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Post date: Apr 16, 2013 6:46:35 PM
Good morning, everyone,
I hope you're all still basking in the afterglow of Sunday afternoon's highly successful concert. It was immeasurably better than our Saturday evening opening (which was respectable) and every member of the audience with whom I spoke was impressed, entertained and effusive with praise. I think there are many, many reasons for each one of you to be proud of your contribution to our collaboration! A few of you made major strides toward watching your conductor much more consistently and this yielded some great results. The 3-4 four of you who are still "deeply in love with your scores" and paying little or no attention to what I'm offering to guide the ensemble are continuing to impact our performance negatively, and, once again, I implore you to "kick it up a notch" and join the rest of us. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
Despite our success, there are quite a few goals for us to continue working toward in preparation for our final performance in the series. MOST IMPORTANTLY...PLEASE...do not neglect your personal preparation in the days ahead! REVIEW YOUR MUSIC DAILY! Our rehearsal process is NOT finished, and we owe it to both our audience and ourselves to make the last performance the best one of all. This coming Sunday's performance will, in fact, be professionally recorded and it would be a genuine shame to have our "preserved" performance be of lower quality than what we've done thus far. Please, consider the following specific issues, (READ IT ALL) as you continue to work on your music in the days ahead:
1) Another Op'nin, Another Show - Better diction, please....particularly from the men. The piece moves quickly and humorous lines will be "lost" without those all-important consonants....another Pain, where the ulcers Grow, etc. Lastly, don't forget the rhythmic/metric issue in the final phrase...THREE beats on the second syllable of the word "another". A few of you are still slightly behind the beat in this spot...just enough to make the ensemble sound imprecise. FIX IT, please.
2) Stomp Your Foot- A good solid opening, gentlemen, but please, watch me more carefully for the crescendi of each time you hold the word "stomp." For all singers, the diction on this piece seemed to be somewhat "on and off" in its precision. EVERY word must be understood. Again, the key is the consonants. Lastly, the top sopranos were a bit under pitch on the high b of the final chord. Please, don't respond to this by pushing harder to reach the note, but rather by making sure you have sufficient air and releasing the note, so that it soars upward and puts the silvery shimmer on top of the ensemble palate.
3) At The River - This was rather gorgeously sung, but the balance between sections can still be improved. Please, know when your part is supportive as opposed to featured and render your dynamic approach accordingly.
4) Zion's Walls - Again, quite well sung, but with some balance issues. Please, let the Basses be heard when they have the melody. Also, Soprano 2 needs to be stronger on the F in the final chord. You're allowing Soprano 1's to "steal your thunder", and your note is more important to balance the chord.
5) Ave Maria - Thank you for paying attention to my dynamic guidance and creating a lovely legato line. Based on the recording I heard, ladies could use a bit more arched palate (created on the inhale) and an aural image of warm, womanly, reassuring tone.
6) We've Only Just Begun - Bravo, Gene! Beautiful vowels and nice vocal line. Altos...YOU MUST SING LOUDER ON THE FIRST RENDERING OF "SHARING HORIZONS THAT ARE NEW TO US." The other sections were trying to be sensitive to the balance, but your sound was simply under-projected and almost inaudible at this spot.
7) For All We Know - A lovely, sincere presentation, Lessley! Thank you. Chorale members...we seemed to get a little "fuzzy" with our rhythms in the last 15-20 measures of the piece. The solution...WATCH ME!
8) Beguine the Beguine - Rick, your solo was just GORGEOUS and Chorale, your "back-up" singing was warm, sensitive and beautifully balanced. HOWEVER...there were quite a number of rhythymic inaccuracies (changing eighth note pick-ups to quarter notes and sloppy syncopations) and these need to be fixed. The very end, though, with our "sudden stop" was very well done and you all were absolutely in sync with my conducting intention.
9) You're The Top - Some of you still don't know the words and you're "muddying up" the sound for the rest of us. ALL SINGERS could do much better energizing the initial consonants of many words...Ghandi, Dam at Boulder, Mae West's SHoulder, etc.
10) Blow, Gabriel, Blow - Both soloists did a fine job! Steve, please, don't "shush" the improvised babbling quite as soon as you did. Allow yourself to get "irritated" that they're interrupting your sermon, and then cut them off. CHORALE members...you are not supposed to sing with Steve at the end of the solo...Men enter on "so I said, Satan farewell". Ladies, not until "And now I'm all ready to fly...." FIX THIS!
11) Rainy Days and Mondays - Generally well sung. Altos, if you have more tone to give in the beginning when you drop down an octave, please, do, as it adds such warmth to the overall sound.
12) Superstar - TENORS....I still want more of you when you have the melody in the first chorus. Tenors so rarely get the melody. Please, take advantage of it, and convince me that "There's NO getting over that rainbow," won't you???
13) You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To - REALLY great job by both soloists...Jazzy Judi and Swingin' Scott! You both "sold" the opening of the number very effectively. Chorale, you did a great job throughout. I LOVED the super-soft, energized final line, because you kept your consonants forte. Bravo!
14) Every Time We Say Goodbye - Denis, you're an orchestra unto yourself. Thanks for supporting the Chorale so sensitively and allowing us to have such a wide dynamic range and such freedom of phrasing.
Chorale...PURIFY your vowels throughout...Altos, when you sing your final moving eighth notes on the word time, keep the vowel "ah" until the "eem" closes the word on the cut-off.
15) Just One of Those Things - In general, well sung, but I would appreciate better attention throughout the opening, and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...review the section with the "bump and grind" swung quarter notes. MANY of made incorrect entrances in this section and it sounded rather messy throughout. Gentlemen, better diction, please. Whose salary??? I certainly didn't hear Garbo... Ladies, it's "an angel, simply too, too, too DiVEEN! This is funny stuff...it it's understood.
16) I've Got You Under My Skin - Watch me better throughout, but particularly in the final two pages, where the dynamic scheme seemed to be completely ignored.
17) Anything Goes - Michael, you've never sounded better AND you acted the role terrifically! Chorale, better diction, PLEASE. Your first couple of lines were EXCELLENT and then you seemed to get lazy through the rest of the piece.
18) Nella Fantasia - Brava, Revae! An angel in our midst. Chorale...a beautiful piece, beautifully sung. Congratulations!
Again, PLEASE, give your music as much attention as possible between now and Sunday. You may trust that I shall do the same. Looking forward to making our last concert of the series our best concert of the series...
T.B.
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