Bravo in Barcelona. Shutterstock image. Source: Pixabay.
A new blog post! Surprising, I know. Having a few days’ vacation time gives me an opportunity to catch up a little.
A most amazing thing happened in musical theater class a couple of weeks ago. I’m so excited to have a chance to tell you all about it!
A student took her turn a few minutes into the class, singing “Almost There” by Randy Newman.
She had nailed “All That Jazz” by John Kander just the week before, so I was anticipating that this would also be wonderful.
As it happened, she was anxious about something. When she began to sing, I could barely hear her. I wanted to get into it and play, but my sound would have covered her voice.
Why was she nervous?
It could have been anything.
Was she coming down with something?
Was she unprepared?
Was she working on one aspect of vocal production rather than performing the song?
What was going on?
She was worried about the high note at the end of the first phrase, so she held back out of fear that her voice might crack. This is a freshman class. The students are shy about making a fool of themselves in front of other people, even in class. (I’ve been there myself so many times! As a freshman, I was so nervous in my first voice jury that I forgot every word after the title of a slow song in English! I changed my major immediately.)
The professor, who is also her voice teacher, identified the problem and found a way to deal with it. Among other things, she vocalized the student to a top note a third above the one she was concerned about.
And THEN…
On the fourth or fifth try, she knocked everyone out of their chair! She was SO GOOD!!! It was perfect.
Next:
The professor talked about how well the student had just performed, giving her kudos for her substantial progress this semester. She talked about how gratifying it was to witness this as a teacher, saying, “If I had my shoes, I’d throw them!” ++
Huh?
She elaborated. In the African-American tradition, when something is “too good,” audience members throw their shoes! *
And then the professor burst into tears. It was so moving.
The student was in tears soon after.
And the class was speechless.
And that, for me, is what it’s all about.
++ Class is held in a studio with a dance floor. Everyone takes off their shoes so the floor remains grit-free. If a dancer were to trip on grit, s/he could sprain, dislocate or break something, putting him or her out of the game for a long time. So that’s why the professor didn’t have her shoes!
*Both professor and student happen to be African-American. After class, I shared with the professor that I worked in an African-American church in Brooklyn for quite a while, also performing in other venues with the music director, who is a wonderful singer. However, when things were “too good,” no one threw their shoes. So where did that come from? She said it’s a Southern thing. People even throw their shoes in church!
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No worries! The following is not a scientific analysis!
*The lid may be closed or removed entirely.
Where do our preferences come from concerning the position of the piano lid in performance?
Early teachers
It’s always been that way
Never thought about it
If you think about balance, I’m sure you must have your own list.
Variables
What are the important considerations when balancing other instruments/voices with piano? If you’re the soloist, your main concern is that your part will be clear. But what about the other performers? If you’re the pianist, YOU want to be heard. (There are exceptions. Sometimes pianists seem to be intent upon disappearing out of a fear that they will be too loud.)
Assuming that our goal is to find appropriate balance among all participants, there are several variables that need to be considered from venue to venue:
Acoustics of the room
Curtains (at the front, back, and sides of the stage, at the windows, and on the walls of the room), seat cushions, carpet, wall hangings, hard surfaces, shell/no shell behind the performers
size of audience (which wears clothing that soaks up sound)
the way sound travels on stage (can you hear other performers?)
other variables in the hall (i.e. moveable acoustical features, such as blinds, panels, walls, ceilings)
Sometimes a room has a muffled sound. A closed lid, in that case, means that the piano’s sound is not clear.
Where is the soloist in relation to the piano? If the piano is “too loud,” is that actually the case, or would moving away from the piano create a separation in the sounds (soloist/piano) and resolve the problem? Try it! A change of only a few inches often makes a huge difference.
Size of room, size of piano. Smaller rooms with larger pianos may call for a shorter stick. I would tend to consider this arrangement, but I know other musicians who use full stick regardless.
Type of music? Joseph Fuchs used full stick ALL the time for violin/piano. Part of the resonance of the violin came from the piano’s soundboard. When playing music with more density in the writing, I would tend to prefer short stick.
