What a great rehearsal last night with Eleanor Rigby, Lean on Me and What’ll I Do completing all the songs for Act One of our concert.
Not easy for the majority of the choir who haven’t sung these songs before as they were last performed over five years ago!
Don’t sit back and get complacent, though. We have been taken through all the songs and our respective vocal parts, so we know the right notes to sing, but there is more to it than that, as you all know.
Use Dropbox to perfect your notes; go over the parts where you know you are unsure and you will gain confidence in your ability. However, Dropbox is just a tool to use to learn to sing the right notes in the right order. It is very robotic and the performance direction will come from Elliot.
Remember to take a pencil with you to rehearsals and mark your music score with the directions given. There are too many songs to remember without making notes!
Also familiarise yourself with the words as you practise at home and you will be able to look up at Elliot for his conducting skills with the cut offs; some will be short some will be long. Keep watching!
Eleanor Rigby was the first challenge.
This is a song by The Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with Yellow Submarine. The song was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney.
Eleanor Rigby continued the transformation of the Beatles from a mainly rock and roll- and pop-oriented act to a more experimental, studio-based band, with a double string quartet arrangement by George Martin and lyrics providing a narrative on loneliness. It broke sharply with popular music conventions, both musically and lyrically.
The verses are very staccato, so it is important to lengthen the vowels as much as possible, so the words can be clearly heard telling the story.
The entry lines are staggered throughout the song, so it is critical you know when your voice line starts.
If you come it at the right time, it will all be ok!
The Altos are challenged with an octave and a half range!
Next up was Lean on Me an arrangement by Elliot Clay.
This is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bill Withers. It was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album, Still Bill.
Bill Withers' childhood in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, was the inspiration for Lean on Me, which he wrote after he had moved to Los Angeles and found himself missing the strong community ethic of his hometown. He had lived in a decrepit house in the poor section of his town.
Lean on Me, is a song that acknowledges the struggles we all face in life but emphasizes the importance of relying on each other for strength and support. It's about reciprocation, and the idea that help can only be granted if someone is willing to accept it. “Please swallow your pride,” Withers implores. “If I have things that you can borrow.”
A simple song with a tricky arrangement. The Sops don’t get the tune very often, which is most unusual!
Altos start us off and must remember not to take a breath after ‘…we all have sorrow, But…’ with a strong ‘B’ at the beginning at a crisp ‘T’ at the end.
Everyone please put a ‘Z’ in your ‘Pleaze! Swallow your pride ….’
These are all the htings you should be marking on your music score!
Then we have the syncopation section; the Tenors sing, ‘I just might have a problem ….’ And Altos and Sops sing just one word ‘Might’ which comes a fraction after the Tenors ‘Might’.
Get ‘might’ right!
After a short break we went through the last song What’ll I Do a song by Irvine Berlin which was published in early 1924 and sold more than a million copies of the sheet music.
A very simple, repetitive song which needs a strong ‘D’ on Dm..’ and needs to be a little faster than the tempo in Dropbox, so it doesn’t drag and helps to keep it bright.
The Parting Glass is in good shape as Elliot is now giving us performance guidance.
Please Note:
Next week we are rehearsing in the Artisan Clubhouse (the wooden building to the right as you drive in the car park). The entrance is at the back of the building.Bring all Act One music with you.
Bring all you music with you next week.
