Well, this will be my first rehearsal at the store front offices of the SSO on 20th Street in Saskatoon. Should be cool being able to sing and watch all the people going by on the street.
Yes, it was a very interesting experience, and we were in quartets for the whole rehearsal – bar one run through the newest piece.
We all arrived, were assigned seats and got into position to sing and we pretty much followed the list which Duff had sent to us beforehand.
#24 – Surely he hath borne – Duff wanted us to start ensuring we memorize the first and last phrases so that we are actually concentrating on the conductor – you know eyes up!!
#25 – And with his stripes – Duff reminded us that this one is part of a trio of pieces with the ones before and after and they set the stage for what happens later. This piece has a very emotional impact when you listen and think about what the lyrics actually mean.
#26 – All we like sheep – Duff suggested that we should be playful and wanted us to imagine how sheep gambol and charge around.
#28 – He trusted in God – again really try to do the first and last from memory and treat this as if it was a scandalous rumour going through a crowd.
# 9 – O thou that tellest – we should be concentrating on the text.
#17 – Glory to God – Duff did not want this to get too choppy.
We did have a break in there sometime whereupon people started talking to their neighbours and the like. Funny but regularly during the rehearsal the lights seemed to go out – thanks to the Transit Buses that were stopping regularly.
We included # 51 – But thanks be to God – as it was a new one which Duff wants us to be able to sing with as much confidence as the Hallellujah chorus.
#4 – Since by man came death – fine tuning.
Additionally, we did an a cappella version of the Hallelujah chorus, which sounded awesome if not a bit weird – singing alone with a Tenor in your ear on one side and a Soprano in the other one…. Just takes a little bit of getting used to – but very cool.
Jingle Bells.
I kind of like the smaller choir flavour – feels a bit more nimble an we are able to do better things with diction and inflection.
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