Tenor Charlie came back to us for our third rehearsal. During the summer people travel and some are always missing. We were all glad to have him back!
We got through all of the first movement of the Bach and it actually sounded like music! It isn’t perfect yet, but its definitely progress. We started the second choral movement and made progress on that too.
We began work on one of the Interpolations. Bach added these to the Magnificat text for performances at Christmas. The first one is based on Martin Luther hymn Von Himmel hoch (He came from Heaven). It is in German so we get to sing yet another language. The first and second sopranos sing together on this movement, the only time this happens. It also is the easiest soprano part in the entire piece. We sing the melody very slowly and the altos, tenors, and bases sing more difficult, moving parts.
Ernest announced that the Banning City Council will present him with a proclamation congratulating him on his honorary doctorate on July 14. We would have to start our rehearsal late that night since this is on a Tuesday. The Chorale immediately wanted to go and sing! This should be lots of fun.
At the end of the rehearsal we went over a beautiful carol, “How Far is it to Bethlehem” arranged by Stan Pethel. It tells the story of shepherd children who travel far to see the baby Jesus in the manger. It is so wonderful to rehearse this music. We get to actually perform it only once, but it is during the rehearsals that we get to know it well and develop a real understanding and love for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment