Jamie to the 2nd altos: "I'm sure you'll quiver underneath us!"

(That was in Tannhäuser. I'll leave you to work out what he meant :p )

I must first apologise for taking 2 days to post this. Wednesday was a horrible, horrible day - major hassles at work caused me to be late for the rehearsal, which I hate - and I ran out of energy when I got home. Feeling a bit guilty now I've noticed how many people looked at this blog since then (35!) - sorry guys!

A few more Jamieisms to list:
"Sing 'him' with the 'hum' tummy."
"Definitely on the southern side of the note. It's not flat, but..." (that was to the basses)
"It's not a big kind of calamity in the mouth." (re: the consonant cluster in the middle of 'virgins pray')

And two favourite moments of the evening:
1. Jamie and David thumping out "I was glad" as a piano duet during the break. Embarrassingly, those of us who were sitting in the hall at the time didn't recognise it without the words. We knew we knew it, but we just couldn't remember what it was!
2. The basses singing "Amen" on page 37 (after the Noe/Job/Moses/David bit). It sounded wonderful and sent shivers down my spine.

All in all it was a good rehearsal, despite the fact it included Wagner (which always gives me a sore throat for some reason). I started in a totally black mood and was quite cheerful by the end. Yay for choir :-) We did the first half of Gerontius in some detail, and then the men went home and we learned our 23 bars of Tannhauser pretty thoroughly. Turns out we will definitely be offstage for the gig and therefore don't have to wear our frocks or stay after we've sung. Not that we don't enjoy listening to the orchestra play, but I (for one) have been totally exhausted lately and will welcome the extra free time!

Oh, and before I forget, thanks to Graham (again!) for pointing out that the Hallé have won an award.

Now, to make up for my delay in posting, I think I will treat you to my list of "interesting things I've got scribbled in my Gerontius score". (Yes, I know you've been awaiting this with bated breath!) If you don't want to hear it, stop reading now...

... still here? OK, here we go:

(many of you will already know lots of this stuff, but I'm writing it down for those who might not)

page 0: A.M.D.G. stands for "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam"... "To the greater glory of God". Elgar used this dedication on several of his other sacred works too, as did J. S. Bach.

PART 1

page 1: bars 1-4 is the Judgement theme (see also e.g. page 64, figure 20; page 66, 2 bars before figure 26, where it appears in the middle of the accompaniment; page 93, figure 58; also on page 158 at figure 118 just before the "blinding flash"); at figure 2 is the Fear theme (see also e.g. page 65 at figure 24)

page 2: figure 4 is the Prayer theme (see also e.g. page 10, figure 28; page 30, 3rd line last bar; page 34, figure 61)

page 3: (don't worry, there isn't a note for every page!) 3rd bar of figure 10 there is a good bit featuring string arpeggios

page 6: figure 19 is the Sleep theme (see also e.g. page 39, top line, just as Gerontius dies)

page 7: figure 21 is the Pain theme (see also e.g. page 8, figure 24; page 14, last 2 bars; page 31, figure 58)

page 9: bar 2 has a lovely effect in which all the strings (muted) are divisi in 3 parts and the harps have repeated triplets. AND bar 3 has all this with a Neapolitan 6th! (that's my favourite chord, btw, and there are loads in Gerontius). Bar 6 sees the strings dividing even further (into 4 parts) and bar 10 has them playing unison but sul ponticello (a weird sound caused by playing nearer the bridge than usual)

page 15: bar 2 has the first sound of the Demons; bar 6 has the "Sanctus Fortis" tune that comes properly on page 23)

page 27: the 3rd line has a good bit involving the trombones; figure 49 is just a good note :-)

page 29: figure 53 has another sul ponticello bit

page 30: figure 56 has fff brass triplets - wow!

page 31: figure 57 is what I think of as the "West Side Story" bit (if you know the WSS music you'll know what I mean); 4 bars later has another pppp divisi string bit with a Neapolitan

page 32: figure 59 has another hint of the Demons to come; 2 bars later the timps are hit with the wrong end of the sticks (weird effect!)

page 34: figure 61 has sextuplet semiquavers on the timp on the first beat

page 36: figure 64 has the organ playing; the semi-chorus is listing those to whose aid God has come in the past

page 38: Gerontius is on his last legs here, and he dies at the end of the top line of page 39

page 39: after top line, mood changes completely as Gerontius has died and the priest sings for the first time

page 40: the music here is referenced on page 149 when Gerontius hears it from wherever he is

page 46: I have written here, from a previous performance, "Stay under Willard!" which is a nice thought :p I also have written "levitation section", which is either a Mark or a Jamie idea and refers to the feeling rather than anything in the text or music, as far as I recall. Oh, and there is a dominant pedal here (i.e. the long held A in the bass of the orchestra); a dominant pedal is a kind of aural clue that we're reaching the end of the movement (once you know what they sound like you'll be amazed how many pieces have one)

page 54: I love the 2nd bass note here!

