To all our new members and old.
A blast from the past, Frost on Sunday
It was wonderful to hear these familiar words, “Good Evening”, from our returning Musical Director, Eamonn O’Dwyer, as well as being able to Trill on a Tuesday again after our long Christmas break.
Inevitably, we started with the excruciating tongue circles (for those of you who have not met Eamonn before, be warned - this happen every week!). This was followed by a warm up going up and down the scales and the evitable tongue twister about a chip shop in space that sells spaceship shaped chips!
We were gently led into A New Year Carol where we all sang the tune to give Eamonn an idea of how we sound now that our numbers have increased.
While we were going through this simple song, the new General Manager of Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club, Mark Gaily, came and introduced himself to us. However, he said he doesn’t have the voice to join us. I’m sure he’ll look in on us again and he will hear how we improve as the term progresses.
Monday, Monday. 2001. Not too sure about this version.
The next challenge was to sing Monday, Monday to Eamonn. He was very excited as he had arranged this piece, but has never heard us singing it. Well, we sang it from start to finish and was told that it was “not all bad!” Then it was broken down into individual voices and worked on.
The ‘Ba das’ need to sound like we are sequined backing singers with a bit of pizzaz and give the ‘Ohs and Ahs’ some ebb and flow.
The words need to be sharper – apparently, we sounded as if we were stoned! Having made these adjustments and singing it through again, we were not quite performance level, but was sounding ‘nifty’.
A new song, Windmills of your Mind was next on the agenda.
The song was introduced in the film The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
In the original 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair, the song is heard – sung by Noel Harrison – during opening credits and during the film, in a scene in which the character, Thomas Crown flies a glider at the glider airport in Salem, New Hampshire: having edited the rough cut for this scene using the Beatles track "Strawberry Fields Forever", producer/director Norman Jewison commissioned an original song be written for the glider scene which would reference the ambivalent feelings of Thomas Crown as he engages in a favourite pastime while experiencing the tension of preparing to commit a major robbery.
The lyric written was stream-of-consciousness as if the song had to be a mind trip of some kind – The title was a line at the end of a section. The song was restructured so that the line appeared again at the end. The thinking was liking it to when you try to fall asleep at night and you can't turn your brain off and thoughts and memories tumble.
Eamonn’s arrangement uses the quick flowing music in the piano part while the lyrics float gently over the top and overlap with the ends of the words extended on the consonant e.g. wheellllll with the emphasis on the ‘L’ rather that the ‘E’ and is the same for the other endings. You will see this is showing in the words in the music score.
Punch out the first notes on the phrases of the sensational lyrics to give contrast. It shouldn’t sound like Daleks - it should sound gorgeous!
Just in case someone has never heard a Dalek!!!
When singing ‘space’ keep it open with a smile and remember space is an open place😊. Think of apples floating around in space.
As usual, do your homework with the vocal parts in Dropbox. Go over your individual voice part and then practice what you’ve learned with the Full voice part.
PLEASE NOTE: Next Tuesday 24 Jan we will be rehearsing in the Artisan Clubhouse which is the wooden building on the right hand side as you enter the car park. Wear warm clothes!
A good start and a good evening!
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