The pianist’s manner of producing sound. When less arm weight is used, the sound is lighter. More transparent writing in combination with less arm would make full stick clear but not overwhelming. Also, voicing the piano part (more focus for prominent lines) goes a long way.
Wooden block
Perhaps you feel that using the short stick would be too much. In addition, some pianos no longer have a short stick. Occasionally, manufacturers include only full stick or a variation, about 3/4 high.
You can take a wooden block with you.
A rectangular block, painted black, about 5” or 6” x 3” x 2”, is a better choice than a hymnal or book. Propping the lid open with a book results in a dented book cover. In church concerts, churchgoers are sometimes offended when hymnals are used in this way. (Setting anything on top of the Bible is considered sacrilegious. By extension, the hymnal, which contains sacred texts, is included in this category by some. If you want to be invited back, don’t prop the lid open with a hymnal.) Also, painting the wooden block black helps to avoid audience distraction. The dimensions of the block allow it to be used on either side and on end. Plenty of options.
Recording
Using a recording device to assess the sound is a great way to go when you have the time. Yo-Yo Ma swears by it, placing the recorder at varying distances from the stage. This can be done during solo practice sessions, rehearsals, and warm-ups, as well as in performances.
The acoustics of the room change depending on the size of the audience. Rehearsals typically take place in empty halls. Once the audience arrives, everything changes. So keeping an open mind, listening to the room, making adjustments in one’s playing during a performance, and trying various options make a difference.
Takeaway thought
My hope is that performers will be aware of the variables. For the music to reach the audience effectively, the sound needs to be clear.
Please experiment! And… go.
How do you approach the piano lid issue? Comments welcome!
My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.
50% off!!! Absolutely NO JARGON! Even my non-musician little sister says so.
Click here for the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.
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Collaborative pianists need all the same technical skills required of soloists, and some would argue that they need to be able to play mezzo forte and under.
My immediate reaction was, “Wait a minute!” Let’s look more closely.
Collaboration is working with others to do a task and to achieve shared goals. It is a recursive[1] process where two or more people or organizationswork together to realize shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operative ventures, but a deep, collective determination to reach an identical objective[by whom?][original research?]) — for example, an endeavor[2][3] that is creative in nature[4]—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of leadership can be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group.[5] In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.[6] Collaboration is also present in opposing goals exhibiting the notion of adversarial collaboration, though this is not a common case for using the word.
(Note: color and bolding added by GS for emphasis.)
Breaking it down
This implies much more than the prevailing misconception, by now outdated, concerning collaborative piano playing. Even after more than 50 years of the progress begun by Gerald Moore and further championed by Gwendolyn Koldofsky and others, a significant number of pianists continue to subscribe to the habit of just showing up without practicing.
An additional component of this view seems to be a desire to stay out of the way!
I strongly disagree with this idea. If one’s sole interest is not to be heard, then why show up at all? (Gerald Moore’s humorous book, “Am I too Loud?” was first published in 1962!)
The author of the book quoted above says, “some would argue that they need to be able to play mezzo forte and under.” If one is to interpret this as a recommendation to play mf and under at all times, I have to ask, “Why?”
The music
The piano part/reduction is part of the total fabric of sound. It is crucial to have a point of view about the music which is expressed primarily by the manner in which one plays.
Even when playing for very young musicians, the bass line can be prominent. They need the support. An obligato line above or below the singers’ range should be heard. Introductions, interludes, and postludes are shaping the piece, not interfering. The rhythm should be clear and compelling, providing a foundation for inexperienced musicians. Why are we there? How are we supporting a young musician’s efforts if we may as well not be in the room at all? Do we not have a responsibility to be there?
In other situations, with more experienced singers and instrumentalists (who produce more sound), the solo line is not always the most interesting. Think of Beethoven’s “Spring” sonata (violin/piano), for example:
The violinist clearly has the theme throughout the opening statement. And then, in the 2nd system, 4th bar, the piano has thematic material, marked crescendo, proceeding without pause into a restatement of the same theme. Since the piano part is occupying a higher range at that point, it will be heard.
Note that the violin and piano parts are both marked piano, even though each plays thematic as well as non-thematic music. The equal dynamic markings would imply that both parts are to be heard. Why would the piano part be less important/played at a lower dynamic than the violin?
