30 April Update

Week 3 of 6 (Half Term 1)

In this week's bulletin, we have:

• Coffee Notices

• A rehearsal recap

• Next performance date

☕ Coffee Notices

We had a wonderful time performing at the Penge Music Festival. A huge well done and thank you to all of our performers. The resonance in the church really made us sound beautiful, and the complexity of the songs we sang shows how far we have come as a choir.

Registration will soon be open for our next performance in Winsford Gardens on June 7th, where we will be singing alongside the Penge Chamber Choir and other local performers (see Dates for the diary below for more details).

🎤 Rehearsal Recap

Warmup

This week, we worked on rounding our sounds using rolling Rs. This can be done using tongue trills ('around the ragged rock' style) or lip trills (blowing raspberries). It is sometimes called a Lip Bubble.

Using a Fish/'Pingu' face and opening the jaw longwise rather than allowing air to escape out of the edges of your mouth will increase sound quality and your ability to extend the exercise to its conclusion.

We used chord notes to create an arpeggio using 'Brr', 'Brre', and 'Brreeee' lip trills. Try to keep your tongue relaxed, causing a concave shape with the tip touching your lower teeth. 

Songs

What Happens When A Woman, Alexandra Olsavsky

For some choir members, this is a familiar song we are revising - to others it is brand new, so we are taking some time to work through it together.

Key notes for all parts

• This song demands structure, power and clear diction.

• The Soprano Melody is the ROOTS of this song. It is often called the DRONE. 

• The Soprano Harmony creates the structure and stability, growing with intensity, poise, and reach.

• The Altos part brings size and depth, supporting the main melody and harmony, giving a voice to the unanswered questions which all women ask.

• With each repetition of the verse ending 'she wears the crown', the intensity and strength should rise.

• It is important to watch Elena to keep the pace of a slow, steady march. It is very easy to lose tempo as the piece has no instrumental and very little time between verses.

• The main verse is repeated in the same way in every grey box - boxes 1, 2, 9, 10 - for all parts.

• 'Wears the crown' - should be sung with surety and clarity in all verses (boxes 3, 6, 10).

• Boxes 7 & 8 ~ there is a half-beat pause before line 4, and no pause before line 5.

• Box 9 ~ This is sung in cannon/round. Sop Melody starts, the Altos join after sop melody have reached the word 'woman', Sop Harmony joins when sop harmony reaches the end of the line (so, after 'power').

Soprano 2 Harmony

• Box 4 ~ 'oh ohhh' should be two clear notes. The first is short and sharp. The second extends 

• Box 5 ~ Has a similar rhythm to the standard verse but is sung higher

• Box 5 ~ line 2 ~ 'beat' is descending over 3 notes

• Box 5 ~ line 4 ~ 'What happens what happens' is sung as the main melody

• Box 6 ~ Has a similar rhythm to the standard verse but is sung high

• Box 6 ~ line 2 ~ 'down' is descending over 3 notes

• Box 6 ~ line 4 ~ 'what happens when she wears the crown' is sung as the main melody

• Box 8 ~ passaggio ~ sung in the rhythm of box 7 but higher

Alto

• Box 3 ~ drops down for the lower harmony

• Box 3 ~ line 1 & 3 ~ sung on one note

• Box 4 ~ line 1 ~ 'oh oh oh' ↗ascends

• Box 4 ~ line 2 ~ '↗oh oh oh oh ↘oh' ascends then drops on note 5

• Box 5 ~ drops down to the lower harmony

• Box 5 ~ line 1 & 3 ~ sung on one note

• Box 5 ~ line 4 ~ 'what happens? What hap-pens?' dramatic drop on 'hap' before going back to the same note.

• Box 6 ~ repeats box 3

• Box 8 ~ lower harmony

Dates for the diary

7th June - Winsford Garden Party

We have also been invited to sing at the Winsford Garden party - an event that will include other vocalists and musicians. Our performance will be sometime between 12.15 -1.30pm. More details to follow.