Dear TMEA Mixed Choir All-State Singers, I am greatly honored to be your 2014 clinician and conductor. It will be my second time conducting at TMEA (Women s All-State, 2008), and I know that our experience of music making together will be outstanding. I would like to thank you in advance for the time, commitment, passion and skills you will invest in learning the repertoire. When the notes are learned, i.e. all technical elements are in place, one experiences the ultimate joy of music making and creativity -- the freedom to interpret the music, its emotion and message only Shaping each piece together, creating a unique sound of 2014 TMEA All State I can t wait for our first rehearsal. Meanwhile, pour your voice, brains and heart into every note, every word, every chord: pay attention to detail and make sure to mark every score! In General: Number measures in all pieces. Write into the score work by work and poetic text translation Insanae et Vanae Curae, Haydn Insanae et vanae curae invadunt mentes nostras, saepe furore replent corda, privata spe Quid prodest O mortalis conari pro mundanis, si coelos negligas, Sunt fausta tibi cuncta, si Deus est pro te. Insane (raging) and vain cares Invade our minds Often furor (madness) fills the heart Robbing (us of) hope. What is the point, O mortal man, To endeavor in worldly things If you should neglect the heavens? All things are favorable for you. If God is for you. 1. It is a VERY exciting piece we will shake the hall and rapture the silence with earth-shattering chords! The biggest challenge is to keep elegance and beauty in extreme dynamics and vocal ranges. See more below. 2. We will use standard Italianate Latin pronunciation (coelos = CHEH-los, per example.) Like in all Latin pieces, make sure to emphasize stressed syllables at all times. In your score, in advance, please put a circle around emphasized syllable of every word. Such as insanae, VAnae, CUrae, invadunt, MEntes, NOstras, etc. Have complete understanding of syllabic stress of the entire text and make sure it is obvious in your singing. 3. Articulation: as in most pieces of classical and baroque period, articulation and style are extremely important. As a rule, all doted notes are separated from the following shorter note by a slight lift (as in mr. 38, per example.) Also, disconnected by a slight lift notes in case such as: Sanae // et; when first word ends on a vowel and following word begins on a vowel. 4. I have marked the score extensively to indicate articulation and style. Here is a short guide to understanding the markings: a) Slash between notes (as in mr. 21 or 44) indicates a lift (but not a breath) to achieve crisp articulation or word separation.
b) Beginning, ending or inner consonant underlined (as in mr. 35, 36) Indicates a need for a very strong and explosive articulation of the consonant. c) Coma breath. d) Long underscore line connecting words over (under) a barline no breath, connect two words tightly, pronounce ending and beginning consonants as close together as possible. e) Dotted tie no breath. f) Tie connecting two adjacent words: same as in D 5. Latin pronunciation tips: a) Rs are either rolled or flipped. No American r please. b) I/I always pronounced ee Invadunt -- Een-vah-doont c) e, oe, and ae are all pronounced eh. Insanae= Een-sah-nah-eh Coelos= Cheh-laws d) O like bought; Corda=Kaw-rdah e) No shadow vowels : Te prounced teh not Tay. Same with Furore 6. Dynamics and tone colors: The piece has an incredible drive, relentlessly moving forward in both A sections (16-73 and again 110 to 150.) In these exciting sections, it is utterly important to keep the beautiful tone and avoid screaming, excessive vibrato or heavy tone. Apply this rule generously: NEVER louder than LOVELY. 7. There are excellent performances of this motet available for viewing on Youtube. While I would like you to explore several of the recordings, the Kings College recording (link below) is the one I find to be closest to my interpretation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc9nqsj065k Dear Singers, Soul Rejoicing The text of Soul Rejoicing from Valery Gavrilin s choral symphony Chimes will be, quite possibly, the most Russian words you will ever sing in a span of four minutes! But have no fear with pronunciation guide and ample practice, you will sound like a native by the All-State week next February! Soul Rejoicing opens with stormy images of a band of horsemen riding fiercely in the darkness of a moonless night. Thus, with the sounds of pounding hooves and riders shouts, begins Perezvony ( Chimes ), Valery Gavrilin s monumental multi-movement composition subtitled Choral Symphony Miracle Play. Emotionally charged and rhythmically driven from the start, this movement continues to build with excitement and tension through Gavrilin s brilliant use of choral texture, dynamics, and extended melodic lines. The text, written in the style of Russian folklore by the composer himself, doesn t tell a story per say, rather it provides textual colors and strong images through many tongue-twisting, onomatopoeic word combinations such as tuchi gnetuchie (oppressive clouds), slyozy solenye (salty tears), dushi palyonye (scorched souls), etc. In order to achieve the overall character of the piece in performance, it is important to accentuate the driving forces which make this movement so unique: to maintain a steady, fast tempo and to articulate crisp, clear consonants and consonant clusters. General Comments for Practice and Interpretation: 1. For the All-State performance, we will only sing up to mr. 202. 2. Practice with a metronome at all times no matter how slow you need to set the tempo for your practice, make sure it is consistent. 3. Be very precise with dynamic changes there are many shades of strong in the score (forte, fortissimo, mezzo-forte.)
