We started as usual with warm up exercises. These included:

1. how to phrase words more carefully eg RIVer and OVer.

2. how to crescendo/decrescendo more smoothly using a full dynamic range.

We then looked at the following pieces:

West Side Story

II Maria and One Hand, One Heart (p21)

• Solo from beginning to Bar 8.
• Next section from Bar 9 sung by altos, tenors and basses (mf)
• From Bar 18, no basses – altos and tenors only (f). Bar 23, altos also drop out and tenors sing alone (pp).  Soloist picks up again at Bar 30 
• Be ready for the transition into Bar 34 at p24/25
• Bar 34 – sing with ‘passion’ but very softly p and legato. At Bar 66 sing tranquillo and pp.
• Note 3 part harmony in upper voices from Bar 85. Top sops sing on a soft and open vowel to sustain the top A and to decrescendo. 

III America (p42)

• Bar 178, v1 solo, v2 altos. Sops sing at Bar 93, coming in after quaver rest. Watch the triplets and observe the dynamics
• Mark the page turn p44/45 and ALL in at Bar 208 but p. Note which voice singing which part Bar 220 to 230, then ALL in at Bar 230 and f
• Cut Bar 241 to Bar 264
• Bar 286 to Bar 291- ALL clap, but only JJ to ‘speak’ the ‘Ayes’

A Place to Call Home

• Watch out for which voice is singing which section and the occasional  harmony parts for altos and basses.
• Keep flow and pace going despite the rests and broken phrases – make sense of the words and tell the story!
• Count and mark up carefully – some phrases start on 2^nd beat of bar and some on the 3^rd beat.
• Note crescendo Bars 67/68 and f to ff by Bar 79
• Join Bars 87/88 and word ‘too’ to end of phrase (despite Bar 86 being a rest)

Celebrate

• We revised ‘Celebrate’ singing through the 3 verses to check words, notes and dynamics. To be sung from memory.
• We practised the clapping sections using memory/music /crib sheet provided by Mary – introduction and ending
• In v1- all sing together mf start, in v 17/18 p to mf to p
• In v2 – sops and tenors begin the round, alto and basses start after 2 bars.
• Straight into v3 to continue the round. End of v3, sops and altos add extra Bar 19 and 20b ‘music, our music’ to allow altos and basses to catch up.
• Then, all move on to the ‘Ah’ and clapping section together. Finish on fff in Bars 37/38 with harmony.

Love Call Me Home  

• v1 sung as a soprano solo with other 3 parts singing harmony with words below. Sopranos join all for the chorus. Bar 14/15, sustain the music over the bar line.  
• Remaining verses all sing – v2 is p, v3 is mp, v4 is mf and v5 is f and unaccompanied
• In v5, rallentando in Bar 43 and mf at Bar 45, decrescendo smoothly to last bar
• In v5, in final bar hold the chord on ‘home’ and then move smoothly to sing an additional bar on sound of ‘mm’ of ‘home’ and a new chord – sops move up to ‘A’, altos to ‘F’, tenors stay on ‘C’, basses move up to ‘F’
• Throughout, sing legato keeping vowels long and open with consonants short and added as late as possible.

Les Miserables (Do you hear the people sing? p17)

• We sang through this piece to revise what we had learned previously.
• Solo from Bar 133 and then all in Bar 147 in 4 part harmony.
• At Bar 155 cut to p29 at Bar 252. Start p with a very long sustained crescendo through to the end at ff