Alto Rehearsal Notes
March 4, 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.”
2/11
– M9: “Heart’s” is an E-natural (previous E was E-flat). No breath.
– M10: “Torn up” short breath. Don’t sing “uPP.” Gentle on release. Note rhythm on “heedless.”
– M11: Quick breath after held quarter note, which is shortened to eighth note, eighth rest. “When” is “Hwhen.”
– M14: Count! “laid then” two beats each. Don’t sing “there” by mistake.
– M15: Breath after whole note.
– M17: No breath.
– M19: Breath before “in some.”
– M20: “Dry” is “drawh.” “Earth” is “eahth.” No “r.”
– M33: Forte.
– M36: No breath.
– M37: “Found” is “fawnd.”
– M38: Breath after “discoverer.”
– M40: “Days” is “dahz.”
– M41: “Now” is “nawh.” Note unison in octaves with S1 up to half of M45.
– M45 – 46: “Smiles” is “smahs.” No aisles. No breath.
– M47: “-ease” change to quarter note, eighth rest.
– M48: “buried” is smooth, quarter notes, not eighth, don’t rush.
– M50: “Reappear” does not have an “S” at the end.
– M51: “light” is “lawt.”
– M52: Watch to where to put on T.
– M53: “Ah” is “awh.”
2/25
– M4: Flip the “r” in “dry” (“drah”).
– M11: “When” is “hwhen.” Come in on time.
– M48: “Buried” is beats 3 and 4. No rush.
– M50: Note rhythm for “reappear.”
II. This Day I Am Eighteen
2/11
– M6: Get starting C from S2.
– M7: Crescendo.
– M10: Note 7/4. If hard to count, write beats in. No breath.
– M11: Back to 4/4. “What” is “hwhat.”
– M13-14: Helps to note the unions with S2.
– M15: Note “for” in the margin for page turn.
– M16: Note rhythm on “myself alone.”
– M18: Watch Jane on timing of triplet.
– M20: Get starting B-flat from S2.
– M22: Starting notes are unison. “The” is “thee.”
– M31: Breath after “myself.”
– M28 – 31: Slower, watch Jane.
2/25
– M7: No slow.
– M11: No break.
– M17: Note starting note unison with S1.
– M18: Watch Jane on timing of triplet.
– M20: The word is “when” not “but.” “hwhen.”
– M22: Forte.
3/4
– M20: Get starting B-flat from S2. Try quietly singing an octave lower when S2s come in.
– M25: No breath.
– M28: Slower. No rush.
– M35: Write “End” at the margin so as to not turn page.
III. Walden
2/25
– Practice for next week.
2. The Moon Bridge
1/14
– Mark “end” on bottom page 9 so you don’t look for the “next” page!
2/4
– M4: Note G# in piano just before we enter.
– M8: Breath after “bay.”
– M10: Breath after “beams.”
– M10-12: Note B-flat to C-flat to whole step D-flat. Note E# repeats.
– M12: Get G# from S2.
– M14: Be ready to move A in M15.
– M15 – 20: A bit slower, crescendo, decrescendo, watch.
– M18: Breath after “bridge.”
3/4
– M4: Note G# in piano just before we enter. Don’t go flat. Allegro!
– M11: Note: full step from C-flat to D-flat.
– M26: Breath after “mist.”
– M28: No break between “lace” and “Was”
– M33: Super slow. No slide (unlike Sops).
– M37: Change “mask” to 1/4 note, 1/4 rest.
– M39: “Frowned” is “frAWned.” Pitched “d.”
– M41: Note that altos start one note ahead. Be ready, it is allegretto.
– M43: Breath after “sea.”
– M45: Close 1/2 step from F# to G-natural.
– M48: Breath after “play.”
– M52: Breath after “fair.”
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. Short!
– M28: No breath.
– M34: Breath after “shades.”
2/4
– M7-10: Stagger breathing.
– M9: Note the B-flat on “oth-.”
– M10: Breath after the C of “by.”
– M11: Note “other” is quarter note, eighth note. Don’t reverse them!
– M15: Don’t slow.
– M16: Watch rhythm on “gold,” maybe mark out the beats in 6/8. Breath after “gold.”
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.”
2/4
– M26: Note starting unison A. Note alto1,2 unison G-natural.
– M28, 29: Note unison altos.
– M31: Breath at end.
– M32: Note unison.
– M33: Note emphasis for “I,” “hand,” “you.” Repeat throughout.
– M42: Breath after “you.” Note same “E” in next measure. Mark the G of the next measure in the margin.
– M62: Watch Jane for retard.
2/11
– M29: No “Rs” in unfettered.
– M33 -onward: Legato. Longer vowel line. Don’t push tempo. Less choppy. Hold whole notes full value.
– Add little catch breaths in M33, 42, 44, 46.
– M47: NO breath.
– M58: “About” is “abawt.”
– M59: No “R” in “world.”
2/25
– M7: “About” is “abawt.”
3/4
– M7: “About” is “abawt.”
– M12: “World” is “hwald.”
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.”
2/25
– M5: Add H before Ooo’s.
– M 25 – 28: Sing the vowels of “months…years.”
– M61 “Willingness” is key word of the text. Full sound.
– M61 “Willingness” is key word of the text. Full sound.
– M67: Steady and smooth.
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.
2/4
– Have your phrase ready.
– M3: All unison.
– M36 – 40: Just A2 – create the strong beat by stressing each note up to first note of 40. Then smooth.
– M40: Breath.
– M40 – 43: No breath.
– M48: Full sound.
– M51: Breath after “high.”
– M52 – 54: A2, fiercer and stronger.
– M56 – 58: Unison, requires perfect rhythm to hear words. Watch Jane, slower in 58.
– M59: Heavens, we start above the Sops.
– M63: Staccato and slower – careful! Jane will give each word. Memorize.
– M66: “Freely” means “watch Jane constantly.”
– M73: Back to tempo primo.
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.”
2/4
– M25: Note alto entrance is above S2.
– M29- 30: The G in 29 is the same as in M30.
– M33- 34: Now in 5/4. Hold “-ness” for four beats, and then observe the two rests.
– M34: Back to 4/4.
– M40 – 41: E-flat should be high and strong, hold through for eight beats. Breath at end of 41.
2/25
– M22: “Clouds” is “clawds.”
– M32: Think of “three blind mice” for notes.
II. Come, Spring
2/11
– Mark alto line to make it easier as you go page to page.
– M9: The Soprano C# is our entry note in M11.
– M14: Altos on bottom.
– M17 – 18: Stay on D-natural on next page, unless told otherwise.
2/25
– Count, count, count.
– M17: Careful on C#, don’t sing a B.
– M20: The Soprano C# is our entry note.
– M21: Fierce on the F# against the Sop2 G#.
– M22: Note quick entrance, mark in margin on page 26.
3/4
– M25: “Flight” is “flawt.”
– Review and practice.
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.
3/4
– M59: Stress on “nothing.”
8. Concord Hymn
3/4
– M53: Note unison.
– M56: No breath.
– M57: Breath after “die.”