[csc_newsline] Rehearsal notes

[Larry Speakman]

We Need a Little Christmas

Generally good! Can't emphasis diction enough. Some vowels still spread (like the word "now") especially in women's sections.

Entrance Jingle Bells sluggish.

Second pass. Emphasize the word "need" (Bill's note). Better! Did I mention diction? :-)

Shepherds Farewell

Rhythm needs to be tighter (think count singing). Generally late in getting to the vowels of each word making rhythm mushy. Sound gets breathy when singing soft, especially in soft passages. Not everyone is watching Bill. Sound guy says page turns are noisy. Did I mention diction?

Beethoven Hallelujah

Generally good though fast tempo presents articulation challenges. Will work sections in warmup. Final consonants with shadow vowels are not present. Um...there is also the diction thing.

R&H Medley

Chorus in general can give more, especially in the soft sections. The amplification of the soloists removes any need for the nuances that we work on. Sing between mf and ff Final consonants need to be clearer. Oh yes, did I mention diction? Obvious note issues and other uncertainty that we will address.

Somewhere In My Memory

First entrance (women). Sound was child like with generally wide and shallow vowels. We have addressed this multiple times. I see a distressingly large amount of singers from all sections who don't look up. This is a simple piece and we should have had all of this fixed by now.

Bell Ringers Holiday.

Cutoff at measure 33...shadow vowel. Entrance 91 not clear. Measure 141...women on Gloria better articulation on eighth notes. Men...nice work on TTBB jungle Bells. Give all you have that produces a beautiful sound without screaming. Everyone.. Higher pitch yell on upsot!. Measure 245...more full sound. You are unison here which should concentrate our presence. Pulse each note from 245-255. Again, balance is good. The orchestra is not drowning you out so stay within what we worked on in rehearsal.

Second run through excellent!

White Christmas

Same situation as R&H Medley. Sing between mf and ff No need to blast but sing full. 

Call is at 7:00. Please be dressed and ready to go at that time so we have 30-40 minutes to address issues before tonight's performance. In general, you sound wonderful with a good balance that can be strengthened with better diction.  Balance is problematic but easily corrected on the pieces with soloists. Always keep in mind that in this hall you will always feel as if you are not being heard. When it is just you and the orchestra you are heard well and mildly enhanced by the sound system, even though none of the sound bounces back in your direction. 


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