One-Armed Bandit

Eamonn explained to us that he will be having a long-awaited operation on his shoulder, and although the timing is not great, he has put a plan into action to enable to keep continue to build on our excellent progress with Elliot stepping for two weeks while he recovers.  He will then have Tim, our pianist, to play on his return and he will be able to conduct and direct us with one arm, as his shoulder will be strapped up.

A Team

He will be like this for the concert too, but that will not deter him from getting the best out of us.

We are gradually working our way through the programme, so we started with All My Trials.  This needs a full sound from the Basses and should have an earnest and heartfelt feel to it. 

It is not doom and gloom!

When Eamonn asked us to close our folders and sing without the music scores, we all surprised ourselves and actually looked up and sang it all the way through.  There was just a little confusion with order of ‘Brothers’ and Sisters’; just remember brothers always comes before sisters and you’ll be fine.

We will be singing this song with no music opened, so be prepared!

You’ll Never Walk Alone; Altos you set the tone for this as you start with intensity as if you are geeing people to get them going.

Sop 1s, be prepared for that high note in ‘You’ll never walk alone’.  Use your bodies and stretch your mouth wide on ‘never’ and you’ll easily hit that top note!

Vincent needs to be carefully watched for the cut offs.  Some of them are much shorter than you expect. Tenors & Basses are carrying the tune for most of the time (unusual, I know!), so make sure you tell the story and look up at the audience as you do so and keep them engaged.

Sops, you have a difficult task to keep your ‘Oohs’ bright.  Try keeping a rictus grin the whole way through them.

The last ‘will’ in ‘Perhaps they never will’ should have more of a ‘weel’ sound.

The Logical Song is to be sung with elation and revolution and by the time you get to the last page look up and sing out your do, do, dos and feel the seven ‘ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba’ at the end.

Here Comes the Flood has long toffee like phrases.  It is spiky and weird on page 6 ‘When the flood calls….’ Right up to ..’minds.. then it becomes warm and lush with ‘Don’t be afraid to cry ….’

Tenors, please mark the change of notes on ‘it’ll be those who gave their island…’ at the end, so it is the same as you have previously sung.

You’re the Voice to be sung as if it’s like a party. 

Start the ‘Ooohs’ at the beginning with intensity, looking up and getting everyone’s attention.

The first ‘gun’ is not as long as you expect it to be.

Use the ‘w’ of ‘Woah’ to spring from to get the energy going. The ‘Woah’ should sound more like an ‘ah’ sound.

‘Woah’ is sometimes on the same note, but come off it and back on again to give it emphasis.  This is called a dinge.

Please do your homework on Here Comes the Flood and let’s really nail this.

Make sure you know all the words to All My Trials. 

Look over Crossing the Bar, The House of the Rising Sun, Matthew & Son and The Rhythm of Life.

Let’s make Eamonn proud of us next week and send him on his way to being a one armed bandit with a smile on his face.

This is Not Just a Concert…..

 …..it is the In Flagrante Choir Summer Gala Concert!

One Night Only!

As it is our 10^th Anniversary, this year’s concert will be special in so many ways.

The ticket price remains the same at £10 each (non-returnable and non-transferrable).  This includes a free glass of champagne for our guests on arrival.  All being well and the weather is kind to us, they can take their drinks into the sunken garden from 19:00 where they will be entertained until the start of the concert at 20:00.

Please order your tickets (up to your 4 ticket allocation) by 14 June by sending your guests names to janmharvey@icloud.com and paying the funds into the choir bank account with your name as a reference. After 14 June we will know how many spare tickets will be available and those who wish to buy extra tickets will be contacted and can then purchase the extra allocation as above.

We will stand out from the crowd in our all black outfits (with black sparkles, if you wish), so we can easily be gathered up a quarter of an hour before the concert commences to get ourselves in readiness.

Now we have set the scene, we need to make this a concert to remember from our performance and singing.  Look as if you are enjoying it. 

Remember to ask yourself, “Am I pleasure to watch?”

Your energy and enthusiasm will infiltrate the audience and lift the performance even more than you thought possible!

