What an interesting evening we had; thanks once again to Pete for stepping in on about 24 hour’s notice as Bernard was unfortunately still testing positive – we wish Bernard back to full health soon, and look forward to seeing him on Saturday. Well done to our first candidate, and to you all, particularly in having to react to the sectionals situation. We look forward to Wednesday when we welcome our second candidate.
IMPORTANT – Details for the Music Festival are below (please do read them)!
What we did on 02.03.22
Great work on the Kyrie and opening section of the Gloria – these are in a really good position for Saturday’s Music Festival. For those who missed the rehearsal, but will be singing on Saturday, please do have a look at the Kyrie and up to page 16 of the Gloria to make sure you’re all really happy with it all.
What we will do on 09.03.22
Following our inevitable success in the Music Festival, we’ll be welcoming our second potential new accompanist to the piano, and they’ll be working with us during the rehearsal as part of the selection process. The schedule for the rehearsal will be:
19:30-19:45 – Ben and Terry will do a warm up and quick sing of the Sanctus to get everyone going.
19:45-20:15 – Our second candidate will accompany the Credo, page 60 to 67.
20:20-20:35 – Our second candidate will lead the Sopranos and Altos in a sectional on the Gloria, beginning to page 16.
Terry will take the Tenors and Basses through the fugue in the Gloria, page 33 to 43.
20:40-20:55 – Our second candidate will lead the Tenors and Basses in a sectional on the Gloria, beginning to page 16.
Terry will take the Sopranos and Altos through the fugue in the Gloria, page 33 to 43.
21:00-21:30 – Ben and Bernard rehearse the full choir through the fugue in the Gloria, page 33 to 48.
I hope this is all okay, and we’re very grateful to you all for your help in finding our new accompanist.
Details for the Chipping Norton Music Festival
I’m so delighted we’ve had so many people sign up for this (around 55!) – the sound you all made at the end of Wednesday’s rehearsal was brilliant!
To reiterate some details:
Dress Code: All Black.
Timings: Arrive latest 15:45 for a 16:00 session start – if you’re able to, go and support any of the other events that day, in particular the other senior choir session starting at 13:30 (all sessions are free for participants!!)
Acafellas: Stick around after you’ve sung to hear me and some friends sing some silly barbershop.
Covid Advice: The Festival Committee have asked that we please test before attending, and mask up when moving around.
Any other questions please don’t hesitate to email Eric or myself. See many of you on Saturday!
Piece of the Week
My piece of the week was actually sent to me by Brian – a work I hadn’t heard for a few years, and one that is so striking in it’s composition: Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum. Composed in 1984, it’s peculiar instrumentation, featuring a prepared piano and compositional make-up stand it out from other settings of the text. Pärt uses his own compositional technique of Tintinnabuli to great effect in the work; a form of minimalistic composition where one voice arpeggiates a triad, and the second voice moves in a stepwise motion, creating a distinct harmonic language. Possibly the most famous use of this is in Spiegel im Spiegel.
Look at that, two pieces for the price of one!...
Marked Scores
As always, the marked scores are here. If you haven’t yet put the markings in, I’d greatly appreciate it if you would.
Spotify Link
And the Spotify playlist is HERE.
See some of you on Saturday, and the rest on Wednesday.
– Ben