We have another example in Händel’s “Care selve” from Atalanta:
In this aria, the vocal and piano lines are beautifully interwoven. Listen to the incomparable Montserrat Caballé and her superb pianist, who should have been credited on YouTube! What do you hear? Is the pianist voicing his part? The bass line is always there, the melody is clear when echoing the singer, and the interludes fill the room.
A heads up: prepare to be floored!
Teatro Real de Madrid, 1979
When learning Handel’s “Sweet Bird,” I listened to several recordings so I could learn more about ornamentation. Roberta Peters’ performance with a flutist was stunning. They opted to do only the exposition (one page), then added two more pages of a duet. Their sounds blended perfectly, with the most amazing trills. I was in awe listening to the ensemble’s perfectly matched sound, ornaments rhythmically free (rather than using regular note values, the performers, who were often trilling in 3rds, used slower notes, then faster, then added a turn). I listened to the recording over and over, mesmerized.
Point of view
When I was a scholarship student at the Aspen Music Festival, the Juilliard String Quartet was in residence all summer. Their open rehearsals were attended by singers of all voice types and interests, and students who played a variety of instruments. Why were so many students attending, week in and week out? The quartet talked about the music. During one rehearsal, a disagreement continued for several minutes. The cross-rhythms in Brahms needed clarification among the players.
One instance in which cross-rhythms are found is in 6/8 time, when the notes can be divided into groups of 2 or 3. When there is one more than one part, both groupings can happen simultaneously.
In this memorable rehearsal, each player was staking a claim to the way he wanted to play a section containing cross-rhythms. The violist opted for one rhythmic grouping; the cellist another. When the 2nd violinist chose a larger note grouping, the 1st violinist decided, “I’ll just fit in.”
At that moment (it didn’t take long!), the other three players ganged up on him. “No! You have to make up your mind!”
The rehearsal had just become more… interesting, as the quartet’s cellist Joel Krosnick would say.
The decision was made, and the quartet tried it out. Each player was doing something different! It was wonderful.
What would have happened had everyone opted to “Just fit in?” How compelling can that be?
I submit that staying out of the way is not music, and it certainly is not collaboration. If you have nothing worth saying, why play at all? If you can’t be heard, what’s the point? What contribution does that make? How is that supportive?
Bottom line
In order to collaborate as pianists, we need to ask for the music in advance (and obtain it!), practice well, and have a point of view about the music. In rehearsals, our point of view may change. Collaboration means hearing what the other musicians have to say. An interpretation reached by sharing ideas is what collaboration aims to achieve.
To reiterate the definition provided above, when we collaborate, we:
…work together to realize shared goals [in] … a deep, collective determination to reach an identical objective…
What does “collaboration” mean to you? How did you arrive at your conclusions?
Comments welcome!
Check back for my next post, PianoAnd: Children’s voices
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Please take a look at my e-book!
“Goal-oriented Practice” Are you practicing well? What do you do when you hit a snag? How do you help your students practice?
Do you have a plan for putting difficult pieces together at performance tempo? How do you help your students achieve a steady tempo without slowing down in difficult passages?
This book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many useful suggestions here.
50% off!!! Absolutely NO JARGON! Even my non-musician little sister says so.
Click on the link to see the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.
What did you find here? What would you like to see? Comments welcome!
If this post has been helpful and you think your friends and contacts would benefit from reading it, please share.
Have you worked from scores containing editors’ markings that could be interpreted as being misleading? How did you proceed?
Last week I had the privilege of collaborating with a talented violinist, a high school senior. One piece on her recital program was the Trio Sonata for Flute, Violin and Continuo in G Major, BWV 1038, by J.S. Bach. The flutist was also a high school senior.
Both played very well. Baroque style, however, seemed to be unfamiliar to them. So they relied on the score much more than on listening to each others’ phrasing.
The edition we were using contained editors’ markings which were misleading if taken literally.
First rehearsal
This was to be our only rehearsal together, with the exception of a short time in the hall prior to the performance.
I liked many aspects of what I heard:
In-tune playing.
Good balance of sound (one player not louder or softer than the other).
Legato playing, appropriate for this largo movement.
Nice tempo.
