November, 2008 email to members
Dear NSCS,
It is my privilege and honor to be the next candidate for the music
director position. I look forward to working with you and getting
to know each other well. I believe you have all the music already. But,
in an effort not to distract from your current concert’s preparation,
we did not distribute any further notes. But now it’s time
to get right back to work, preparing this marvelous program.
In case you haven’t already, I encourage you to procure/purchase/download
and listen to recordings of these three works. They are wonderful
but not sight-readable. As you understand, we can’t afford
the rehearsal time to be sight-reading, even at the first rehearsal. Of
course, perfection is not expected either. But good preparation
prior to each (including the first) rehearsal will put us a step ahead
of the curve and allow the best use of our time together.
Every week, you can expect to hear from me via email and/or the web
site. You’ll know what we’re going to rehearse the
following week and you’ll get further notes from the previous
rehearsal. The music is complicated enough that no one will be
able to learn it well unless each singer spends about 30 minutes outside
of rehearsal (practicing/writing notes/listening to recordings) every
week. My hope is to provide notes and guidance on how best to
focus that time, in preparation for the next rehearsal.
I have finished some preliminary notes for the Bernstein (attached
in this email). If there is any confusion, please bring it to
your section leader’s attention prior to rehearsal and he/she
will ask for clarification. From time to time, I’ll ask
certain sections to sing other people’s parts. Please be
prepared to be flexible.
Also, in case you’re not, please familiarize yourself with IPA,
the international phonetic alphabet. At least know the basic
vowels. I’ll refer to these international standard vowels
in rehearsal. You can find an interactive website here: www.paulmeier.com/ipa/vowels.html By
clicking on each, you’ll hear a demonstration of the sounds.
The first three rehearsals are 12/2, 12/9 and 12/16. The plan
for these is as follows:
12/2 Try to sing through everything – to
get a general overview of the concert.
For
the Rachmaninoff, we’ll use a neutral syllable, not worrying about text.
For
now, we’ll do it up ½ step, in Db major.
For
the Bernstein, do your best to get used to pronouncing the Hebrew, in rhythm. A
quick guide to pronunciation can be found in the attached file
Remember
that an “h” with a dot under it and “ch” are pronounced
like the “ch” in “Bach”, never like the “ch” in “Cheese”
We’ll
also sing the Duruflé from top to bottom, skipping the Pie Jesu (mezzo
solo)
12/9 Bernstein & Rachmaninoff only.
12/16 Duruflé only
Then we have a winter break. By the time we resume, I’ll
have more detailed plans for our rehearsals.
The translations of the pieces are attached as well. Be sure
to know what you’re singing about J
Have a lovely Thanksgiving! I’ll see you soon,
David
