Dear Singers
I am so happy to hear you! The music we are making is not just beautiful, it is passionate!
Bandlab – Don’t Save
The Bandlab program desperately wants you to save your work and will remind you to do so at every turn. HOWEVER, if you save, you are messing things up for the next person to use it. PLEASE DON’T SAVE! (BTW, if you do save by accident, let me know–I can fix it) BTW, the Bandlab links are on the website.
Notes
The Boy Who Picked Up His Feet To Fly
- Exact cutoffs and ending consonants are crucial in this piece. We want the audience to understand!
Choose Something Like a Star
- What was Randall Thompson thinking?? This is an absolutely gorgeous piece, but, wow, it is hard vocally. I was very very pleased with our work last night. The problem with this piece is that it is so hard to keep your concentration going throughout the entire thing!
- “sight”, “right”, “cloud”, “night”, “light” should all be sung on a tall “ah” vowel
- Sopranos, be sure to lean toward the downbeat. The important thing is to keep life and energy in the tone throughout. (One of the sopranos came up to me at the break and told me she had sung this piece before, but as an alto. At the time she laughed at what the poor sopranos had to go through–now she gets her comeuppance!)
- ATB: m 27 cutoff is on the downbeat
David’s Lamentation
- The key to this piece is the silences. All rests must truly be silent!
- That was so much fun to have such a big, passionate sound on the ff section!
Of Crows and Clusters
- “—ct” !
No Time
- “Rise, oh fathers, rise…” : Admonition
- “No time to tarry here…” : Get to work
- “Brothers, oh fare ye well…”: With love
Bright Morning Stars
- During the fiasco last night, I’m not sure I communicated that sopranos and tenors will sing the alto or bass part mm 73 – 78
Mark