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Dear singers,
Unbelievably, by the end of next Tuesday's rehearsal we will have seen and worked on everything you're involved in! Of course, all the fun is yet to begin as we make these movements as beautiful as we can, but we're proceeding more quickly to familiarity than I thought. You're working hard and I really appreciate that.
For the first part of next Tuesday's rehearsal, we will have our first reading of the final and most demanding movement ("Quando corpus morietur"), which begins on p.88. It's quite long, but you'll be interested to know that through the longest section you'll be singing one word: Amen!
We did have a bit of a setback last Tuesday due to the number of people absent through illness or conflicts that took them elsewhere. It's ironic that this was the evening I planned to introduce and focus on the men's chorus movement ("Fac me vere tecum flere"), which begins on p.62. We did just that, with the sopranos and altos working separately, and felt pretty good about our work...but 5–6 singers weren't in on that!
SO: take note of the plan for next Tuesday. THE SOPRANOS AND ALTOS WILL BE FINISHED AT THE BREAK! If you ride with a tenor or bass, please make other arrangements or bring something to occupy yourself while they continue rehearsing (I'll dedicate the time to bringing the T/B absentees up to speed and strengthening their movement).
During the first portion of rehearsal, we'll be solving the mysteries of 3/2 time...something that's less familiar yet is the meter of the final movement. I know you'll be happy feeling more secure with this meter by break time! Expect also to get clarification of tricky pronunciations, which will of course occupy us at each rehearsal. In other words, if you feel you're behind or at sea at this point in the term, relax and be assured that we're doing well for time and there will be lots of repetition of this text. You'll be fine!
On another topic: I hope you've all checked out the itinerary for the planned tour to Portugal and northern Spain this summer! It promises to be a terrific time, and there's still time to sign up. We're nearing a balanced group of singers, and though all sections welcome more people, we really could use more sopranos and basses. Rebekah Wozniak and I welcome any questions you might have!
Looking forward to seeing you all next Tuesday night. No fair getting sick!
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