We had another good rehearsal on Wednesday. 64 members in the chapel and 9 on Zoom, with lots of people on holiday still. I know that two members were trying to join us online from Greece! We worked on the Gloria, Cum Sanctus Spirito and Quonium tu solus sanctus movements, There is quite a lot to go through this week, so please read to the end.
Rehearsal September 15th – NO PARKING IN THE QUAD. Please use the roads around the school or the sports centre car park. Please do not let me down on this.
- We will be working on the Domine Fili Unigenite movement of the Vivaldi Gloria. Many of us were in good practice habits before lockdown last year. There are clips of individual parts on Youtube for the Gloria and don’t forget that many of you have access to the John Fletcher rehearsal website.
- We will start Parry’s I Was Glad. Scores will be provided but if you have your own, please bring it along.
- Please take time to look at both of these before the rehearsal. Please bring a pencil to mark in the instructions Naomi gives us. I will make sure there are some spare next week. Not everyone appeared to be marking their scores last night.
- Bring your European Sacred Music book. Naomi wants to us to sing some of the pieces we did in lockdown as part of our warm up. if you don’t have it, here is the piece we will be doing which you can print off at home. https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/d/d7/Bogoroditse_Devo_-_Rachmaninov.pdf
COVID SAFETY:
Thanks to everyone for following the guidelines last night. Please remember these guidelines:
- If possible, complete a lateral flow test in the 24 hours before you attend a rehearsal. Do not come if your test is positive, and follow government advice. These are available from chemists and can be ordered online by clicking the link above.
- We can provide good ventilation in the chapel by having the doors open, and this will reduce risk – it may be a bit cold later in the year!
- When you attend a rehearsal, please wear a mask entering the building, and until you sit down at the very least. This is government advice, and seems to make sense. Also put on a mask if moving around during the interval and on leaving. If you wish to sing with a mask on that is absolutely fine too.
- As far as is practical, try to maintain a 6 feet distance between you and other choir members. In the pews this means not sitting directly behind another person, and a maximum of 4 or 5 people per pew.
- If you do develop symptoms of Covid 19 after you have been to a rehearsal, please inform Jo (depchchair@tonphil.org.uk) or me (chchair@tonphil.org.uk), so that we can assess what risks there might be to the rest of the choir, and what action we should take.
MUSIC TO BUY:
Angela Deacon has kindly offered to use her contacts to order the music we are singing this term for those who would like to buy their own copy. If you would like to purchase any of the following please email her direct at: landa.deacon@gmail.com and let her know which scores you require. Prices will depend on the size of the order. The more we order, the bigger the discount which will be applied:
- Vivaldi Gloria – New Novello Choral edition
- European Sacred Music – for warm ups this term
- 100 carols for Choirs – for Family Carols in December
NEWS FROM THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY – FREE CONCERT
“As you may know, the RPS has been championing and promoting classical music and musicians for over 200 years, and part of our aim is to be a central point for all those interested and involved in music-making, whether they be artists, amateur music-makers, music-lovers, or audience members. We are therefore reaching out to like-minded organisations, hoping together to help foster a nationwide awareness and love of music.
After what has been a rather tough 18 months for the classical music industry, we are so happy to be able to announce our return to RPS live events, and there is one in particular coming up in a few weeks that we felt might be of specific interest to your choral members. This is a free event (although please note that tickets must be booked in advance through our website, so we can keep an eye on numbers), featuring soprano Carolyn Sampson and pianist Joseph Middleton, who will present an ‘open rehearsal’ on Tuesday 21 September at 7.00pm at St Clement Danes church on the Strand, London WC2.
As a little flavour of what’s in store, why not watch what happened when baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Joanna MacGregor gave a rare glimpse of what happens when two celebrated artists meet and share their instincts in rehearsal. Watch Joanna MacGregor and Roderick Williams in rehearsal There is more information here on all of our upcoming live events.” Madeline Smith (RPS)