and also support our friends at the Cherwell Singers for their forthcoming concert.
See you on Tuesday 13th!
- Ben
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