In the “needs work” department:
• Give and take so the moving part could carry the music.
Each player needed to diminuendo on the long notes, as they had alternating parts. Both players were more familiar with other musical styles, where a crescendo would be called for instead.
Notice in this clip that the top part (flute) plays tied notes while the 2nd part (violin) has more melodic and rhythmic interest. The give and take in the sound when the players honor that approach changes the sound completely. Now it sounds baroque rather than romantic.
• The music needed forward motion.
This could be heard primarily in the flute part. The flutist, looking at the editor’s markings, playing the slurs as indicated. In addition, because she needed to breathe, she would breathe after a short note. That took just enough extra time to interrupt the flow of the music, whereas taking time away from a long note in order to breathe would not have had the same effect.
Take a look at the top two parts (flute and violin, respectively). Notice how the markings seem to ask for the longer note to be slurred to the shorter one?
The music flows when exactly the opposite phrasing is used, as in the notation at the right of this example:
So we changed it! The sound improved immediately.
Second rehearsal
This rehearsal was with violin and piano only. However, we had an opportunity to discuss the Bach.
At the end of the first rehearsal, my impression was that the violinist understood the changes we had made. The flutist had improved, but was still relying on the printed score more than listening to the flow of the music.
My suggestion was for the violinist and the flutist to get together by themselves. They attend the same school and have free time, so this was not a problem. I asked the violinist to coach the rehearsal, finding musical lines they could play together, such as this one:
My goal was to make any differences in phrasing between the two players as clear as possible. Rehearsing alternating lines might not have had the same effect.
Pre-recital and performance
I am delighted to say that the sound was transformed! During our brief time in the recital hall prior to the performance, we had just a few minutes to rehearse this piece. After marking in accidentals that crept up on both players, likely because of nerves, I felt encouraged. If everyone could remain calm, count, listen, and enjoy it, we had an excellent chance of performing well.
And… it happened! The audience loved what they heard, and I felt gratified.
Here are two YouTube videos of this beautiful piece. Enjoy!
One version, performed with piano:
And another version, this time with harpsichord:
Have you worked from scores containing editors’ markings that could be interpreted as being misleading? How did you proceed?
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The following conversation, in response to Part V of this series, took place on Facebook:
ContributorHi Gretchen, what’s your suggestion making sure the congregation doesn’t get thrown off when using alternative arrangements to accompany congregational singing (as opposed to using them when the choir is singing a hymn as an anthem)?
Gretchen Saathoff Hmm… I’ll think about it! At Riverside, it’s not a problem. Have the choir sing the melody, disperse the choir throughout the congregation, try the Hymn of the Month approach, Try practicing the alternative arrangement for 2 minutes with the congregation, then use it in the hymn. Use the traditional harmonization for all verses except the last. That way, the congregation has been singing the tune for several verses already.
Gretchen SaathoffAnd try not to go too far afield with the alternate harmonization. The green Lutheran hymnal that replaced the red one had so many funky arrangements, they made very little sense. So why would anyone want to sing them.
ContributorThanks, Gretchen. Good advice here. There is a new red Lutheran hymnal, the ELW, that kept some of the old arrangements from the green LBW, and has lots of new hymns without harmonization, just melodies. So that helps. (But they left off the time signatures, which leads to confusion.) But if the hymn is new, even if only the melody is printed, the alternative arrangement still challenges the ear. And about the funky arrangements, people who can sing parts, oftentimes can sing even the funky ones, and some need to do that, because the melody is too high for them. I like the idea of practicing the alternative arrangement with the congregation – hadn’t thought of it as a possibility before!
Gretchen SaathoffNo time sigs? Not especially helpful, I’d think. Also, there is no need to use only the arrangements in the book. Change it so it works. Keep some parts and not others. Write a new one. If the melody is too high, something needs to change, such as trasposing down or maybe singing the melody an octave lower. The congregation needs the choir to sing the melody in unison on alternate harmonizations. When they can hear it, they sing better.
Gretchen SaathoffThere are lots of alternative harmonizations out there: volumes of hymns for organ, choral anthems, hymnals from other denominations, AGO website, etc. Plenty of hymn improvisations can be heard on YouTube.
