Texas Choral Directors Convention 2016: Be Inspired! High School SATB Reading Session Michael Lysinger, Conductor Laura Taylor, Accompanist Pie Jesu from Requiem Kim Andre Arnesen Commissioned by Nidaros Cathedral Boy s Choir of Norway and premiered in 2014 If possible, do with organ or high quality keyboard with an organ setting Wonderful for a fall concert for varsity level group Intervallic challenges, accidentals, key change, meter changes Familiarize singers with keys they will be working with especially in fall after a long summer break. Use these scales during warm up/sightreading/theory time. Always stress tone quality and intonation. Vary the drill unison, canons, interval drills, etc. B flat Major Scale D Major Scale B Flat Interval Drill work out tricky interval leaps aurally and vocally before you read them. Introduce accidentals as well.
D Major Interval Drill this will introduce the accidentals and help singers to hear the harmonic sequence before they read it in the score. Dixit Dominum, RV595 Antonio Vivaldi, arr. Christy Elsner and Jacob Narverud Setting of Psalm 110. It was rediscovered in the late 1960s in the National Library in Prague. Dixit Dominus is sung at Vespers on Sundays and Feastdays. Translation: The Lord said unto my lord: Sit thou at my right hand. This arrangement is scored for piano reduction, but string and continuo parts are available on digital download. Arrangements for strings, oboe, trumpet and continuo can be found online. The orchestral parts are accessible for a good varsity level orchestra would be great piece for collaboration. Could also hire a quartet. Would be a great piece for Fall or Winter concerts. Could even be a combined effort with multi-level choirs. chord sheet, p10 Harmonic exercises will allow singers to work on tone, blend, balance, intonation while internalizing the pitches they will read later in the score. It simply takes rhythm out of the reading equation. Editor has made specific articulations fortunately according to syllabic stress. Would be good to have singers still underline or mark in their score before learning pitches. I don t know that I would do staccato markings too short they need to have enough time for pitch center. Thy Little Ones arr. Brian Galante and J. Edmund Hughes Melody is based on hymn tune called Prospect from Southern Harmony. Prospect is still used in many denominations hymnals.
The piece is dedicated to the memory of Maari Dickson, a 10 year old girl who lost her battle with a rare form of cancer in 2013. All royalties from the sale of music go to a fund to help the family continue to pay the medical costs. Would be a great piece for a Winter Concert for either varsity or non-varsity. It s also available in an SSA version. Vocal ranges are not extreme at all. Could even be a lovely, off-list resting piece for that year when you ve over programmed. Great unison singing is not easy. Everyone has the melody in this piece at some point, so use the melody line to work beautiful unison work. Also, introduce diction techniques - clear consonants, connecting ending/beginning consonants with a (tiny) schwa sound between words. Use last verse (m39-end) as a four part reading exercise. In Paradisum Harriet Steinke Harriet Steinke was born in 1994..and she has other compositions if you check her website. Text comes from the Requiem Mass. Usually sung as the body is being taken out of the church. Setting is haunting and chant-like it s almost in the Mixolydian mode like the original Paradisum chant. Has many meter changes Would work the rhythm section below while starting to read at m26-34 and m53-end. Work individual men and women sections separately if possible sectionals, work with associate director. All singers look at the tenor solo before tackling the section following with the same meter pattern. Piece has big dynamic contrasts and written to the syllabic stress. Mark both as soon as possible. Three Choral Ayres Joseph Wilcox Jenkins Charming chamber pieces. Intended to be performed as a set. However, could program two if time were a constraint. Appropriate for varsity, even better for smaller chamber group Teaching Strategies Better Late Than Never Counting in 2 is not fun when subdividing 8 th notes. Would learn and count with quarter getting the beat knowing that as singers see and feel the patterns and tempo increases, they will feel the half note pulse.
