First Soprano rehearsal notes

November 4 Rehearsal Notes

Please note for next week: first sopranos sit in back. Also, the first half-hour of rehearsal is a soprano sectional.

Here are my notes for this week:

Sit forward in the pew

Forrest V: Creator of the Stars of Night (whole piece)

Universal: Heads up! Watch Jane!
Universal: Fight the seductively dreamy quality of the piece–maintain a vibrant undercurrent
Universal: Cutoffs are as written
Universal: Observe the crescendi/decrescendi–per Jane, always crescendo on the up line and decrescendo on the down line
First entrance: Pick-up to letter B (note that the piece begins with solos)
Pick-up to letter B (measure 22): Remember that we sing in Latin until letter C; first word is cray-ah-tor
Measure 23: Tune the long held B (don't let long held notes sag in general)
Mm. 24-26: The “ae” of “aeterna” is a long a but without a diphthong, and note the tenuto on the C (measure 25)
Measure 26 and every word that ends with “-um”: Give the vowel a good oooo
Letter C: We are using the upper text; come in strongly (mf)
Letter C: Count! (We don't always echo the altos)
Measure 38: Splen-duh (think of Simon for pronunciation)
Mm. 44-45: The vowel of measure 44 is “aw,” and observe the crescendo in measure 45
Letter D: Don't rush
Mm. 58- 66: Observe the text emphases (“Cre-A-tor of the STARS of NIGHT), and watch Jane for the cutoff
Measure 111: The fermata-ed notes on the final “amen” are not glottal or pulsed–stay legato and soft

Forrest IV: Gloria in Excelsis (whole piece)

Challenges: Entrances on the offbeat, slight intervalic changes, singing different notes in the same repeated chord, dynamics
Solutions: Watch, watch, watch, hold your music up AND get out of the page! Prepare, memorize, notice patterns, “be where we are and in the future”
Tone: No Up with People, Minnie Mouse, chirpy singing–BREATHE, stay in the body, and maintain stamina (applies to the entire cycle)
First entrance (page 3, measure 19): Keep smooth and unaccented but rhythmic
Mm. 43-44: Note the tenuto marks

Forrest I: Illuminare (measure 99-end)

Letter F: Breathe on every comma, but don't kick the “yah” of “alleluia” (same note for page 16)
Page 14 on: Help with coping with vocal fatigue is on the way at our sectional next Tuesday
Universal: On a related note, “singing lighter is your friend”
Mm. 121-122: Watch Jane for the “broadening” and the cutoff
Measures 148-155: Jane is giving us a breath after each “Lux,” as marked; also, observe the crescendo/decrescendo in each phrase
Measure 154-155: Observe the crescendo/decrescendo
Letter H-end: The quarter-note is the consistent unit of measure–4/4 is the straightforward beat we know and love, 3/2 is three beats with an internal subdivision (one-and-two-and-three-and). So, essentially, 3/2 is six quarter notes, but it's better rhythmically to think in three rather than six. Clear as mud?
Measure 161-end: Keep the pitch high, and no vibrato; after the last fermata, Jane will make a large gesture–note that S2s come in before we do

I hope I caught everything! Have a great week, everyone.