This is exciting - my first Conductor's Notes for newChoir! I'll be doing these posts weekly, not only as a reminder of what we covered in the rehearsal, but what we'll be doing in the following week. This'll help our rehearsal process as we see what's coming and what to look at at home.
I'll also use this space to post any additional information such as listening links, files (including the "Programme for Spring" document below), and marked scores. Please do have a look at these as they go up.
Onto the main event:
What we did on Tuesday 01.02.22
Really good work on the vowel sounds and blend in the Seal Lullaby. We made a good start to The Way Through the Woods - I think listening to it on the playlist will help become more familiar with the style and sound-world of the piece. The Moeran is tricky, but we made good progress with the slower movements, and are starting to understand his harmonic language. The first movement of the Shearing was great!
What we will do on Tuesday 08.02.22
Moeran: Movements 1 & 3, working on harmony and rhythm, before building up tempo and thinking about the style of the movements.
Disley-Simpson: Confidence with parts, and working on the style!
Shearing: Movement 2 (and movement 4, if there's time). Building confidence with parts and harmonic language, especially in the unaccompanied sections.
This week's listening:
is simply the Spotify Playlist for the term. Now that the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain have released their latest album, The Way Through the Woods is available to listen to - it's a lovely recording!
See you all on the 8th.
- Ben
Just enjoyed a run through the playlist- thnx Ben - good quick relaxation with a cup of tea after work. I play it while doing the ironing too- hoping that it will induce an ear worm effect with repeated exposure! Moeran, for those of us who have not sung it before is quite tricky despite sounding simple. it’s good of you to put this together for us Ben- just helps keep the music at the front our minds. So thanks! Judy