An interesting and illuminating evening in the downstairs bar, where the lovely staff at RMS had set us up with extra spotlights. Some choir members had their lights of various guises so we could all see what we were doing. We just had to convert the sight into sound!
"Someone To Watch Over Me" is a 1926 song by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Howard Dietz. It was created for the musical Oh, Kay!, initially sung by Gertrude Lawrence on Broadway while holding a rag doll. The show ran over 200 performances in New York and gained acclaim in London in 1927, with the song as its centrepiece. Lawrence later released the song as a single, reaching Number 2 on the charts in 1927.
In 1926 and 1927, Gertrude Lawrence performed a solo scene in Act II, wearing a maid's uniform and singing to a rag doll. In 1934, George Gershwin referred to the doll as male and noted that he found it in a Philadelphia toy shop during the play's development. He gave it to Lawrence to enhance her character's vulnerability, which surprised the director.
It was originally a fast, jazzy tune, but in the 1930s and 1940s, singers recorded it as a slower ballad, which became the standard. More than 1,800 recordings of the song have been released, almost all of them in the slow ballad style by various artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand and Willie Nelson.
Elliot’s arrangement is straightforward, with lots of repetition and jazzy-sounding notes, which you will hear when playing the piano. Listening carefully will help you find your notes.
Look out for the rests in the music score; they are different in each verse. Use them as a place to take a quick breath.
Sops, be ready to come in at the start, as there is no delay after the short intro.
In the first verse, it is ‘…who’ll watch over me’ NOT ‘…to watch over me’. Who, who will it be? De Niro!
Keep it clean, and do not slide!
Sop 2s, after ‘long’ of ‘longing to be…’, you start cascading down in semi-tones.
As the melody descends, it tends to go flat, so keep it bright – smiling usually helps!
This song should feel tenderness throughout, so Tenors and Basses don’t sound too macho at your entrance.
The little echo of ‘Watch over me’ makes it interesting, with a schmooze sound, as if you have something to say.
Tenors and basses have that sob sound in your voice when singing about little lambs, making it smooth like caramel!
‘I know I could always be good to one who’ll watch over me’ – no breathing! Get used to this, as Eamonn is not fond of us breathing either!
Try to breathe only once in the bridge section, after ‘handsome’ if possible.
Near the end, a gentle crescendo should be from ‘Follow my lead’ to ‘Oh.’ Then, there should be a definite gap and silence after a strong sounding ‘Oh’ and before ‘How I need…’, which is gentle.
Watch out for the dunce hole at the end after ‘watch’ and then a smooth ‘over me’.
And so It Goes needs to be kept with long phrases and no gaps between the verses.
Remember, ‘lovers’ is quick.
In the chorus, make a ‘z’ sound at the end of ‘rose’, ‘goes’, and ‘suppose’ and place them cleanly on the beat so there is no hissing.
Build up to ‘Silence’ in ‘and if my silence’; it should be a surprise! Then, leave a gap of silence for two beats before dipping down to ‘made you leave.’
Listen to the tracks and familiarise yourself with the rhythms. The aim is to sing this unaccompanied, which will sound fantastic if we all do our homework.
Walking on Sunshine needs to be bright. You need to constantly feel the song's pulse, which will help you keep in rhythm.
In the chorus, ‘I’m walking on sunshine who oh oh’ should be bouncy and off the beat.
‘Don’t it feel good’ comes in quickly, so be ready!
We only have three more weeks to work on our songs, and another new Gershwin song
dropping into Dropbox. Please bring ALL the songs with you, as we will be perfecting them for a little concert on Elliot’s last night with us at the end of March.
We then need to impress Eamonn at the beginning of April – No pressure!
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