Gretchen SaathoffFree association, you understand… and now it’s time for dinner! Back later.
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And a followup Facebook Message from yours truly:
During services in various denominations, I sometimes would play an alternative harmonization from a funky organ collection (The Sunday Morning Organist, I think). Just leave out the whiz bang awful parts when they don’t work.
Similarly, there are plenty of anthems that work, for the most part, but also have spots that don’t. One example is asking the choir to hold the last note for 8 bars. Does this make the ending better? Does singing a high note improve the message? That all depends on the choir, what else is going on (i.e. the keyboard part might be just fine on its own). Sometimes a “festive” ending will be tacked on that isn’t really needed. When the rest of the piece works well, I omit the parts that don’t work.
There may be one stanza of an anthem that splits into 8 parts, for example. When you have 6 people in your choir that Sunday, you have to think on your feet and find something that works. What do you have to keep? The melody and the bass line? Is the alto part more interesting than the tenor, or vice versa?
If one stanza is too elaborate for your circumstances, then sing the rest of the anthem and omit that one.
If the printed introduction is too long or too short, or is confusing to your choir/congregation, then by all means change it!
Thanks so much to my contributor, who prefers to remain anonymous.
Which approaches have the most success in your church?Comments and suggestions welcome!
Please see previous posts in this series.
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Pete Seeger teaching William Boyce “Alleluia” round in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, 2011. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Do you sing your music as you practice? I recommend it (see previous post).
For the past 2 or 3 days, I’ve been thinking about why this works so well.
When playing involves brain work only, one can become caught up in the exact length of each note, the weight given to each, the dynamic changes from one note to another. That level of detail is crucial to interesting playing, of course, but isn’t that mind-boggling, doing all that thinking?
When I practice in that way, I find that I am physically removed from producing the sound. I am not a participant in playing phrases. I notice that when I sing while playing, my body takes care of all that.
When the amount of breath sent through the body to produce the sound varies from pitch to pitch, the breath maintains the line. The body (arms, hands, tips of fingers) produces music, not just mathematical changes. What if someone told you that to reach a certain goal involving myriad details, all you needed to do one thing?
This is the best explanation I can come up with at the moment. I hope it is helpful. Singing makes all the difference. It coordinates separate, much smaller details, making them an organic whole. And it’s so easy!
On Tuesday evening, I subbed as rehearsal accompanist for a children’s choir rehearsal. Two choirs were involved, each with their own conductor, plus an excellent oboe soloist.
There is a choral festival at this venus on Sunday.
The rehearsal was at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in West Hartford, CT. The bulding is quite large and beautiful, with impressive grounds.
These are cell phone pictures taken in the rain. Not great, but perhaps you can get an idea of the grandeur of the place. I’ll try using a higher resolution next time I take pics.
Synthesizer
The rehearsal began in the social hall downstairs. Each choir assembled on one side of the room, near a Korg synthesizer. I was happy to find that the pedal was attached to a horizontal rod which ran the width of the keyboard! So the pedal stayed put. Very often, the pedal is attached only by a cable that plugs into a jack on the keyboard. Even when there is a rubberized base on the pedal, it slips away with use. So the keyboard player has to retrieve it w/his or her feet during breaks in the music. Sometimes it works fairly well to (a) tape the pedal to the floor; or (b) wedge the pedal against the base of the music stand. (Sometimes the keyboard has a music rack arrangement included. At other times, an orchestra music stand can be used… the big black kind.)
Program
The choruses I was involved with sang: Lullaby, Traditional Welsh Folk Melody arr. Nigel E. Jones Fairest Lady from “The Nursery Rhyme Cantata”, Nick Page Mary Had a Little Blues, Charles A. Collins Esurientes, Antonio Vivaldi Song for the Mira, Allister MacGillivray, arr. Stuart Calvert Ton Thé, Jeanne and Robert Gilmore, arr. Susan Brumfield
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A few weeks ago, I began working as a pianist in the Vocal Studies Division at The Hartt School, part of the University of Hartford.
Last Thursday, a voice teacher introduced me to one of his students as “our newest acquisition!”
Hartt has been, since I first set foot on campus for my interview, a friendly, welcoming place. The students are excellent, and the faculty is consistently engaged in the students’ progress.
