Alto Rehearsal Notes
January 28, 2025
2025 Spring Alto 1, Alto 2 Rehearsal Notes
If you missed a rehearsal, search for the date you missed to see which pieces were rehearsed. Questions or additional notes, please don’t hesitate to contact Liz Berk berkden@comcast.net or Cynthia Sorn cls208@comcast.net. Music below not in concert order.
1. Concord Fragments
I. In Some Dry, Dry Earth
1/14, 1/21
– M4: “Dry” is “drawh.”
– M5: “Earth” is “eahth.” No “r.”
– M10: Forte.
– M11: Change starting quarter note to eighth note, eighth rest.
1/28
– M35, 36: Note altos, S2 unison.
– M38: “remembrance” is “reh-mem-brawhns.” Just slight R.
– M38: breath after “discoverer”
– M48: Same C as in 47.
– M50: “reappear” is “reh-ah-pearh.”
– M53: “Ah” is “aw.”
II. This Day I Am Eighteen
III. Walden
2. The Moon Bridge
1/14
– Mark “end” on bottom page 9 so you don’t look for the “next” page!
3. Night
1/14, 1/21
– M24: Note that the F is same note as page turn.
– M31: Low G-natural.
– M33: MF.
– M34: Breath after “shades.”
– M37-42: For now, stagger breathing.
– M42: Breath after “track.”
– M49: Breath after “themselves.”
1/28
– M23-25: “White” is “hawaht.” No breath. Right in the F on the next page.
– M26: Watch the cutoff.
– M28: No breath.
– M34: Breath after “shades.”
4. To Sit and Dream
1/14, 1/21
– Note first and second pages are unison.
– “About” is “ah-bawt.”
– M13: Louder.
– M15: Note A-flat.
– Pages 6 and 7 – review. A2: Especially M23.
1/28
– M31: Breath at end of measure.
– M32: Higher on the A.
– M38: “Found” is “fawned.”
5. Grown Wild
1/14, 1/21
– We read through it.
1/28
– M73 – 76: Strong, in the body. Unison, not too loud. No breath.
– M75: Watch A to F, don’t flat. No R in “girl.”
– M77: Note unison D entrance with S2. No breath until 81.
– M85 – 88: No breath.
– M88 – 95: Breath after “up” only.
– M96: Breath after “wild.”
6. Birds of Passage
1/21
– Beware of diphthongs.
– “Aw” sounds: Fawl (fall), rawnd (round), flawt (flight), wahl (wall), etc.
– M4, et al: “Fall” – sing vowel until M5, then add “L”. Repeat in any place with ending “L.”
– M7: Breath after “tall.”
– M12: “Sky” is “skah.”
– M15: Quiet.
– M24: “Lie” is “law.”
– M27: Note we all start on D#.
– M31: Note unison.
– Pick short phrase for pages 12-13.
1/28
– M40: Breath – change “fleet” to 1/8 with 1/8 rest.
7. Flight
I. Sky Song
1/21
– It may be helpful to mark all unisons.
– M43: “Tops” is short.
– M45: “Soar” is held to next measure.
– M50: Note key change.
– M52: No vibrato.
– M60: “What” is “hwhat.”
II. Come, Spring
III. This Sky Falls
1/14
– We sang through it.
1/28
– Don’t accent “the.” Accent “sky,” “lake,” “sil-.” Etc. “silver” is “sil-vah.”
-M11, 12: Sing the “K” in “like.”
– M19: Shhh.
– M21: Louder.
– M27: Higher on the “D.”
– M36: Keep pitch up.
– M66: Softer.
– M68: Soft, note unison.
– M73: “Fire” is “fah.”
– M95: Altos can let the sops have this high D.