The Dynamics of In Flagrante

Inflagrante: Caught in the Act

This week, everything changed as we had a replacement Musical Director, Amir Schoenfeld and a temporary location in the downstairs bar.

Although the choir has grown to around sixty members, we were very thin on the ground with holidays and sickness. We look forward to seeing you all fit and well soon.

Amir warmed us up with stretches and Many men, many men, many men-men-men before we recapped All My Trials, which he said sounded tentative. He worked on the dynamics of this song to make a big contrast between the different sections. Starting at a moderate volume and rising to ‘die,’ we then go very quiet, almost a whisper, to ‘All my trials, Lord, soon be over.’

Immediately, we increased the volume to super loud on ‘Too late my brothers’ (or sisters second time around).  It should be explosive and hold on to brothers (or sisters) until the end of the bar and then go back to the very quiet ‘Too late but never mind’ and the whispered ‘All my trials, Lord’.

'‘Now hush, little baby (Jane), don't you cry. …’ section should be gentle', unlike baby Jane. My homage to the film 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane'. She got old!

 Once we mastered this dynamic technique, it sounded very impressive.

Fields of Gold was next.  We sang through it, and it wasn’t a complete crash and burn-; we just needed a few tweaks.

Again, we needed dynamics. ‘Gold’ on page 2 needs building up to a crescendo, but only from the second note.  Start ‘gold at the same volume as the verse, then gradually build up the volume to the end.  Quickly breathe and straight into a loud ‘Will you stay with me….’ Until the ‘jealous sky’ and a diminuendo starts from ‘as we lie in fields of gold’.

Build up the crescendo on ‘Gold’ again to increase the volume for ‘I never made promises lightly…’

After these technical dynamic adjustments, we tried ‘We’ll Gather Lilacs’. A song by Welsh composer Ivor Novello, which he wrote for the hit musical romance Perchance to Dream. The stage musical opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in London's West End in 1945 and ran until 1948.

The song, sung in the show by Olive Gilbert, was the most popular and enduring to emerge from the production.

Written as World War II drew close, the song describes the yearning for parted couples to reunite. It evokes the joy they would feel when together again and the pleasures of the English countryside in spring with its lilac blossom.

The song was performed at Novello's cremation in 1951 by Olive Gilbert.

Our rendition had the spirit of the song but needed more work—more than a little—and that may be a generous statement!

This will be on the list for next week, so please check that you have the newest music score from Dropbox (anyone who has sung this before, please do not use your old copy of the music). Please familiarise yourself with this song and the others in Dropbox, as Amir will also be going through some of them.

We will meet in our usual room next week.  I look forward to seeing you in good voice and with all the right music in your folders.

No help for In Flagrante

There was a good turnout last night; however, the Tenor and Bass sections needed to be thicker on the ground. That didn’t stop them from being heard, even if they were seduced to the tune by the Sops.

For those of you who have never sung in concert or a reminder for those who already have, please train yourself for ‘Stillness’ at the end of EVERY song.

REMEMBER NOT TO MOVE until the last note has sounded on the piano.  Do not turn the page to the next song, scratch your nose, etc. You can be guaranteed to get the famous Eamonn glare if you commit this grave misdemeanour!

We recapped The Salley Gardens.  Enjoy the three-part harmony on ‘Gardens’ and lean into it.

When the Basses join with the Tenors in verse two, it should sound rich and passionate.

‘..As the grass grows on the weirs…’ it should gradually get quiet so it fades away and not be a sudden change. Know when to come in on ‘, but I was young and foolish ….’ As there is no help with the piano.  You have to feel it.

Time After Time 1979. A bit of fun.

Time After Time followed.  Tenors and Basses pitch your first note higher than expected.

Again, there is no help when to start ‘If you're lost you can look ….’ After ‘the second hand unwinds’ apart from the slight ‘chink’ sound in the piano.

Keep your breathing rhythmic in this chorus section, which will keep it moving and syncopated.

The verses are rather dull, so make it enjoyable by enunciating the words and telling the story.

Please learn the words for the chorus of All My Trials so you can look up and watch Eamonn for the critical timing. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get the trials over!

Remember, ‘Brothers’ and ‘Sisters’ are long and loud; sing them until the end of the bar and take a quick breath before quietly singing ‘Too late but never mind’.

Sop 1s in the ‘Now hush little baby….’ section; this is flexible, so watch Eamonn closely for timing. 

Again, no help, so take a quick breath after ‘cry’, then don’t breathe until after you sing ‘die’

Luxuriate in this, making it weighty and with depth.

After a well-earned break, we returned to Fields of Gold, a song written and performed by English musician Sting. The singer described the view from his 16th-century Wiltshire manor house:

In England, I live in a house surrounded by barley fields, and in the summer, it's fascinating to watch the wind moving over the shimmering surface like waves on an ocean of gold. There's something inherently sexy about the sight, something primal as if the wind were making love to the barley. I'm sure lovers have made promises here, their bonds strengthened by the comforting cycle of the seasons.