I love my job.
This is my bio as it will appear on Hartt’s web site, along with the photo to the left of this post:
Pianist in the Vocal Studies Division
Gretchen Saathoff was born in Springfield, Illinois and grew up in Burlington, Iowa. She began piano lessons at age 6, and by age 12 was studying piano, organ, and voice at the University of Iowa.
Her father, a minister, trained her to collaborate in liturgical service playing from halfway across a rather large church sanctuary. She began playing church services at age 14. This proved to be excellent training in coordinating with a minister in the role of cantor, anticipating from a distance by using visual cues rather than sound, and leading congregational singing in the liturgy and hymns.
Thomas Dunn, then conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society, observed a chorus rehearsal for which Gretchen was accompanying during her sophomore year at SIU/Carbondale. Following the rehearsal, Mr. Dunn suggested that she consider a career as a professional accompanist.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from UMass/Amherst, Gretchen worked as staff accompanist at Smith College, also commuting to New York to study with Martin Katz, the venerable accompanist and vocal coach.
She then earned a Master’s Degree with Distinction in Accompanying and Coaching at Westminster Choir College, where she continued studying with Mr. Katz, graduating first in her class. During this time, she commuted to Philadelphia to play rehearsals for The Philadelphia Singers, directed by Michael Korn. Additional training includes fellowships to the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals, scholarships to the Alfred University Summer Chamber Music Institute, and accompanying singers in an audition class offered at The Metropolitan Opera by Joan Dornemann.
Following graduate school, Gretchen moved to New York with the goal of gaining the widest performing experience available. She lived and worked in New York for 18 years, where she founded Kairos, a piano trio, followed by a collaboration of several years with the prominent violinist Lisa Rautenberg.
Gretchen toured the United States twice as pianist with the Norman Luboff Choir. In addition to Mr. Luboff, she has worked with more than 75 conductors, among them Zubin Mehta, Placido Domingo, Daniel Barenboim, George Manahan, Paul Halley, Robert DeCormier, John Daly Goodwin, Amy Kaiser, Harold Rosenbaum, Joseph Flummerfelt, Greg Funfgeld, Clara Longstreth, Alan Harler, Alice Parker, and Tony Thornton. In addition, she has worked in the studios of sought-after voice teachers such as Judith Raskin, Paul Sperry, Oren Brown, Edith Bers, and Cynthia Hoffmann. She has collaborated with students of Joseph Fuchs, Harvey Shapiro, Richard Stolzman, Emanuel Vardi, Philipp Naegele, and Joel Krosnick.
She played rehearsals for the Brooklyn Opera, Bronx Opera, acted as House Accompanist for the Queens Opera Verdi Competition and the Oratorio Society of New York Soloist Competition, and played auditions for The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and Amato Opera. She has played countless auditions for singers and instrumentalists in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Haven, and many other cities.
Influential teachers include Mr. Katz, Ms. Dornemann, Mr. Fuchs, Mr. Krosnick, Mr. Shapiro, and Kenneth Cooper.
In addition to her work at The Hartt School, Gretchen is Director of Music at Christ United Methodist Church in Northampton, MA, and pianist for the Hampshire College Chorus and the Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble. Her freelance activity has seen her performing with the Pioneer Valley Symphony, the Commonwealth Opera, the Valley Light Opera, the Amherst College Choirs, a variety of students and groups at UMass/Amherst, the Quabbin Valley Pro Musica, and Mak’hela, the Jewish chorus of Western Mass.
Gretchen is actively engaged in creating audience-friendly performances. In solo recitals, she insists that the house lights be left on so audience members can read her program notes. She has received a great deal of positive audience feedback when also providing verbal notes during her solo and chamber music concerts.
Her other interests are, among others, being outdoors; The New York Times crossword; listening to jazz, gospel, and soul; watching tennis, baseball, and old movies; and enjoying dinner out with friends.
Copyright 1978 Maranatha! Music, admin. by The Copyright Co.
Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord
Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord
And He shall lift you up, higher and higher,
And He shall lift you up.
