This was an important rehearsal ahead of our first Christmas concert at St Gabriel’s church on Sunday 11^th December.

Mary took us through most of the pieces we shall sing, rehearsing tricky sections for notes and rhythms, reminding us of articulation of words, practising ‘joins’ between sections, dynamics.

Importantly, keep heads up over the top of copies, sing out and watch Mary.

The warm up exercises included an exercise to practise singing ‘Gloria -in’ (NOT Gloria rin).

We then practised:

• Jazz Gloria
• Note the different dynamics for each verse
• Note carefully the pattern of which part sings what and when. Note each section (ABCD) is sung twice before moving on.
• At the very end, all parts sing the minim and stop clearly together.

• Sleep away, my gentle child
• Sing this tenderly but not tentatively, articulate the words clearly and keep up the pitch  
• Violin plays second time through at the beginning. Choir picks up again Bar 19.
• Note the men are singing a gentle and rhythmical accompaniment against the tune in the top two parts.
• Bar 34 for altos – watch for the pick up of the final phrase

• I’m Dreaming
• Watch out for when your part is singing the accompaniment to the main tune
• Be careful to sing the syncopated rhythm
• Note the changing dynamics at E
• Note the mp and rit at the end at F
• Watch!

• In the Bleak Midwinter
• Remember to crescendo smoothly through dotted minims eg ‘bleak’ in Bar 3, ‘wind’ in Bar 5
• Soloists to sing Bar 10 – 14 in first verse
• Otherwise revise the pattern of which sections of the choir sing what and when in the first verse (with repeat) and in the Canon – see detailed notes from 7 November.

• Ding Dong merrily on high
• Bar 11 – note the second sops begin the chorus each time
• Repeats of the 3 choruses – fp, fp, pf.
• Note no rall at the very end
• From Bar 11, alto, tenor and bass accompaniment, sing gently but with a strong ‘swinging bell’ style.
• Be careful of double syllable words at the ends of phrases – stress the first syllable and ease off for the second eg singing, Gloria, excelsis

• Kyrie eleison (when Christ was born)
• Move to new singing positions so all the middle part voices are closer together
• Note the different dynamics for each of the 4 unison sections
• Slight rall from Bar 9 (watch!) but no dim in v4

• The Gift
• Throughout – observe the syncopated rhythms, count the beats on each note accurately, be ready to pick up quickly new phrases at joins between verses and chorus especially, observe dynamics carefully
• Sing through phrases as marked eg Bar 6 and elsewhere. Observe the breathing marks eg after myrrh in Bar 48 and elsewhere
• Watch for start of Ch 4 with top parts singing the accompaniment. Be careful as to how parts fit together – count!
• At all times – heads up, sing out and watch!

• Ring the Bells
• Sing joyfully
• Note dynamics for each verse. Generally, sops sing louder than other parts
• Crescendo through from Bar 12- Bar 14. In Bars 14/15 sustain the notes on ‘sing’ for correct length in each part
• Watch the join at C – listen to the piano and count. Note the key change.
• From D, be careful to articulate ‘majesty’ and match to the notation carefully. In Bar 32, ‘in’ is a crotchet beat