|
Greetings, Singers!
I'll bet you were as surprised as I was when we sailed right through the Brahms waltzes last week! I sure thought having the full piano would throw you off, but that certainly wasn't the case. I'm really pleased with that first venture: of course there's plenty to do, but we're in good shape for this point in the term. We could have benefited from several times through the last few choruses, but mainly I wanted to see where everything stood.
Next time we'll spend some time before Amy arrives in addressing the laundry list of Soprano and Alto issues. There have been so many absences in those two sections (9 in the altos, 7 in the sopranos last week alone!) that it's no wonder there's a lot to clarify: one group goes out sick, they return as another bunch stays home! We haven't had full sections for weeks. Thankfully your leaders take good notes, and you send notes to them as well; that plan has resulted in far fewer interruptions in rehearsals, and has allowed me to study and plan better.
We'll all work on the 8th waltz, to get more comfortable with that nest of accidentals on the second page.
We made huge progress on Loch Lomond last week, too! The rhythmic strength is beginning to emerge. Sopranos, we're not quite there with your pattern, but it's much closer. It's by far the trickiest, so you can expect there to be more time devoted to it.
I think we'll open the rehearsal with Amor, working especially on the difficult middle section, in which the sopranos and altos sing while the tenors and basses zone out on a hum.....
Did you notice how strong and secure the tenors were? That's because they had a sectional at Rebecca's house one night last week! They're our only section that can fit into a living room.....Ah, the power of cookies.....The church doesn't have suitable rooms for sectionals, and furthermore the only other keyboard is of no real use, so we can't split up as often as I'd like.
You'll notice I've not mentioned the basses and baritones: that's because they seem to be doing just fine. I hate to say that, because they get such big heads, but Stuart sent me a laundry list, I addressed it in rehearsal, and there's not been any more list. Oh wait! I didn't get back to him last week when I asked him to wait for a minute.
In short, we're plugging along happily. Please, for heaven's sake, get/stay healthy, whichever applies, and let's have our full choir together as we proceed toward April!
Your friend and Drill Sergeant,
| 
