Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Eighth Rehearsal

Tenor Charlie was back with us, and we were all so happy to see him! He cannot hear in his left ear, but he wanted to try singing. He has missed it. He’s a bit behind because he’s missed several rehearsals, but he made great progress and we hope he’ll keep at it.

We rehearsed in the COOL room, the Fellowship Hall. Everyone liked it. We think this room is better in lots of ways, more comfortable and we can hear each other better.

We worked on the Magnificat, starting near the end again. The last section is particularly difficult and more like an instrumental work than a vocal one. Each part is different, and the rhythms are tricky for each. We tried each part separately, then put them together, two at a time. When we put it all together, the sopranos reached the end first. Not a good thing. We were all madly counting, tried again, and we finally all ended at the same time. This was our victory for the night.

We started at the beginning again, and it was wonderful to sing the first chorus, we now actually know it!

Singing this work is so inspiring and uplifting. Bass Tony reports that after rehearsals he sometimes has trouble getting to sleep. We’ve had that experience too. Talking with Soprano Judy after the rehearsal, we remarked about how universal this music is. There is a Bach Society in Japan that may be working on the Magnificat too. They have made recordings that are absolutely wonderful!

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