10 September Update

Week 1 of 6 (Autumn Term H1)

In this week's bulletin, we have:

• Coffee Notices

• A rehearsal recap

• Song facts: Jolene

☕ Coffee Notices

WELCOME BACK!

It was lovely to see everyone back at choir this week and to get our new term underway.

Autumn Term Subs

If you’re paying by subscription this term, you can now find all the details on the Payment page, including the term dates, number of sessions and payment amounts.

When making your payment, please use COTH subs Autumn as the payment reference.

Member Details Check

A gentle reminder to complete the Member Details Check if you haven’t already. It only takes a couple of minutes and helps us make sure the information we hold for everyone is up to date. Click here to update your details

Posters

A big thank you to everyone who has already taken posters and put them up locally. If you know somewhere that would be a good place for one and would like some copies to distribute, please speak to Vicky.

West Norwood Feast

Registration is now open for our next performance at West Norwood Feast. You’ll find all the information and the registration link on the Performing page.

If you’re able to join us, please register as soon as possible so we can start getting an idea of numbers.

🎤 Rehearsal Recap

Song Notes

Jolene

This is a well-known song for many members of the choir, but some of our newer members haven’t sung it with us before.

Until now, we’ve sung Jolene as a two-part Alto/Soprano harmony, but Elena has now introduced a higher Soprano part, a little like we did with Super Trouper. Three Sopranos learned the new part this week, although we would only need one or two voices singing it in a performance to get the right balance.

As Elena explained, the higher Soprano line should have a mournful, almost ‘crying’ quality, reflecting the pleading nature of the song.

Altos: The opening chorus and all subsequent choruses are sung in harmony. In the current Music Library recording, the first verse isn’t harmonised. Elena will re-record this when she has a chance so that the recording matches what we are now singing.

The new higher Soprano part will also be added to the Music Library when it’s ready.

Also for altos - the ending: In the final ‘Jolene... Jolene’, the second ‘Jolene’ drops down. This will also be corrected in the updated recording.

Perfect

Please make sure you have the most up-to-date version of the lyrics for Perfect.

The opening section, from ‘Made a wrong turn...’ through to ‘look, I’m still around’, is sung entirely in unison. We don’t split into the two-part Alto/Soprano harmony until the first ‘Pretty, pretty please’.

Altos: If there are sections you’d like to work on at home, have a look in our WhatsApp Community group ‘A is for Alto’. There are several short, clipped sections of Perfect there – including the rap – which are really useful for focused practice without having to find your way through the full recording.

Song facts: Jolene

Written and recorded by Dolly Parton, Jolene was released in 1973 and went on to become one of her most famous songs. It reached No. 1 on the US country chart and was also Dolly's first Top 10 hit in the UK.

Despite its catchy tune, Jolene is really quite a vulnerable song. Rather than being angry with the other woman, Dolly's narrator is pleading with her. She openly admits how beautiful Jolene is and how frightened she is that she could take away the man she loves. That mixture of admiration, jealousy and desperation is a big part of what makes the song so memorable.

Our COTH arrangement gives us another way to bring out that story. We're singing it in three parts – Alto, Soprano and a higher Soprano line. As Elena explained in rehearsal, that top part should have an almost mournful, 'crying' quality to it. Rather than simply being a pretty harmony sitting above the tune, it can help us capture some of the desperation behind the words.

There's also an interesting contrast between the music and the story. The rhythm keeps moving and gives the song plenty of energy, while the repeated calling of 'Jolene' becomes increasingly pleading. It's one of those songs that can sound deceptively simple until you really start thinking about what the singer is saying.

More than 50 years after it was first released, Jolene has become a genuine Dolly classic – covered and reinterpreted by artists in all sorts of different styles. Not bad for a song built around one name and one very awkward love triangle!

Dates for the diary

Sunday 4 October - West Norwood Feast

We are back on the church steps at St Luke’s Church for West Norwood Feast.

COTH performance 2.00 - 2.30pm (see Performing page for more detais and to register for the event).