4. The piece has a rough image and call for extreme dynamics, yet your tone should remain beautiful and healthy at all times. Pay very careful attention to your vocal production avoid practicing too loud, be mindful of your execution of glottal stops (if those become too strong, pitch accuracy will be compromised.) 5. Listen to the sound file of pronunciation VERY often. Even if you think I got it, chances are you might revert to saying/singing words with less precision than needed if you don t refresh the pronunciation. Johannes Brahms, Motet O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf, op. 74, #2 I can t wait to work on this wonderful motet with you. There is so much to learn and experience with Brahms choral music; his a cappella motets are treasures of sacred writing, shining examples of ingenious polyphony, and great pieces to hone one s vocal skills. Food for your soul and your brain and exercise for your ears and cords! This beautiful motet calls for rich and elegant sound. Legato, sense of direction for each note and motive, rise and fall of each phrase, and understanding of and sensitivity to counterpoint are essential for an inspiring and thoughtful interpretation. As you prepare for the All-State week, please, make sure to do the following: Study the text and its translation. Have word-by-word translation as well as poetic translation written in your score for immediate reference in rehearsals. Listen carefully to the pronunciation sound file (many times!) you are responsible for learning correct pronunciation of this wonderful German text. When learning the score, pay close attention to all general performance markings and those in your part. Articulation, word inflections, styles, dynamic shading, and tempo changes are extremely important in weaving the sound fabric of this masterpiece. General Comments: 1. Understanding the markings: a) Dotted tie no breath. (Per example: mr. 2-tenor, 4- sop.) Long underscore line connecting words over (under) a barline also, no breath, connect two words tightly, pronounce ending and beginning consonants as close together as possible. b) Coma or slash between notes (as in mr. 6 and mr. 28) indicates a lift (but not a breath) to achieve crisp articulation or word separation. c) Beginning, ending or inner consonant underlined (as in mr. 35, 36) Indicates a need for a very strong and explosive articulation of the consonant. d) Square bracket separating words (as in mr. 37: O [Erd ) slight separation between vowels: ending and beginning. e) Syllable in parenthesis -- as in mr. 55 Er(den) sing softer, de-emphasize, sing with less color. 2. Diction: a) Singing in German is blissful! Consonants have so much character (especially when they come in clusters!) and vowels are full of color and resonance. While crisp articulation of consonants is very important, it s through the vowels that we give lines and shapes to the melodies. Don t trip over the consonants, articulate them swiftly and crisply, use as spring board to the next vowel. b) Delight in understanding the different pronunciations of the German e vowel! Singing those correctly is NOT optional. Here are examples: Long e : Erd, werd, der, den -- English approximation say without the diphthong Short E ; Brecht, Regnet, Herab- open as in set, bet Unstressed e as in HiMMEL, WolKEN, LeiDEN sung as a schwa, as in second syllable of TaKEN c) R s flipped Brecht, Riegel Reiss. Flipped but much lighter when at end of word Tor, Tur, Fur. (As in Latin and Russian pieces on this program NO American R s!)
3. Performance examples: I am a big fan of the Stuttgart Chamber Choir: their recording of this motetis available for free listening on Spotify. There are excellent performances of this motet available for viewing on Youtube. While I would like you to explore several of the recordings, I recommend RIAS Chamber Choir and National German Symphony Chorus interpretations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=prhnnot2uc8 Kyrie Eleison, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldi This short but exalted sacred double chorus must be sung with warm and flowing tone, with chorus one and two exchanging graceful and elegant melodic lines and creating a seamless composition that is performed as if in one long breath. S in Eleison is to be pronounced [s], as in English word sail Sing as written observing the articulation, dynamic, and stylistic markings. Ti-Ri-Ri This wordless movement of Chimes is a colorful and theatrical scene. You can almost see young men and women gathering -- for a dance, perhaps. As the voices come in, one by one, the listener can hear a different character in each part. Basses enter jauntily with a simple and sturdy melody "Tudy-syudy, syudy otsyudy" which will be repeated throughout the piece. Tenors follow with lyrical and soave lines, wooing the girls' attention. Sopranos' replies are silver-bell cluster chords that move gently, indicating both excitement and a bit of an attitude. Altos, obviously resentful with lack of attention, chime in with a short gossiping line that spreads like fire and stirs the peaceful scene, eventually bringing the chitchat to a big commotion, turmoil, and drama. But all is well and peaceful in the end: as if nothing had happened, basses come back with "Tudy-syudy, syudy otsyudy." For interpretation and pronunciation, please, listen to my detailed explanation on the attached sound file. Excellent recordings by Moscow State Chamber Choir and Vladimir Minin of both Ti-Ri-Ri and Soul Rejoicing are available on itunes. Search with Gavrilin and Chimes.
O Lux Beata Trinitas, Ko Matsushida An amazing piece that challenges your ear, vocal stamina and sense of form! Listen to the excellent performance of it by University of Louisville Cardinal Singers on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsp14vic0pk Sopranos, your ability to sustain the D pedal as a shimmering and glorious light is key to the success in this piece. Vibrato must be very slight and the sound very gentle. All voice parts: Sing as written. Voice Divisi: mm. 1-34 mm. 35-42 mm. 43-54 mm. 55-66 mm. 67-89 Note Corrections: mm. 30, 31 SSA/TBB SSAA/TTBB SATB SSA/TTBB SSAA/TTBB Alto: All C 5 s should be # d Great God Almighty, arr. Stacey Gibbs Sing as written and use the attached recording as a guide. It s important to pronounce words as written in the score in dialect. The attached recording is by Sunday Night Singers under director Michael McCullough and provides an excellent example of authentic interpretation of this work song.