Hi everyone -- please note, there were two new short pieces handed out last week -- if you missed rehearsal, make sure you get them next week (they are "Joy to the World" and "A v Jerusalime"). Also, Fred asked us all to please write in word accents on the Zwei Slawische Psalms (they are in the
Cyrillic that's written below each staff -- just transfer them to the alto line).

See you Tuesday!

Deborah

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ALTO NOTES
For November 14, 2006 rehearsal

General notes/calendar items:

· There were two new short pieces handed out this week – Joy to the World and A v Jerusalime. Please get them next week if you missed rehearsal this week!
·
· Please mark measure numbers in any pieces of music that don’t already include them. I’ll use measure numbers in these notes (e.g., “M13” means measure 13).
· Please bring your full Rachmaninoff score to every rehearsal – we’ll be starting to sing through selected pieces besides movement #6.

Ear Training Immersion Exercises:

· No exercises from this book this week.

Schutz, Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (Magnificat)

· The Georgetown Chamber Singers will be singing choir II – all of us will be singing choir I.

M115 – practice the rhythm in this passage (through 121) – mark in note values/beats.
M221 – don’t slow down/drag
M260 – more alto in this chord; we are the 3rd and should come out

Tcherepnin, Alleluia

M15 – make sure you are singing F natural and not F# on the “ia” in this measure

Gretchaninoff, Voskliknite Ghospodevi

M19 – rounded sound (this is generally what Fred wants throughout the piece)

Pärt, Magnificat

We rehearsed this some, but no new markings – Fred was mostly using it to try out different soprano soloists.

Pärt, Zwei slawische Psalmen

· The word/syllable accents are important in this otherwise pretty undifferentiated sound. Please mark them in if you haven’t already.
The Cyrillic script at the bottom of each staff has the accents marked in, and you can transfer them to our line.

pp.4-5 – note that the accent is on the “lu” of al-lee-lu-ya.
p.8 at rehearsal number 4 – Alto IIs – be careful to keep the pitch high on the E natural on “tye”

Liljestrand, Christmas Triad

1. Puer Natus Est Nobis
M42 – hold the “sus” until the downbeat of M43

2. O Magnum Mysterium
M17 – no breath between “TEM” AND “IN”
M28 – our closing G# on “tum” should be higher, but still gentle and straight tone (not much vibrato)

3. Hodie Christus Natus Est
M20 – there is a break at the end of the measure – it will effectively be like a third quarter-note in the measure. So beat 1 is “cen,” beat 2 is “tes,” beat 3 is a rest.
M23 – pure vowels on “Deo” – it should sound like “Deh-aw” with no diphthongs

Rachmaninoff, Bogoroditse Devo (movement #6, p. 32, of the All-Night Vigil)

No new markings.

Joy to the World!

· Verse 1 and Verse 2 will be in parts (SAT. On verse 3, altos and basses will sing the melody while sopranos and tenors sing the descant.
Verse 2, bottom score of p.202 – please pronounce “and” fully, with a nice vowel.

A v Jerusalime

· We will sing the Chorus parts only (a couple of soloists will lead in with the first 2 measures). We’ll repeat it several times with solo verses in between.
· The text means “Rejoice, earth! God rejoices in his Son, God is one.”
Fred: You gotta love Russian where they rejoice in a minor key.

Bottom score, third measure – watch the rhythm – it goes into slower quarter-notes here.