Sources:
Celebration Hymnal #622
Renew! #188
Sing the Faith #2131
Sing with Me #201
Singing the New Testament #230
The Faith We Sing #2131 (as listed at Hymnary.org)
Background
Today was Kickoff Sunday at our church. Some churches call it Homecoming Sunday, and there are many variations on the theme. The designation denotes the first Sunday after Labor Day weekend, the beginning of school, the opening of church school, and the return of the choir.
Our “traditional” service began 1/2 hour earlier for the first time, which also moved choir rehearsal to 8:30 from 9:00.
Good morning!
When I arrived at 7:30 to practice, the chairs (a new experiment in lieu of pews) were in place for the parishioners. The location of the choir was left for us to take care of.
The six people who sang today all arrived at 8:30! Because of the earlier time, that could have presented a problem.
We welcomed Joyce, a new member who is trying out a new experience.
Logistics
We discussed where everyone would feel comfortable, moved a few chairs, moved the piano so we could all see each other, and had a terrific rehearsal!
The choir wanted to face the congregation throughout the service in order to lead the singing. I couldn’t agree more! Finding seats among the parishioners and then walking to the front for the anthem would have disrupted the flow of the service.
Pam, a choir member, had suggested earlier in the week that we could spend less time rehearsing the hymns and more time looking ahead to the following week’s anthem. She made a good point. So today we warmed up on the sung response to a congregational reading. That only took a minute or two, a good use of our time, as the congregation needed our leadership with the unfamiliar music.
The anthem
Our anthem was perfect for the offertory. Written like a round, the choir sang the melody. Sue, a soprano in the choir, handled the descant (essentially the 2nd entrance in the round) beautifully.
I came across this engaging piece while browsing through “The Faith We Sing,” an alternative to the standard hymnal. Although I didn’t know it, I fell in love with it right away. I was so happy when the choir had the same experience!
The congregation had a wonderful reaction to the choir’s singing today.
This piece, which can be done in many different ways, turned out to be a great way to begin the new season. Any number of singers would be appropriate, the placement of the singers for the two parts of the round could be flexible, the number of repeats could be changed during the singing with no problem, and the keyboard part could either be played or omitted.
Compliments to the choir!
I am so proud of my little choir for their enthusiasm, wonderful suggestions, cooperation, and willingness to show up early! The spirit of collaboration is wonderful, allowing everyone to feel a sense of ownership.
What’s next?
I can’t wait for next week! We will be singing “Lead Me, Guide Me,” by Doris Akers, followed by “Over My Head,” an African-American spiritual arr. by John Bell, the next week. “Over My Head” was suggested by a choir member last Spring. Thanks, Carolyn!
Bethel A.M.E. Church in Kirksville, Missouri, where Doris Akers first learned to sing and play Gospel music. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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English: Bromo-Seltzer advertisement for headache medicine. Lottie Collins sings Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-de-ay! after being healed by the medicine and this effect makes her to dance and sing. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Several years ago I went out to dinner with a singer/client. Although she had a pounding headache, she was delightful company. She was joking, laughing, and making wonderful contributions to our conversation.
How was she able to be so personable, considering that she had a headache?
Well, she was compartmentalizing. I didn’t understand how to do that at the time. But I worked on it, and am now so much better!
Which brings me to the point: What happened to Andy Murray in the quarterfinals at this year’s US Open?
He tanked! There is plenty of video footage of him smashing his racquet against the court and screaming during his match with Stan Wawrinka. That was between points. During play, he looked like a bump on a log. He let shots go without moving at all, netted several returns, and generally looked disengaged.
Don’t you think the spectators who paid for those expensive tickets expected to see both players at their best?
I should say that I have long thought Murray’s game was erratic. He is extremely talented, but his widely variable focus and frequent lack of will make his game so inconsistent.
What would happen if he could put his frustrations in a box for the duration of the match? Does he need to vent so much that it saps his concentration?
Try this: When you are practicing and feel distracted, frustrated, angry at the company you spent an hour on hold with just now, or worried about something else, take out your imaginary box. Put all of that in the box, then go to the front door. Open the door, and place your imaginary box out in the hallway.
All your “stuff” will still be there when you’re finished practicing. You can have it back if you want it.
By the way, the same procedure works just as well for rehearsals, auditions, juries, and performances!