The Keene Middle School Choir presents. Amy St. Louis, director

Transcription

1 Wednesday, May 8, :00 PM Keene Middle School Auditorium Keene Middle School Music Department Ensemble Concert Series The Keene Middle School Choir presents Amy St. Louis, director Members of the Keene Middle School Band Keene High School Geography Club, volunteer performers and tutors presents We ve Got Rhythm

2 ~PROGRAM~ O Sifuni Mungu arr. Roger Emerson (b. 1950) Katey Lundstedt, Sarah Wolff, Kerri McCormack, Hannah Hall; soloists Geographical Fugue Ernest Toch ( ) assisted by members of the KHS Geography Club Two Brazilian Folk Songs arr. Lon Beery & Elise Dekaney (N. A.) members of the 8th grade KMS band, flute Africa arr. Roger Emerson (1950) Robert Cooper, bass Dan Ciccarello, drum set The Cuckoo arr. Robert I. Hugh (N. A.) 8th grade girls, descant J entends le moulin arr. Donald Patriquin (b. 1938) featuring the girls choir Can You Hear Jim Papoulis (N. A.) 8th grade girls, descant assisted by... members of the KMS Band and the KHS Geography Club

3 ~Program Notes~ O Sifuni Mungu 1994 Hal Leonard Corporation; Duration approx. 4:25; F Major, G Major; cut-time; with an African feel (half note=96) O Sifuni Mungu is a traditional African song that translates to All Creatures of Our god and King arranged by Roger Emerson. This song begins in an African language, but switches to the English translation. There is also a good amount of syncopation found in this song. O Sifuni Mungu opens the concert with an African beat found in the congas and holds the audience s attention with fun rhythms, meaningful lyrics, and lovely soloists Viumbe vyo te vya Mungu wetu na Mfal me wetu All creatures of our God and King Pazeni sauti ilinasi mwimbe Lift up your voice and sing with us Watu wote, viumbe vyote, awaye yote, sifu Mungu All me, all creatures, everybody praise God Imbeni Sing Geographical Fugue 2002 Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.; Duration approx. 3:30; N/A; 4/4; N/A Geographical Fugue was originally written in Ernest Toch s native tongue, German and translated into English recently. Although the song does not have percussion as accompaniment (there is no accompaniment), the piece is percussive in nature since it uses only the speaking voice. Not only was this fugue an aid in teaching multiple rhythm patterns and has now become a very useful diction exercise, it also taught the students geography. We have joined the KMS Choir with the Keene High School Geography Club (most of them happened to be in chorus at the high school, how lucky for us). Trinidad And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca, the Popocatepetl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico Canada, Mlaga, Rimini, Brindisi Canada, Mlaga, Rimini, Brindisi Yes, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Nagasaki Yokohama Nagasaki Yokohama

4 Two Brazilian Folk Songs Carl Fischer; Duration approx. 2:30; F Major, C Major, D Major; 4/4; peixe vivo (quarter note=72) Two Brazilian Folk Songs is an arrangement of Peixe Vivo and Pirulito, two folk songs from Brazil, by Lon Beery & Elise Dekaney. This setting of these two folk songs uses the Portuguese language they were originally written in. Joining the choir for this song are members of the KMS band playing flute and various percussion instruments. These enchanting melodies grab the audience s attention and brings them back to the world of melodies. Pirulito que bate bate, Lollipop, hear it tap, tap, tapping, Pirulito que já bateu. Lollipop, it begins to beat. Quem gosta de mim é ela, My heart, hear it beating loudly, Quem gosta dela sou eu. from my head down to my feet. A menina que eu amava Hear our hearts as they beat together Coitadinha já morreu like the rhythm of a song Como pode o peixe vivo Is it possible for fish Viver fora da água fria? to survive without water? Como poderei viver? How would I then ever live? Sem a tua companhia? Without you, oh, my dear one? Os pastores desta aldeia All the shepherds from the village Já me fazem zombaria they have noticed how I miss you. Por me verem assim chorando For they see that I am crying, Sem a tua companhia. Without you, oh, my dear one. Africa 2010 Hal Leonard Corporation; Duration approx. 3:50; B-flat Major, C Major, F Major; cut-time; with a beat (half note=94) Africa is a fun, up-beat song accompanied by piano, drums, and bass This arrangement of this well-known tune (originally by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro) was written by Roger Emerson, a popular choral composer of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Africa extends the students ranges (without them even knowing it) and incorporates physical education with our choralography. Special thanks to the physical education teacher for teaching said choralography.

