Big thanks to wonderful Claire 2 for stepping so ably into the breach last week. Cheers chick! Well I arrived back from my travels (after a slightly terrifying journey up the legendary Bealach Na Ba and a restful holiday in Wester Ross) and was immediately thrown into the small group piece Miserere Nostri'. Well, it must be said that it was much better than one might have imagined, especially since two of those involved had never sung it before and none of us had sung it for about three years. Perhaps not quite good enough for a concert yet (the sopranos were in perfect canon throughout but we have a tendency to leave everyone else behind), but certainly there is potential.
After a dash of jolly yoga and some silly noise-based warmup led by this Blogstress we embarked upon our pre-concert rehearsal at Priestfield Church. It is always exciting to hear the pieces in an acoustic without so much carpet and last night was no exception. A-L's rather staggering top note in the Tormis (sorry, I regret I cannot tell you which one as in my small mind they all merge together to form one loud Estonian cacophony - that sounds like a a meat-based stew, no? Anyone for a bowl of Estonian cacophony?) sounded particularly brilliant. The Debussy is also coming on and sounded pretty good. We are still perfecting the beginning and Maestro Boy told us to put our tongue on our alveolar ridge (or something like that). That Maestro Boy, what a card! I still have no idea what he was talking about.
Maestro Boy was full of useful advice for his ever-eager followers, including imagining that a Martian was holding a piece of string attached to the tops of our heads. I think it was meant to encourage us to stand tall, but it left me with a scary image of the day the Martians (or indeed any form of extra-terrestrial life) take over our small planet and control us with a length of twine and some well adjusted knots. Terrifying!
What kind of mouth shape should we aim for when singing particularly difficult vowel sounds I hear you cry. Well, I am glad you asked as Maestro Boy had further words of wisdom for us. Apparently you should pout like a duck. No, I found that one difficult to follow too. Do ducks pout? Well, there is a question. I would imagine so, especially when passing full length mirrors or when a particularly handsome mallard with his green plumage waddles by.
His final nugget was directed at the tenors (I believe) during Crucifixus, when he encouraged them to "just wing it". Righto! It must be said that winging an 18th Century piece, in Latin, in 8 parts is slightly easier said then done, but I think the words of advice were welcomed anyways.
So with a week to go the Rudsambee-lets are looking forward to a great gig at the Portrait Gallery next Thursday. There are a number of good reasons why you should come:
1) It is straight after work at 6.
2) It is a nice building with a rather startling acoustic.
3) It is free (bargain, you can't get cheaper than that blog fans).
4) The music will be good.
5) We are beginning with two Tormis pieces which, for an audience, is a little like jumping into a cold Scottish loch in March - a bit of a shock but ultimately satisfying and exhilarating.
6) Apparently there's some art nearby in case you're early.
So we'll see you all there then. The week after is one of our infamous Rudsambee parties. Robin (who will soon be moulding the finest minds of the young generations - congrats on getting into teaching training, pal!) and I will be bringing Guitar Hero along. Oh yes, the photographs courtesy of Chief Blog Editor are sure to be spectacular.
Until next week, when in all likelihood you will get two posts for the price of one. As this blog is free, that is not a great deal of outlay for you!
CSW
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