Many musical artists have covered the song. American singer and guitarist Eva Cassidy recorded a version that first appeared on her 1996 live album Live at Blues Alley, then later on her albums Songbird (1998) and The Best of Eva Cassidy (2012). Eva Cassidy's version charted in Sweden and the Netherlands in 2008 and 2013, respectively. British-Georgian singer Katie Melua, a fan of Eva Cassidy, recorded a version that was released as the BBC Children in Need single for 2017

Love this version by Katie Melua

In the past, Fields of Gold has been the nemesis for the Sop 1s as they don’t have the tune and have Oohs!  I’m sure they can do their homework and instil confidence in themselves and Eamonn that they can achieve this challenge.

Sop 2s have the tune.

Deep breaths are needed as ‘gold’ is a very long note.

Talking of breathing, don’t breathe in ‘Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth’

A gentle diminuendo at the end as you ‘walk in fields of gold.’

Trillers on the Perch

Evan Rule, our Bass singer, is the stage manager for How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, written by Fin Kennedy at The Questors Theatre

from 13th -21st September.  Box Office: questors.org.uk. Tel:02085675184

 What makes us who we are?

That is an interesting question!

Meet Charlie Hunt, a successful advertising executive. He’s living the high-flying life of sleepless nights and bottomless bubbly. But there is one problem: everything is fake. Meanwhile, Sophie, a pathologist, examines a lifeless body... As this woman haunts Charlie, the falsities of his corporate world creep into mayhem, forcing him to buck the system. But how many parts of himself can he give up before he stops existing? 

This award-winning play follows one man’s dissociation from reality as he embarks on a darkly surreal journey to escape himself. Come and discover how to disappear completely without breaking a single law. 

 Next week, we will be at the downstairs bar with Amir. Beware of new versions of We’ll Gather Lilacs and All My Trails.

Please bring all the music in the Dropbox; you can’t go wrong. 

Until next week!

Where Has the Time Gone!

Indeed, where has the time gone? Does social media make time go faster?

Research has found that time spent on social media speeds up time. Users need to pay more attention to the amount of time they spend. What they feel like 10 minutes can easily be 30 or 40.

We welcome our four new members with a big welcome.  We all have the challenge to produce another outstanding performance for our Winter Concert on 28 November. 

Only twelve more rehearsals to go! Let's keep up the good work!

We started with our usual warm-up of tongue circles and tongue twisters before tackling the night's songs.

The Salley Gardens is based on William Butler Yeats's poem Down By The Salley Gardens, published in 1889. He indicated it was an attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in  Ballisodare, County Sligo, who often sings them to herself. 

"Salley" or "sally" is a form of the Standard English word "sallow", i.e. a willow tree of the genus Salix. It is close in sound to the Irish phrase saileach, which also means willow.

Eamonn’s version has the Tenors and Basses singing together.

Altos although your notes aren’t very exciting, think of them as the most beautiful melody instead.

This song needs to be kept moving along and not an indulgence of wallowing and slowing it down.

Do not breathe in the phrase, ‘with her did not agree.’

Please note: For those new to the choir and a reminder for those not so new, not breathing becomes a regular occurrence with In Flagrante.

Beware of the Dunce Hole (another regular occurrence of Eamonn’s arrangements) near the end.  Please do not fall into it!  Make a note on your music score as a reminder!

At the end of this song, we were rewarded with the comment, ‘A good return to form’ from Eamonn.  Praise indeed!

All My Trials 2024.  This is a new arrangement with Basses and Tenors having new parts. 

It is always wise to check if the title in Dropbox has 2024 after the name, as this indicates the original version has been changed.

The term Rubato  (Italian for 'stolen time) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Rubato is an expressive shaping of music that is a part of phrasing. To keep it simple, watch Eamonn and be guided by him.

Basses do not be seduced onto the tune.  Get your first note right, and all will be well.

Some of your notes are very deep.  Don’t be tempted to put your chin down as this restricts the throat; keep your chin up.

‘If religion was a thing that money could buy’ – buy is long, so give it lots of love until the end of the bar.

Clearly state the ‘ds’ on ‘could’, and also in the phrase ‘the rich would live, and the poor would die.’

Make ‘Too late my brothers’ operatic, dramatic, and a total contrast to the gentle start.

After a well-earned break, we came back to Time After Time. Eamonn’s arrangement’s timing is different from Cyndi Lauper’s version, so beware.

Tenors and Bass are moving with the tune but not singing the tune (nothing new there!)

Tenors get their karaoke moment in this song with ‘I will be waiting’.  This is such a rare occurrence, so enjoy it!

Next week we will finish the songs we haven’t completed this week. Watch out for Eamonn’s email with the songs we will be covering next week.

Trillers Perch

Leisure. WH Davis

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

Time goes quickly, so keep practising and see you all next week.