With that in mind, we do have to sing as a choir – that means singing together in harmony as directed by our great leader!

The only way that can be done is to LOOK UP and watch Eamonn who will guide every step of the way.

You may be thinking, “How can I look up when I need to have my head in my music?”

Well, the answer is simple; learn the words as much as possible. 

If you can’t learn all of them, learn the parts you know are critical with dunce holes and important cut offs.

Hold your music (folders or iPads) at waist height and keep your head up and just let your eyes look down every now and then but mostly have them looking at Eamonn.

It is critical that you look up and watch at the end of the songs.  You do not want to be the one who stands out and is still holding that last note or singing in a dunce hole!

You will not only let yourself down, but the whole choir.  No pressure!!!

Thank you for the Days will be our encore so it must be exquisite. Love the long notes right to the end. ‘..let it wait’ is gentle and ‘believe me’ is tender with extended vowels which sound more choral.

Trillers on The Perch, a bit of self publicity from two of the Steepled Finger Ladies and no it isn't, Jan.

The Range (the RMS House band) are performing at Ham Fair on 13 June around midday. The venue is on Ham Common.  Come along as see Amy, Catherine W, Karen & Pauline as the Rangettes.

Jack Farthing(Poldark), Clare Foy(the Queen) and Richrd E Grant (Everything)

Savage House goes on general release from 5th June. Filmed at Montacute House and Syon House, and set in the early eighteenth century, it is a tale for today: slightly bawdy, not always laugh-out-loud funny, but beautifully shot. Richard E. Grant and Claire Foy are outstanding in Peter Glanz's darkly satirical comedy-drama.

Awarded ★★★★★ by The Times, which called it "tragic, moving and quite brilliant."

The Pitfalls

We have reached the stage where we have sung and basically learnt all the songs for the concert, although someone had managed to miss the learning of The Rhythm of Life!

The “rhythm of life” refers to the biological, emotional, and social changes in how we experience time. Physically, circadian rhythms often shift earlier, turning many older adults into “early birds,” while sleep becomes lighter and more easily broken. Emotionally, a steady, balanced routine can become essential, helping support cognitive health, emotional stability, and overall wellbeing.

We are now coming down to finessing the songs to give them shape and character with light and dark, soft and loud and everything in between. This will engage the audience, some of whom will have heard these songs before, so we need to keep their interest and tell them the stories.

Generally, there are a lot of different and tricky rhythms and sometimes many words to fit in, not to mention the Dunce holes! Mark your music scores with the pitfalls in a way that is meaningful to you.

Learn the words as much as possible, especially in the sections Eamonn has pointed out.

For example:

The Rhythm of Life, Sops learn ‘Daddy was a new sensation…..’ section as there are too many words to read!

Crossing the Bar learn the final page so you can all look up and watch Eamonn with the critical timing at the end.

Also remember to add the consonants onto the next word in the phrases to prevent the hissing tyre sounds of ‘s’ and too many ‘t’ sounds like in Here Comes the Flood; ‘….we cannot even choo-oo saside…’

A few pointers to remember when doing your homework:

The House of the Rising Sun – Make the ‘oohs’ angelic. 

Altos come in strongly on ‘Oh Mother tell your ‘chil – dren’ remembering that ‘Chil’ is long.  Don’t rush it!

Tenors and Basses – ‘…she sewed my new blue jeans’ ‘my’ & ‘new’ are like one word.

The last notes are on an ‘Ng’ sound, not a hum as written.

The Rhythm of Life is relentless; you need to know what’s coming.  If you fall off the train, you’ll never get back on.

Homework is needed on this one!

Keep on top of Crossing the Bar as Eamonn wants you in the palm of his hand!

Here Comes the Flood – don’t let the long phrases sag.  The verses are quite robotic and the chorus is smoother. 

Homework on this one too!

Tom's the Voice, You’re the Voice – another relentless one needing lots of energy.

Sops watch out for the different ‘down the barrel of a gun’ near the end.

The Impossible Dream – Altos sing out so you can be heard!

By now you know where the pitfalls are, so mark them and learn them

Add The Logical Song, The Rainbow Connection and California Dreaming to your homework list.