Another great turn out with more new people which is wonderful.
As our designated Charity this year is SPEAR, Lean on Me seemed the right choice for our Winter concert.
Does anyone know some Altos to swell their ranks? We want you!
The Tenors and Basses have now been officially designated their parts and the seating arrangement altered into blocks which will help with the balance of sound and help each section to hear each other and stay on their part.
The warm ups are not just to get our vocal chords warm, as most of us have been talking all day, but to practise techniques like keeping notes crisp and clean and not sliding. With 40 voices sliding it makes Elliot feel seasick! However, there are times some of us are permitted to slide as in Mr Blue Sky.
Happy Together is a song written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon and recorded by American rock band The Turtles. Bonner and Gordon composed the song while still members of The Magicians. The lyrics, despite the joyous sound of the music, express an unrequited, imagined love.
They recorded a demo consisting of a simple arrangement of acoustic guitar and hand claps. The demo was offered to and rejected by a dozen artists, due to its primitive sound. The Turtles, who had come from commercial and personal problems, found the demo and, thinking the song a potential hit, initially rehearsed it in live performances. They recorded their version in the Sunset Sound studio, with the newly-arrived bassist Chip Douglas arranging the horns and backing vocals.
The In Flagrante version needs to sound clipped with a military style sound in the verses, while the counterparts over the top sound angelic.
Over exaggerate the short clipped notes and it will sound absolutely perfect to the listener.
In the chorus, the 2nd sops and altos sing the same note ‘can see’ and ‘no bod’ and remembering this will help to anchor the harmonies.
The Ba ba ba section is like a brass instrumental. Take a listen to your parts in Dropbox and practise at home for when we revisit this song in the future.
The Parting Glass is a Scottish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It has also long been sung in Ireland, where it remains popular and has strongly influenced how it is often sung today.
It was purportedly the most popular parting song sung in Scotland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne
The earliest known printed version was as a broadside in the 1770s and it first appeared in book form in Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, etc. by Herd.
The Parting Glass was re-introduced to mid-20th century audiences by the recordings and performances of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. The rendition by the Clancys and Makem has been described as "by all accounts... the most influential" of the many recorded versions.
In Flagrante is going to perform this song acapella. Quite a daunting prospect as there is nowhere to hide.
Each voice part weaves in and out of each other, so it is important to listen to the other parts as you sing and not shut your ears to your part only and just go for it!
As there is no underlying accompaniment, it will actually help you to find your notes by listening to everyone else.
2nd sopranos have a challenging part, but they will do their homework, along with the rest of us, and once the simple repetitive notes have been learnt, we will then work on the performance and timing. It is going to sound absolutely glorious!
After raising a glass in the break, we returned to Mr Blue Sky.
Mr Blue Sky is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne. Promotional copies were released on blue vinyl, like the album from which the single was issued. Due to its popularity and frequent use in multiple television shows and movies, it has sometimes been described as the band's signature song.
This is a song that needs a lot of stamina.
It is quite repetitive and needs high energy for eleven pages of music!!
1st and 2nd Sops get to slide their notes in this song. Sorry Altos, Tenors and Basses, you are not allowed to join them!
The Ba bas at the end needs a little homework.
Doing your homework is so important, not just to give you the satisfaction of knowing you are singing the right notes, but you are doing it for In Flagrante. We are a team and if we all work hard and pull together,we all gain confidence and what a wonderful sound we’ll make.
Next week we will go through Lean on Me,
Eleanor Rigby and
What’ll I Do
However, bring ALL your music with you each week and be there for 19:15 if possible.
Keep up the good work. We are going in the right direction.