Mark dynamics and articulations right away and utilize when counting, chanting, etc. Accidental rich environment would be good to be working on the chromatic scale. The Silver Swan Chromatic Scale, accidentals, chords m1-5 M5-end does work in C major much better. Still many accidentals would be good to continue working chromatic scale adding the flat scale degrees. Fa La! could use to study modes song uses Dorian (lowered 3 rd /7 th ), Mixolydian (lowered 7 th ) Mixolydian Mode and a hint of Ionian (major scale!) Dorian Mode
Working on the modal scale will reinforce the consistent use of accidentals. There are so many articulations! Focus on them right away so singers will be able to execute accents, tenuto and staccato. Important to feel differences in meter between 3/4 and 2/4 (and realizing the 2/4 is functioning as hemiola). Jesu Andrea Ramsey Beautiful text by Bernard of Clairvaux, abbott from the 1100s o Jesus, nothing more melodious is sung, Nothing more delightful is heard, Nothing sweeter is ever thought, Than Jesus, the Son of God. No written word can express, No tongue can tell. Be Thou our glory For all time! Jesus. Also available for SA and can be done with string quartet. Could utilize orchestra students. Lyric piece for Winter with non-varsity (though watch range for sopranos!) Utilize A major scale in warm ups and sightreading along with interval drills to acclimate non-varsity singers to A major. It s not C, F or G Start with m19-22. Isolate notation in m24 before reading and continue working to the end. Harmonic exercise above is really to work on tone and technique for sopranos in upper register. Poor Wayfaring Stranger arr. Russell Robinson Beautiful arrangement with a traditional treatment of melody adding some contemporary harmonies Good for Fall for varsity level group. Could be tackled by non-varsity, but consider length, key change. Piece is readable. Melodic/harmonic patterns stay consistent after the key change.
Start reading at pick up to m27 (key change). Learn pitches on solfege and transfer to count singing when pitch is secure. Patterns repeat, so learning pitches should go fast. Rhythms aren t so complex, so would work as a great introduction to count singing. This method will help to solidify tempo and help unify and refine phrase endings especially places where you need singers to hold a tie while other parts are resolving harmony. An Old Irish Blessing Kevin A. Memley Piece has lyric and harmonic beauty Memley is known for. Great closer for a section of fall concert with varsity group. Could keep piece for another occasion when needing something lyric and hopeful like graduation. Piece has some interval leaps that will be read better by introducing them first. Also, good to introduce accidentals first. Read Kevin Memley s notes about syllabic stress and articulations with your singers and then dig through the score to see what he s talking about. Would start at m13 to include everyone on the first reading. M23/24 notice that soprano/tenor and alto/bass lines imitate. Would be good to work the two sections together on approach to upper register singing. Laudate Dominum Steve J. Sandberg This piece has characteristics of Renaissance polyphony Has many lively motives Accessible piece for fall for varsity level group Would work rhythm/pitch in sectional setting in first contrapuntal section and then put together with metronome on. Alternate chanting/singing/counting/solfege/legato and staccato to line things up, hear important material. In the Silence Jacob Narverud Gorgeous harmonies and inspiring text supported by beautifully crafted accompaniment. Text works well for Winter. Would be effective as choice piece for UIL or a festival. Would work for varsity group needs depth of sound and command of long phrases. Very readable would start with m17 and work into contrasting B section.
Lots of contrast with dynamics, articulation markings and suggestions from the composer important to mark right away. Blended sound is critical in this style. Fly Away Ian Good Fast, exciting would make a good concert closer Accessible for non-varsity has many repeated harmonic and rhythmic patterns Introduce rhythm patterns Introduce harmonic patterns Locus Iste Kevin A. Memley Locus Iste is a hymn for the anniversary of the dedication of a church. Beautiful sonority. Would be lovely as an off-list UIL piece for a varsity group or for any concert. Before reading, mark syllabic stress and top points of phrasing. Stress linear movement when reading. I would start at m44, preparing men for entrance on fa chord and letting women know to listen for the same harmony on their entrance at m49. Would prepare a harmony exercise for m60-62 before reading because of range/balance/tuning. An Sylvia Franz Schubert, arr. Ragnar Bohlin SATB arrangement of a Schubert lied composed in 1826. Text is Who is Sylvia from Shakespeare s The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Great choral arrangement of a solo piece. Would work well for varsity groups great off-list UIL piece. Present good recordings of original solo to singers so they can absorb the style of German leid. It will also allow them to hear authentic German pronunciation (presuming the artists you choose have authentic German. ). Verse 2 is for 4-part men consider that when programming.
