
Happy New Year to everyone. It was wonderful to see so many singers together again, with some new faces too!
You will also note from our Treasured Treasurer’s email that we have a new official In Flagrante Choir bank account.
Please make sure you use this account only to make any payments with your name as a reference.
Elliot is our Musical Director for the next 8 weeks, and we were delighted to see him again, although he was not at his best as he was recovering from a bout of flu, and it was much appreciated that he came to spend the evening with us even though he was probably wishing he was curled up in bed.
As many of you know, Elliot is an actor, musician, and composer. Just before the dreaded Covid, he was on tour with a musical production called the Million Dollar Quartet where he played the part of Jerry Lee Lewis.
The Million Dollar Quartet is an impromptu jam session featuring Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash on December 4, 1956, at Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. This session was initially reported in the Memphis Press-Scimitar and later released in different formats, including The Complete Million Dollar Session and Elvis Presley: The Million Dollar Quartet. The gathering occurred by chance when Perkins recorded new material, and Elvis, a former Sun artist, dropped by. Johnny Cash joined later, and the session is noted for its gospel songs and the informal nature of the gathering. This event is significant in rock and roll history, highlighting the contributions of these artists to the music scene in the late 1950s.
Elliot chose two of the gospel songs and arranged them especially for us. He has challenged us with four and sometimes five voice parts and given us a wide range of voices.
Peace in the Valley is a 1939 song written by Thomas A Dorsey. Elvis Presley performed the song at the close of his third and final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which reached 54.6 million viewers. The song has become one of the ten best-known gospel standards of all time and has been performed and recorded by numerous artists.
Some words have two or maybe three notes. Don’t be tempted to try and rush things.
Basses keep it a gentle, mellow rumble.
‘Oh yes – keep the ‘s’ at the end short and clean and not sounding like a hiss!
There are some Oohs (yes, for the Sops as well!). Keep them bright so they don’t sound flat.
There is also an Alto split, so those in the front two rows are Alto 1s, and the second two rows are Alto 2s. Remember who you are for next week!
Down by the Riverside is an African American spiritual. Its roots date back to before the American Civil War. The song was first recorded by the Fisk University jubilee quartet in 1920 (published by Columbia in 1922), and there were at least 14 black gospel recordings before World War. Because of its pacifistic imagery, Down by the Riverside has also been used as an anti-war protest song, especially during the Vietnam War
Tenors & Basses, be ready for the ‘ain’t gonna study war no more’ coming quickly in bar 16/17
The Aahs for Tenors and Basses allow for a short breath but Sops and Altos do not breathe (sounds like having Eamonn back!) during your Aahs.
On the chorus, Sop 2s remember to go down on ‘study’.
The pronunciation of ‘study’ is tricky. The slightly longer part is on ‘stuuu’ with a short ‘dy’ so it is like ‘stuuuudy’ and not ‘studddddy’ Have a little practice at home.
On a final note: Another first – we made it into the local newspaper, The Richmond & Twickenham Times and the local Guardian thanks to REACT, the charity we supported from our most successful Winter Concert.
Look out in Dropbox for any new songs. Print them off and bring them with you next week.
See you all then!
Elvis is leaving the building


Getting In Flagrante in concert formation is always a challenge with all the many considerations to consider and try to keep everyone happy. Add a different location to the mix with limitations of a differently shaped room and pillars, which makes it even harder. Especially as everyone was squashed, bearing in mind that not everyone was there!
However, the formation sheet is just a guide, giving us a basis to start from and next week, when we are back upstairs in our usual room, it will be much easier for us to spread out and for those in the second and third rows to see through the gaps.

Be prepared for more position changes if necessary.
The sound was also different downstairs. However, Tim, the pianist, joined us so Eamonn could give us his full attention on his improvised, rickety lectern!
The importance of watching Eamonn for the cut-offs cannot be emphasised enough so we all finish together cleanly; it makes us sound professional.
We all know the notes to sing (well, mostly!), so familiarise yourself with the words so you have the confidence to look up and watch Eamonn, who is working hard for every voice part.
It is now down to performance, and here are the key points:
- Watch Eamonn for the cut-offs and ensure you never ‘hiss’ on ‘s’ and that ‘t’s are crisps and we all end them at the same time
- Watch Eamonn for every entry and the loud, soft, fast and slow dynamics.
- He will indicate with the rolling of his hands that we do not breathe in the middle of particular phrases
- Absolute stillness after you have sung your last note. Do NOT turn your page for the next song, scratch your nose, etc, until after the last note is played on the piano.
- Keep the voice in your cheekbones and smile bright; it willotes from help stop the notes from going flat.
- Are you a pleasure to watch? If you look like you’re enjoying yourselves, the audience will enjoy it all the more.
If you know your music well, especially when there are long repeats of choruses at the end, there is no need to look down. Look up, and Eamonn will direct you. Just follow, follow, follow his instructions.
We have one more rehearsal on Tuesday, and Eamonn will concentrate on the songs we are singing, all of Act One and some of Act Two.
Please look, listen, and practise at home, as these need to be spot on!
Audience participation numbers are fun; although we need to know them and lead the audience in the singing, accuracy is not so crucial.
If we all play our part as individuals and are the best we can be by practising during the week, when we come together and are team players, we will be sensational.

Don’t aspire to be the best on the team; aspire to be the best for the team.

The Basses and Tenors conquered their nemesis of Try to Remember! They had done their homework and were rewarded with a smile, praise from Eamonn, and even a kiss!
Now, it is the Sops' turn to do their homework and practice the high notes in You’ll Never Walk Alone daily. Ensure you use your whole body to support the high note, as we are always slightly under it, and it is not a good sound.
Squeeze those oranges under your armpits and try lifting a couple of tins of beans in your hands as you sing high. This will engage all the back muscles and your diaphragm. Relax your throat and be confident.
We will concentrate on the songs we are singing to perfect them and engage and entertain our audience.
The secret to this is to WATCH EAMONN!
Learn as many lyrics as possible to look at the critical cutoff points. Starting next week, Eamonn will direct us with both hands.
All My Trials is slow and spacious, so there is plenty of time to look up and watch. The Salley Gardens is another quiet song with critical cutoff points.
Fields of Gold is a gentle love song, so Basses, don’t get too carried away. The solo part will be sung by four In Flagrante choir members. You know who you are, so learn the part by heart and be ready to Wow Eamonn next week, not to mention our audience at the concert.
Something Inside So Strong needs some work. The rhythm sounds floppy, and it should be strong.
Make the ‘Hm’ sound phlegmy. Emphasise the end of ‘oh eh’ as if it sounds like ‘oh way’!
Kenny Rogers is neither floppy nor phlegmy
Altos learn page 10 – 'the brothers and sisters' section, so you can all look up and watch Eamonn.
With your heads up, you will double the volume and sound magnificent.
Don’t lose confidence in the key change when the piano stops. Be bold and keep moving forward.

This is our rousing end to Act One. Please do your homework and ensure it is powerful so our audience will return for more after the interval.
Thank you for the Days. It is another one that needs some homework!
Next week, remember we will be downstairs and standing in our concert formation.
Please be there for 19:10 so we can be in place before Eamonn starts at 19:30.
We will go through Thank You for the Days, Song for a Winter Night, plus anything else.
The audience participation numbers can be raucous and fun, but the rest of the repertoire must be word and note-perfect with the right dynamics and cut-offs.
As Eamonn said, “Watch me!”
Our chosen charity's winter newsletter
