First Soprano rehearsal notes

Please note for next week's rehearsal: first sopranos sit in front.

Also, my apologies that I had to leave before the last 45 minutes or so of rehearsal. Here are the notes I took until then.

This Sky Falls (whole piece)

• Entrance (measure 5): Good breath; mf dynamic; pay attention to rhythm; good energy on “the” but remember that it's the lead-in to “sky”–don't overemphasize; vowel of “sky” is “aw” with no diphthong
• Measure 7 and wherever it appears: The “sil-” of “silver” gets the emphasis, and the  “-ver” is a schwa (plus drop the “r”)
• Measure 9: Keep the G of “I” high, with the vowel “aw”
• Measure 10: Don't close to the “n” of “skin” too soon–sing the vowel to the end of the note
• Measure 13: Watch Jane for the cutoff
• Measure 20: Vowel of “night” is “aw”; observe the crescendo
• Measure 27: Forte
• Measure 28: Vowel of “light” is “aw”
• Measure 37: Keep the G high
• Mm. 50-51: Observe the crescendo
• Beginning with measure 62: Rhythm and energy
• Mm. 67-68: Vowel of “flight” is “aw”
• Measure 72: Get a good breath in time to have good tone on the entrance note
• Measure 73: Vowel of “fire” is “aw”; observe the crescendo
• Measure 82: This begins the dramatic climax of the piece–the transformative moment–give it heart!
• Measure 91: Vowel of “-times” is “aw,” and it should be soft
• Mm. 94-95: Don't scoop this interval
• Measure 97: Watch Jane for the cutoff

The Tree House: Alder (measure 98-end)

• Universal: Cutoffs are important! Give the rests a rest
• Universal: Really learn all the parts for tone, pitch, and blend; the accompaniment often will not help
• Mm. 104-112: Flip the “r” of “rain” and “release”; for both vowels of “release,” form your mouth as though saying “ih”
• Measure 110: Get a good breath before the entrance
• Mm. 111-113: No diminuendo
• Measure 114: Note that the S2s' and As' first 1/4 note has been cut, so there is (or should be) silence before our entrance on beat 2
• Measure 121: Watch Jane for the ritard
• Measure 125: Tempo changes (slower)–watch Jane
• Measure 133: Note the key change
• Measure 144: Keep the D high
• Measure 150: We are in unison with the S2s; our line is notated incorrectly, so you might want to read the S2 line for one bar
• Measure 152: Entrance pitch (C#) is the same as the D-flat in measure 150
• Measure 154: Keep the D high

The Tree House: The Orchard (pages 9-15)

• Universal: “Energize the rests”–i.e., don't relax, but rather keep your momentum so that you come back in with energy
• Universal: In the unison sections, “listen louder and sing softer”–don't sing louder trying to get others to match your pitch
• Measure 8: Begin “where” with “hw”
• Measure 9: Quarter note remains constant, despite the time-signature change
• Measure 9: Long “e” on “the”
• Measure 19: Deemphasize the “the,” but still give it energy
• Measure 21: Unison with the S2s–listen to each other
• Universal: The weird “ts/s/shee/etc.” passages are a continuous, legato sound–don't pulse or separate; they also are unpitched
• Measure 48: Vowel of “hush” is “aw”

That's all I was there for. I hope these notes are helpful. See you next week!