Thank you all for your excellent work tonight, and in taking time to prepare for rehearsal! If you were not present, I am providing a recap of notes that should be marked in your music so you will be caught up. Next week we will do targeted work on the pieces we did not cover today. Since we have only three more rehearsals before our concert, please make every effort not to miss them. Thank you!
Rehearsal Notes
Do You Hear What I Hear
Full Piece: intensely rhythmic & precise; dynamics as marked
m. 20: no breath after “kite,” “sea”
m. 23: quick cutoff & be ready for next verse
m. 28, 32, 43, 47: please check these rhythms with the study tracks
m. 39: no breath after “gold”
m. 45: REST!
m. 46: tenors/basses, loud like a fanfare
m. 54: “light” is a half note followed by a quarter rest; watch rhythm on “He will”
mm. 56-59: watch for cutoffs; precise consonants
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Full piece: keep it light & bouncy; enunciate words clearly; be prepared for entrances after 3/8 measures; stagger breathing except for rests; each verse louder than the last
m. 13, 16: the “Ah”s are more like eighth notes
m. 60, 62, 73, 75: watch the dotted rhythms; different from earlier verses
m. 83-end: no ritard.
The Star Carol
Full piece: Rubato throughout, so watch! Dynamic shaping is crescendo to m. 7, begin decrescendo at m. 11, end each verse at same volume as beginning
1st time: mezzo-forte; all voices on words
2nd time: solo; chorus “ooh” underneath, piano
3rd time: mezzo-piano; on words; Soprano I on descant; molto rit. last three measures
What Sweeter Music
Full piece: very smooth and exceedingly sweet, as if in awe; watch for rubato sections; work those study tracks!
m. 20, 36, 50, 69: Fermata cutoffs lead directly into next entrance. Please follow carefully at the next rehearsal, as this can’t really be explained well in text.
mm. 57-61: lower voices, please review this; should be a rich, full, confident sound
Dynamics will be reviewed next week
The Holly & the Ivy
Full piece: Bright, dancing; count and watch carefully! All 4/4 measures have a breath after the half note, whether or not there is a rest; repetitions of “sweet singing” have a slight lift, not a full breath, after “singing”
m. 47, 74: 5 beats to these measures!
m. 64-65: staggered cutoffs on “all” and entrances on “Oh”; watch for cues
Look-A That Star
Full piece: Fuller, more confident sound throughout, even the quiet sections!
m. 43: ritard. here, watch carefully
m. 45: direction is in 4 here, about half as fast as first section. Watch for faster movement on “Oh” in measure 52
m. 57: fast tempo returns; keep the energy up
m. 73-end: please review these parts; does not slow down!
Jazz Gloria
Full piece: syncopated rhythms need to be very precise; listen for each other part for balance
Sopranos, review the “Alleluia” section pgs. 6-8
Pure latin vowels on “Gloria in excelsis Deo”
Slight breath after “Gloria” every time
Chanukah Blessing
Full piece: review pronunciation; dynamics as written
m. 7-8: “ooh” entrances need to be more confident, even though they’re piano
m. 23, 24: begin the phrases on the downbeat, not before!
m. 40: cutoff after 3 beats, piano has fermata; prep beat of 4 is given before “Amein” entrance; watch for slower tempo