O Church Arise, Kyrie Eleison, When Trials Come, Hear the Call of the Kingdom

O Church Arise V.3 S/A only

O Church Arise Altos only page 3, bar 65 to the End.

O Church Arise V.3 T/B only

O Church Arise SATB a capella (BEAUTIFUL!)

Kyrie Eleison TB

Kyrie Eleison S/A

Kyrie Eleison S/A till 2:30 and then it's TB and finally SATB (the 'ooh and ah' part).  The 'ooh and ah' section top of page 3 (V.3) starts on a F or an A for all of us!  Tenors and Sopranos sing an A an octave apart and Bass and Altos sing an F one octave apart.

Kyrie Eleison * The last chorus on page 4  * S/A first and then T/B at 1:34

And then the same section again *sigh*   SATB together with piano...

When Trials Come V.4 & V.5 with SATB

Hear the Call of the Kingdom with the recording (in a different key even!)
The recording ends differently from our music so it remains to be seen if
the Tag on page 4 will be used in concert or not...

Rehearsal Reminder

Hi beloved choir peeps.
Here's a gentle nudge to mark these dates into your summer schedule and memory - please do your utmost to commit to the remaining dates.

• Thursday (in two sleeps!) July 25
• Wednesday August 14
• Thursday August 29

I know many of you are keeping up on your own but ultimately, we need to learn to sing together and develop choral community.

This Thursday we'll be tackling these songs:

• Gethsemane (To See the King of Heaven Fall)
• The Power of the Cross (Oh to See the Dawn)
• Kyrie Eleison
• When Trials Come
• O Church Arise

I hope to post an instructional video of Kyrie and When Trials Come on the morrow.

I had a most delightful interruption of plans this week in the birth of a new grandson and the subsequent care of his siblings....

*sigh*  Such a nice interruption it is.

July 10 Mass Rehearsal

Facts and Stats:

• The Getty Choir is 135 voices strong.  
• 47 men and 88 women.
• We represent at least six different denominations.
• Some of us read music but most of us don't.
• We sound good awesome despite all.
• Attending Mass (rehearsals:) strengthens ability and confidence.
• Small group practises are easy to organize and a lot of fun too.

Kyrie Eleison Verse 3 bar 45-51

Some things to remember when singing through this one:

• "Ooh" is not "Oh".  If your lips aren't pursed out like a little guppy, chances are you aren't making the right sound. 
• "Ooh" sounds like Eeewww (think brussel-sprouts for supper and you'll get it).    
• Conversely, a good sounding "Ah" requires a dropped jaw -- I'll be looking for a "drop your jaw" kind of Aw at our next rehearsal.
• Listen to your recording and copy Kristyn for "Kyrie Eleison" and "Christe Eleison"and exaggerate pronouncing all the consonants such as the letters Kand T. 

I interject with a rambling thought...
Beloved choir peeps?  Please keep in mind that we are background vocals.
As such, stressing overmuch about every little musical nuance will only rob us of the pleasure (and the whole point) this unique opportunity presents to us.
For a thousand tongues (or more than TWO thousand + tongues) to sing these wonderful songs together is simply a great gift from a Great Gifter.  Let's not lose sight of it.
My foremost concern is to get you all comfortable enough with your notes to be able to look up from the page more and more and perhaps eventually, even to sing some of this from memory!

When Trials Come starting at Verse 3 to the end.

I had some fun at home playing our score along with the listening CD and realized we practised it way too slow.  Metronome torture here we come.

In fact, I'll post a video of this song (track 9 on your listening CD) playing on my computer and me pointing out where our parts come in.... it'll be as close as we get to singing with Kristyn till concert day.  I won't be able to finish this till tomorrow though so stay tuned.

Hear the Call of the Kingdom    A cappella = without accompaniment

This is good stuff - a little"stiff"perhaps.
(according to the clapper/rapper near the iPad? :)
Wait till you see the choreography she'd like to introduce!  

Hear the Call - conclusion from bar Ch.3 on page 3

There's a rule of thumb in choral singing:  

never ever repeat phrases exactly the same way.

For example, this song closes with "Salvation in Jesus Name" 

three times in a row.

Sung exactly the same way each time is not only boring but worse, will not 

take the words off the page, a critical point if message is important to us!   

One of the ways to remedy that is to add a gradually increasing intensity 

to your voice aka 'timbre'.   

Looking up from your music will draw in those who listen and watch.
I cannot over-state the importance of looking up and into the faces of your audience.
It is an obvious means of connecting.
Ever had a conversation with someone looking elsewhere the entire time?
Yep.  I rest my case.

The more we sing together, the more comfortable we become with our places, the richer our experience, the greater His Glory.  

I'm no mathematician, but I've seen plenty evidence of this type of formula at work and how it ultimately adds up.

Enjoy this summer time.

Keep singing.

See you in a couple weeks D.V.

Next Rehearsal Deets

Greetings to all!  It appears that many of you have been making yourself at home here at the choir blog.

I am grateful for this as it relieves the traffic to my email address 

and the subsequent time it takes to respond to them all!

Having said that, I am still welcoming a steady stream of new tenors & basses to the choir and would appreciate hearing from anyone who still finds himself to be without a music binder and listening CD.  

I make them to order nowadays.  Email me please :)

Thanks as well for participating in the democratic process by voting on the side bar of the blog.  

The winning date? (according to the 56 voters) 

Monday, June 17th 2013 at Rehoboth Church from 7:00pm - 9:30pm   

I hope to see most of you then.  

The importance of these monthly mass gatherings cannot be over-stated.  

I trust you recognize that on your own.  

Be sure to submit your email address in the side bar to your right -- the one that says Follow by Email.  This ensures that you will receive email notice whenever something new shows up on the blog.  Sometime soon, I hope to be able to publish some rehearsal tracks on the blog with the help of a volunteer from each SATB section.  I can see a great benefit in providing choir members the luxury of hearing and singing along with their own voice part in virtuality (did I just make up a word?) but not at the expense of singing in community.   I know our comrades from Providence Reformed Collegiate are kept busy with examinations this month and I wish them success - also as they rehearse with their own director for June.
Ah yes!  That means I am in need of two volunteers.  One fellow to do what Evelyn did for us last time, taking the guys downstairs for their own jam session...
AND a rehearsal pianist to help me with the final hour when we're all together singing whilst I attempt to direct you.  Hopefully I can sweet-talk my friend into perching in the balcony again with her iPad to snag more of those awesome audio files.  What say Lilly?  Pleeease?

Tentative schedule for next Monday June 17

1.     North Winds (vocalizing)
2.     Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed
16.   To See The King of Heaven Fall (Gethsemane)
20.   Holy Spirit (Bar 70 to End)
9.     Kyrie Eleison (time permitting)

Tip of the Week:
Mark or number your music with tabs or post-it flags for easy referencing.
I haven't pulled a single hair out of my head since marking mine with these lovely coloured flags.

I think that's all I have to say.
Probably not.
But this will do till the next time.
Shalom and sleep sweet.