5 The Cuckoo 2009 Hal Leonard Corporation; Duration approx. 3:00; A Major, B-flat Major; 4/4; relaxed and funky (quarter note=90) The Cuckoo is very different from the previous song. This funky American folk song was arranged for SAB choir by Robert I. Hugh inspired by an old banjo recording of the song. This song introduced me and my choir to a new instrument, the cajon. The cajon is a percussive, hollow, wooden box, often found in Cuba and Peru and will be played by a member of the KMS Band. Dotted eighth notes and sixteenth notes are very prevalent in this song, so it was a great tool to teach some new rhythm patterns. It also includes hand-clapping, which gives the students another task to accomplish and scatting. Enjoy this funky arrangement of The Cuckoo Oh, the cuckoo, she's a pretty bird, She warbles as she flies. And she never says a cuckoo til the fourth day of July. Gonna build me a log cabin gonna build in the mountains so high, gonna build my cabin on a mountainside gonna see my honey now, gonna see my honey walkin, gonna see my honey a walkin by. J Entends le moulin 1993 Earthsongs; Duration approx. 3:40; g minor, C Major; 2/4; vif (quarter note=120+) J Entends le moulin, meaning I hear the mill is part of a set of songs entitled Trois chansons folkloriques, a setting of three different French folk songs J Entends le moulin, Un Canadien errant, and Les Raftsmen arranged by Donald Patriquin. Joining the stage is the KMS Girl s Choir that meets once a week after school. This song is meant to go as fast as the choir can handle it. Listen for some hand percussion, finger cymbals, and other fun noises J'entends le moulin tique tique taque. I hear the windmill tique tique taque Mon pere a fait batir maison. My father has made to build house. L a fait batir a trois pignons. It/has made built with three gables. Sont trois charpentiers qui la font. There are three carpenters who it build. Le plus jeune c est mon mignon. The most young it/is my darling. Qu apportes-tu dans ton jupon? What/carry/you in your petticoat?

6 C est un pate de trois pigeons. It is a pastry of three pigeons. Asseyons-nous et le mangeons. Let us sit/us and let us eat. En s asseyant il fit un bond, In sitting it makes a leap, Qui fait trembler mer et poissons, Which makes to tremble sea and fish, Et les cailloux qui sont au fond. And the stones which are on bottom. Can You Hear Boosey & Hawkes; Duration approx. 4:00; E-flat Major; 4/4; slowly and gently (quarter note=85) Can You Hear is a wonderful way to close our Spring concert Written by Jim Papoulis, this song is part of Papoulis s Sounds of a Better World. What I have come to understand is that we must send the best part of ourselves into the future through our children. If we want society to evolve, we need to understand the importance of childhood, and how vital our role should be in doing whatever we can to nuture every child. We should all be aware of our powerful influence on their minds. Through this incredible journey that Sounds of a Better World has taken me on, I hope to have somehow addressed these issues and to have embraced the joy that children can bring into this world (Jim Papoulis). This special song includes a lovely soli and descant performed by the 8th grade girls in the choir and a KMS alum on the congas. Accompanied by a lovely melody, these words have a lot of meaning and are a great conclusion to our concert We ve Got Rhythm Can you hear my cries? Can you see my eyes? I am calling out to you. Mmm Calling in the distance, softly Could it be the sound of my heart? Here I am before you, reaching Could it be I'm slipping away? Suddenly, I see I'm falling Trying to find a way off the ground. Will I see the future in me? As I see it slipping away.

7 Special Thanks to... Parent Volunteers KHS Geography Department KHS Geography Club KMS Physical Education Department KMS Band The theme We ve Got Rhythm originally came from the song O Sifuni Mungu which I really like. After I had that song, I decided that songs with different percussion instruments were really cool and a great way to involve the band students in choir. The first song, O Sifuni Mungu, has congas, a shaker, and claves. The second song, Geographical Fugue, does not have any physical percussion instruments, but the rhythms and diction of a speaking choir creates percussive sounds. This song also gave KMS a chance to collaborate with the KHS Geography Department and Club. The third song, Two Brazilian Folk Songs, has some percussion in the accompaniment and flute. Originally the score only called for two flutes, but it was a great tool in the flute sectionals, so everyone was invited to play in the concert The next song, Africa, is a really fun song for kids to perform. Most of them already know the melody, so everyone had to learn the harmonies when we began to learn the song. It is accompanied by piano, bass, and drum set, which allows for different styles of percussion instruments to be represented After that, The Cuckoo is a funky American folk song that introduced a new percussion instrument, the cajon, which a KMS alum will be playing in the concert. Next is J Entends le moulin. There is not as much of a percussion presence in the beginning of the song, but once the song gets going and finger cymbals and clapping are added, the song becomes lively and entertaining. The last song of the program is a beautiful song that incorporates the congas again. Although the part is not written out, congas for Can You Hear feel right, so I wrote a basic part out and another KMS alum will be playing it.