Are you working towards Advent/Christmas with your choirs?
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,502
    If so, what is on the practice roster for the next few months?
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    Langlais Messe Solennelles for Christ the King before we go into Advent.

    The Senior Organ Scholar left us 30 copies as a parting gift before he went to England to do his Masters in Choral Conducting.

    I'm teaching a few people Gregorian Mass XVIII for Lent as well as a few other items of suitable Gregorian Chant. Gloria from Missa De Angelis and a few other items.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • WendiWendi
    Posts: 638
    Sadly nothing. Our DM doesn't think it's necessary to start preparing until sometime in Advent.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • PMulholland
    Posts: 120
    We started gently with a new Ave Maria (Arcadelt) last week and over the next three weeks we will review Mass XVII and some other chants for advent. Will really ramp up at the end of October.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,988
    I will start practicing Advent/Christmas music the first rehearsal in October. I have a 30-minute choral concert before the Christmas Midnight Mass, as well as, music for the Sundays in Advent to prepare for.
    Thanked by 2canadash Patricia Cecilia
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,200
    Oh yes, we start as soon as we resume in Sept. Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium, Durufle's Tota Pulchra Es (for the ladies) and a little schmaltz but fun Rutter piece called "What sweeter Music". And the propers for Christmas from SEP. Last 15 minutes of rehearsal. Gives them something to look forward to
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    That Rutter is, for Rutter, definitely not schmaltz, KiK. Did it years ago, gotta have forces. More integrity in that piece than his GLORIA.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,824
    melofluent : "That Rutter is, for Rutter,... "

    Now, now, if you can't say anything nice...
    Thanked by 1melofluent
  • donr
    Posts: 971
    We will be starting tonight. Along with our regular Sunday rehearsal we will be doing the Mass out of the Vat 2 Hymnal pages 109 - 114 (not sure which Mass this is).

    We will also start to rehearse "Creator Alme" by Oliver Hayes found here at CPDL.org .

    I may start a 4 person hand bell choir for one piece prior to the start of Mass.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • veromaryveromary
    Posts: 162
    I asked at one choir if we could start learning the ordinary for Sundays in Advent and he said it's too early and we were better to go over Mass 11 again (like we've been doing for the last 12 months...)
    And the other choir is working on propers as they come up. Hopefully we'll start Advent practice in November.
    But I'm looking forward to a sung Mass for Gaudete Sunday.

    Is that why they put Holy Souls in November - so we get some well known, sort of easier music before Advent/Christmas? And that deal with repeating the propers from 23rd Sunday after Pentecost is so cool. And the best part is hardly anyone will notice.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • Ally
    Posts: 227
    We started right away with O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria)!! This is huge for us, but we've learned the beginning and the end, so next week we'll fix the middle and I'm so excited. A big step - this is our longest and most complex piece of polyphony yet, and really an accomplishment for the choir!
    Thanked by 4Heath canadash CHGiffen Patricia Cecilia
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,502
    Ally - We've started Sicut... and it's going well!... next we're working on O Magnum... tonight!...So excited!
    Thanked by 1Ally
  • Ralph BednarzRalph Bednarz
    Posts: 493
    Our Chrstmas music is a gentle understatement, using accapella propers in English and Latin. But I am often more excited about the propers for the 4th Sunday of Advent and the Vidimus communion on Epiphany.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • Musicteacher56
    Posts: 621
    I am very distressed over Christmas because my choir has dwindled down to 10 very weak singers. All the beautiful music of years past, I fear will be replaced by a few very recognizable hymns. Very discouraging at this point.
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • donr
    Posts: 971
    10 singers! I wish I had 10 singers. We are getting by with 5 average singers who have big heart. Do the best you can you will sound great.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,988
    Don't be discouraged. Look for arrangements that complement what you have. I have a small choir, but know the types of music they can do well. I also know what music to never give them. There are many simple choral arrangements of loved Christmas carols that congregations are enthusiastic about hearing.

    Another thought, added later. Do you have any child singers available. I have found that children singers go over very well with parents and relatives. They never hear anything wrong.
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen PMulholland canadash
  • leon.griesbach
    Posts: 32
    We'll be doing a smattering of a bunch of things through Advent.

    A couple highlights:
    Introits from the Roman Gradual We will actually be doing these the whole year. Hopefully the beginning of an introduction to the entire set of propers from the GR.
    Dominus Dabit Benignitatem James MacMillan
    Magnificat A pieces of my own. First time ever trying THAT.
    Bethlehem Down Peter Warlock