Start with verse 1 depending on reading level, might be good to either read in your preferred UIL method or break into sectionals utilizing student leadership and peer tutoring. Weep, O Mine Eyes John Bennet, ed. John Leavitt Clean arrangement of a renaissance madrigal On the UIL list for Solo/Ensemble, though great for any seasonal concert or UIL C/SR Use melodic minor scale to put fi and si vs so and fa in the singers harmonic language You live and die by the tie in this piece. Mark them and have singers look to see what is going on in other parts while they are holding. Know what you want singers to bring out in this contrapuntal texture and have singers mark it. Words like weep, cease, alas, spring of springtides, etc. Do utilize the metronome and staccato singing to keep the piece moving and singers in the same tempo. Child of Song Kim Andre Arnesen Piece is dedicated to the memory of Stephen Paulus who passed away in 2014. Text has beautiful imagery and conveys a sense that life lives on through music Would be great on a fall concert, off-list UIL performance or festival for a varsity group Lots of divisi and homophonic rhythm. Very accessible for reading. If balancing divisi is an issue, then create some harmonic exercises to work balance. Start with m11-20/m51-end and allow singers to work in sections to learn their part and put together. Linear movement is critical in this piece it cannot move from note to note. Have singers mark where each phrase is going right away. Use syllabic stress, but put a double underline where the peak of the phase would be. Big, beautiful dynamic contrasts here do take the time to mark them in pencil or, better yet, mark them with a color. Be sure to start with the warm, lush, blended sound you want them to have on stage as they read and learn the music. In Meeting We Are Blessed Troy Robertson and R. Gatsnahos Wonderful concert ender and can be done with combined groups. Accessible to singers of all ages, would be great for a non-varsity mixed group. Range is not high for any particular section. There is some three part divisi for women and one instance for men (maybe a dealbreaker for some groups).
Accompanied by djembe, can add more instruments. Speaks to current climate of social division and the need to come together. Rhythmic elements The second one is a personal mental block for me so I made it an exercise for all. Good to introduce this piece through form using a recording. It has an A and B sections that singers can readily hear and identify. It will get some rhythm, harmony and feel for the piece implanted right away. Having them mark form will make memorization easier later on. Start reading at m45-53. Starts with tonic pitches and has duets or homophonic rhythm. That would be while learning the rhythm issues in the A section. Tackle rhythmic issues separately. Always a good idea to ask singers to circle or mark rhythms that are directly from rhythm drills. Steal Away arr. Gwyneth Walker Gwyneth Walker brings out alternating feelings of sorrow and strength. Refrains are quiet and mournful while verses are sung with conviction Lots of beautiful text painting with descending scales representing tears and ascending scales rise to represent being called to heaven. Wonderful for a varsity group. It s an artistic setting that your singers will adore. It has lush harmonies with divisi and some vocal range that would justify your varsity group singing this. Would be great for any concert, UIL contest or festival performance. Would be thought to let choir read m9-17 identify triplet and meter change mark, chant and then read m55-58 and highlight the difference in the text painting. In the meantime, lots of articulation marks to circle in verses accents, staccato. Isolate places like m36 and m63. Lots of staccato, tonic pitches for men. Highlight triplets in m62 and teach separately (include the pickup beat). Have alto and bass find additional triplets in their part. Talk a lot about the contrast in tone color you need between sections. Plant that idea early on! A Pescar Camaron Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory Written in the style of a Cuban Son a fusion of Cuban and African musical styles. It has great rhythmic drive and melodic turns that will make it interesting to singers during the learning process. This would be a great festival piece or concert closer for an advanced group. It s also available in an SA arrangement (the original arrangement). Soprano solo or small group opportunity at the end of the piece.
It seems lengthy, but can be broken down into sections for rehearsal and memorization. Would be good to mark these sections in the score. Use different colors for quicker recognition. Have singers circle different material between repeated sections and have them square things that are exactly the same. o A m3-18, returns m103-end, men have ostinato pattern and adds a short coda o B m19-26, returns at m55-66 with some variation o C pick up to m27-34, returns m43-50 o D m67-79, returns m89-101 o E m80-88 this section highlights the point of the song Singing it makes me happy! This song is rife with repeated rhythmic patterns! Isolate the most popular and use those as bell ringers or during rhythmic reading time in rehearsal. Once singers see the rhythmic patterns, they will be able to read pitches more accurately. Pre-teach/identify accidentals fi and si in G major and meh and leh in E major There is a large dynamic range marking with colors works well for most. Practice dynamics as choir chants rhythms, solfege, etc. Percussion really makes this piece! Add guiro, clave and a conga. Unfortunately, printed percussion parts are not available at the present. However, if you go on caldwellandivory.com, you can find a perusal copy that has the parts printed out. At the moment, I m waiting on a response from PC and SI to see if the parts will be available again. Also on their site, you ll find some interesting background information and an excellent translation of the piece.