Squeak.

Whoo-hoo! I managed to do so. Just the tiniest voice and a little unpleasantly on the rodent-y side to be honest but so much better than nothing and maybe I’ll be able to sing properly by December 11th after all. Please keep fingers and toes crossed. And eyes, to be on the safe side. Ta.

So, what did we do? I cannot for the life of me remember what order we did things in so let’s just pretend I know what I’m talking about, shall we? and not be too precious about accuracy. Highly over-rated it is, in almost every circumstance.
Started off with a look at Ther is No Rose (spelling correct before you start getting all sniffy – it is an OLD song and they just wrote things as they wanted, much as do the youth of today). This little number does not involve the sopranos so they were sent away to look at other things while the rest of us tried out the first verse all together many, many times, mostly so we could get the pronunciation of ‘swych’ (such) right – ‘ch’ as in ‘loch’ not as in chocolate or chlorine - but also because we all have to sing it. Eventually this will be performed in sort of double trios – that’ll be six people at a time then - and I am doing two verses with Jenny which is just as well because she can sing loud enough for both of us (and several other people too) if my voice decides to return to its hiding place. There is a long phrase at the end of each verse which we are supposed to do in one breath.

Nuff said.

That was earlier – I have returned to work clutching a hot-water bottle, believe it or not. I know you will be delighted to hear that they are starting work on my new heating system on Tuesday (hoorah!) so, pretty soon – all being well – I will have no need to moan and whimper about the cold anymore. That will jolly things up quite considerably, won’t it?

Hmmm... now what shall I claim we did next? Let’s say it was O Morgenstern which I didn’t even try to sing. I did attempt a sort of hum but that was a disaster so I gave up. I was delighted when Heather and Marie-Claire, both new and far too good at sight-reading, got it wrong but there was little I could do to help (darn it) because I couldn’t have got the notes out if I tried. I was able to give them a little advice once the BW had pointed out their initial mistake (oh so tactfully – he really is a wonder) which I enjoyed immensely. Having said all this, I should point out that this is a piece of music in which the sopranos and tenors sing in a completely different key to the altos and basses so getting a note or two (and it was only a note or two) wrong is hardly anything to be ashamed of. My momentary sense of superiority was, therefore, really quite unfounded and I am the one who should be feeling ashamed (only, I don’t) but one has to take what one can get and do it as often as possible, too.

We move onto the octet in In Dulci Jubilo when eight of us (yes, really) went off to practise by ourselves (with The Boy Wonder, of course) leaving the others to look at Rocking (I think). The octet is now coming together quite nicely – we have new people singing some of the parts and, as usual, they are great – and, no, I am NOT pulling faces as I type. Changes always seem a little strange to begin with (we have sung this bit with the same eight voices for about four years now) but I think the present line-up is beginning to sound well blended. It will be better once I am at full capacity. Or maybe not. Perhaps I’ll throw everything off-kilter. Yikes – what a notion!

Work was done on Jajang, Jajang which I am beginning to understand. It is still a little hairy in places but does sound remarkably good from time to time!
Rocking is coming along too and will be lovely, I think. The tenors are struggling here and there (and everywhere?) but they’ll get it in the end; they usually do. Chris, rather poignantly, begged for help at one point claiming they were ‘lost and broken’ – aaah! – but I think – judging by my notes – that there was only a small problem with tuning: “...it is more of a flat b than a b flat” says Ol. Well it can happen to anyone. The altos and sops are good at this song. We are swots, according to Our Leader. Well, hell yes! Sure we are. Singing disconnected sharps and flats and naturals which have no noticeable relationship to one another – Good Lord, we do it all the time.

Trees of the Field – tricky. Dour, according to Kay. Getting there.
That was it. Was that it? Possibly.

Jenny was particularly giggly this week. Anything at all set her off. Kay dropping all her music (and doesn’t sheet music just scatter beautifully) just as we were about to start trilling something or other; this is a fine practice in rehearsal but not to be recommended in the middle of a concert as Helen (gone away but back for Christmas, I believe) could tell you... mention of vibrating, battery-powered toys (well, who can blame her?) when all Behm wanted was the whizzy hole-punching thingummyjig)... Heather using her head as a pencil-case (she looked a bit like a porcupine. Between her and Mr Scott the real pencil-case was almost empty, Chris having spent some time ‘putting pencils in’ Robin. Why? Well who knows? When? In the middle of a song, of course. Where? I dread to think)... your blogetteer nearly tumbling off her stool (Heather caught me just in time, there was only half a buttock left in contact; just what caused the slippage I am unable to say, it happened all of a sudden and quite without reason)... Sebastian sleeping peacefully in his too-comfy seat between tunes (he’s just back from several weeks in Japan and still adjusting; when singing he went at it full throttle but in between he snored – musically, of course). Jen admitted to having partaken of some Bailey’s prior to rehearsal. Shocking behaviour, I suggested. “Well, it was a while ago – at half past five”, she tells me. That is well before drinkies-time if you ask me. And if the effects of a small glass of alcoholic beverage last that long and cause that sort of mischievous result then, for heaven’s sake KEEP THE WOMAN AWAY FROM THE BAR AND THE BOTTLE – please!

My mobility telephone is beeping and one of the smoke alarms is joining it in an effort to inform me that its battery has run down so I’d better go see.

‘Til next time. xxx