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.
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