    ...and on and on... There's so much good music in the world. This is the first year I have finally managed to plan not only Advent but the rest of the year (with some flexibility of course) before the choir starts for the season. Attached list. Enjoy.
    2012-2013 Repertoire.pdf
    142K
    Thanked by 3canadash donr teachermom24
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,502
    Leon: Thanks so much. I find this so helpful for my own planning.
  • TCJ
    Posts: 990
    My "choir" doesn't have a choir practice, nor am I compensated for it. I'll just volunteer some time after Mass (most likely) for four or five weeks before Christmas. Unfortunately, getting people to commit time after Mass isn't easy, but my traveling such a distance during the week without being compensated isn't too feasible either. What little time I get working with them will likely be spent learning the remaining two parts of Mass VIII. Learning new stuff is very, very, very slow when there's no availability to practice. :(
    Thanked by 2canadash ryand
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    TCJ:
    Email links to practice videos and ask people to learn things at home.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    A "survey" of the Gustav Holst catalogue of carols and motets, with three pieces by one Charles Giffen for good measure!
    Advent- we stay fairly steady year to year, Tollite (Saint Saens), a Handel or two, Dixit Maria (Hassler) Gaudete (anon)....and if I'm feeling frisky, Andre Thomas' "Keep your lamps.'
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    side note: I went to FSU. Andre Thomas is THE MAN!
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,502
    TCJ: I do what Adam suggests and the choir actually rehearses on their own. Last year we learned the Dextera by Franck and as Easter approached I realized there was no way we would learn it. They asked for the practise files, I did them, and we learned the rest in two rehearsals and pulled it off nicely.

    Kudos to you for doing all of that work for free.
  • Earl_GreyEarl_Grey
    Posts: 904
    How do you do your practice recordings? Methodology, recording technique, and burn to disk or post online? I don't do it for everything, but sometimes I transcribe the parts in Finale, assign each part to a different instrument and burn to a CD with several takes of the piece each with a different part louder than the others. Sometimes I'll even pan the dominant part to one side so they can hear it alone or sing agaist the other parts.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    Well, for a lot of common chants: Chant hymns, Mass ordinaries, etc- you can find excellent recordings on YouTube. The SEP (Simple English Propers) has practice videos. CCW has recordings of just about all the Gregorian Propers. Choral Tracks offers a subscription service for choir practice videos, but also has a good number of free pieces available on YouTube (several Gregorian Ordinaries, and a handful of really common motets such as "If Ye Love Me" and "O Magnum Mysterium").

    So- you probably don't need much in the way of making your own practice recordings at this point.

    However, if you do need to- how you do it depends largely on your skill set (both musical and technical). If you can sing very well, you might record multiple parts in Audacity, and then export out mp3s of each part. Or you could set up a microphone next to your piano.

    I have also used Finale the same way- set each voice line to a different instrument (flute, clarinet, trumpet, string bass) and then spit out a recording from there. It's not amazing, but people can learn their notes and then you can make it musical when everyone gets together.
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,502
    I am not technically minded, nor can I spend time/money on these things. My Mac came with software called "Garageband" and my son records me singing all the parts while I plunk out the part on the piano with a metronome in the background. I share it on itunes and send it out. There was a problem because I recorded it as an MP4 file? But one of my choristers converted it to an MP3. The method is unsophisticated, but doesn't take me long, is cheap and it has worked.

    I have recorded the parts for the Sicut and Dextera; the Magnum is next. Once they know their part, I send them to the Youtube "sing-a-long" recordings.
    Thanked by 1ContraBombarde
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    The only time I've linked choir members to practice part websites were for Mozart's "Requiem" and Bach's "Magnificat." I'm not advocating against "part recordings," but their use does, to some extent, perpetuate the "singers learn by rote" prejudice. But we do what we must do.
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,502
    They either learn by rote during rehearsals, or they learn in between rehearsals. It's hard to teach old dogs new tricks. That's why I have taught all of my own children to read music.
    Thanked by 3Earl_Grey CHGiffen Adam Wood
  • Earl_GreyEarl_Grey
    Posts: 904
    Agreed. I try to teach a little sight singing in every rehearsal, and it has paid off. I don't do the part recordings nearly as much as I used to.
  • donr
    Posts: 971
    I use "Sonar" a musical editing software. I usually create a midi file of the piece with SATB. S, A, T and B separately then e-mail them everyone. Not everyone has e-mail so I encourage them to record our rehearsals. I then have them learn their parts alone, then ask them to sing their parts with one of the other voices.
  • Patricia Cecilia
    Posts: 400
    Ally wrote:
    We started right away with O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria)!! This is huge for us, but we've learned the beginning and the end, so next week we'll fix the middle and I'm so excited. A big step - this is our longest and most complex piece of polyphony yet, and really an accomplishment for the choir!


    Ally, if your choir can learn the motet, they can learn Victoria's Missa O Magnum Mysterium. Even if you only sang one movement, it would tie in to the motet and really boost your choir's confidence. It's one of my choir's favorite Christmas masses--they would sing nothing but that, the Charpentier, and Healey Willan's mass on Corde natus if the rector would let us get away with it.

    We have already started working on this year's Christmas Eve mass setting, the Reimann Pastoralemesse Op. 110. Very easy, as our (paid) soprano section leader left us for NYC and a budding opera career, and I'm having a terrible time trying to replace her. So no big solo work this year at Christmas as is usual. And we do the prelude concert at both the 5:30 "Pageant Mass" and the 11 pm "Midnight Mass". (My work church is Anglican, so I don't quibble over pageants-replacing-sermons et cetera.)
    Thanked by 2canadash Ally
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    Do you quibble about Midnight Mass being scheduled at 11pm?
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,223
    As one of the congregation, I might prefer it otherwise. As a musician "on the job", I wouldn't quibble at all.
    Thanked by 1canadash
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