PART 2

page 56: at the risk of stating the obvious, Gerontius is referred to as the "soul" now, because he is dead

page 57: bottom line has a violin solo followed by a cello solo

page 59: 3rd line has the Alleluia theme, a hint of the Angel's music from the next page

page 60: the Angel appears here for the first time (Elgar directs that she not appear on the platform until part 2); 3rd line (2nd bar) has the aforementioned Alleluia theme, followed by a horn motif that I really like

page 62: bar 2 has the Alleluia theme for the 3rd and best time

page 68: last bar has a total change of mood as we get to the demons; there are bassoons, contrabassoon, double basses, timps with sticks

page 69: 2nd line has the strings playing col legno (i.e. with the wood of the bow rather than the hair - a weird effect); this page also has previews of some of the demon chorus themes

page 74: I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm listening to football commentary (which I frequently do) and they use the word "dispossessed", I have this tune on the brain for hours!

page 76: figure 37 has a great bit with a gong crash on beat 2

page 79: bar 2 has the timps with sticks thing again

page 83: when I first did Gerontius I found this page really difficult. But it's easy when you've got the sound of it in your head after singing it loads of times. Be reassured, newbies :-)

page 85: figure 47 has an ff muted horn chord which sounds GREAT

page 87: figure 49 has a big descending woodwind scale; ditto ascending 3 bars later

page 89: bassoon scale up and down on top line

page 90: bar 6 has the famous bass "quack quack"; last but one bar has the basses singing in unison in theory, yet I have NEVER heard this bar anywhere NEAR unison. (Yes, basses, that's a challenge!) The last bar, and the first bar of the next page, has the bassoons doing a final "ha! ha!" at a third of the speed.

page 91: contrabassoon joins in for last 4 bars

page 92: first 3 bars are reminiscent of start of part 2 (page 55)

page 93: top line has a good bit with 3 separate violin and cello soli; on the bottom line the mortal she refers to is St Francis

page 95: the Angelicals are the souls of those who have already been redeemed

page 100: in the first bar of the bottom line I have written "Let the blood run free!" I know this refers to a long-forgotten weird Australian black comedy set in a hospital, but I have no idea what I thought its connection with this bar was!

page 102: 2 bars before 68 is the "grumbling bit" and has a timp roll with horn/bass clarinet chords

page 105: first chord of bar 4 was Keith Orrell's favourite chord in the whole piece

page 111: bar 2 has bassoon/clarinet arpeggios; figure 74 (when they cross the threshold into (I assume) Heaven itself) is one of those bars which I find practically impossible to sing because I'm so overcome by the build-up to it and the fantastic noise that surrounds me on the chord itself. I'm invariably all choked up and can only join in properly a few bars later. If anyone has a suggestion that will enable me to sing the whole line, I'd love to hear it!

page 113: I have "keep up!!" written in the last bar, because the sops ALWAYS sound as if they're half an hour behind the rest of us here. This may of course just be caused by the distance they are from me, but it bugs me EVERY time!

page 116: similarly, I have "eugh!" written by the first bar of the bottom line, because the sops, in the past, have always made a pig's ear of the first note. However, I'm delighted to report that this year it's sounded great every time. We're improving :-)

page 129: I have "MARIA!!" written by the 2nd alto entry on this page. This is because for years I kept being unable to pitch the G#. Then I realised it was "Maria" and have been able to do it ever since :-)

page 133: figure 93 starts a chain of hemiolas which I hadn't noticed the first dozen or so times I sang this. (A hemiola is a rhythmic device used in triple time (e.g. 3/4 like here) in which 2 bars of 3 beats are effectively replaced by 3 lots of 2 beats (i.e. the accents are placed differently). It's used more in Baroque music than later, particularly dance movements such as minuets, and has the effect of making the music seem to hurry along a bit quicker.)

page 135: dominant pedal starts here (i.e. long bass G) (see note for page 46)

page 144: 1st basses have an incredibly high note :p

page 147: I have written "as loud as possible, then louder!" I also have "ooh, echo!!" This is from the St Paul's performance in 2002 - the echo was inconvenient in many places, but at this point it was FABULOUS.

page 148: top line is very similar to the Fear theme (see note for page 1); last 2 bars have low flute triplets

page 149: figure 103 has the "Earth chords" (see page 39 figure 68, and subsequently); in this section the soul of Gerontius is referring to the music on page 40. (The 'Subvenite' is a Latin prayer (Subvenite Sancti Dei) which could very loosely be translated using the words on pages 41-54.)

page 150: the very last crotchet of the page is a Tristan chord

page 151: the Angel of the Agony (usually sung by the same soloist as the Priest) appears, and a long chain of unprepared Neapolitan 6th chords starts here - see e.g. bar 2 and bar 6

page 155: on the top line the orchestra gradually drops out, leaving only the organ on the word 'Judge'

page 156: (one of the very best pages in the whole thing) in bar 2 the harps play the 2 tenor parts as harmonics

page 157: the Alleluia theme returns on the bottom line

page 158: Alleluia again (a really good one) on the 2nd line; however, this one is different in that the timps and organ pedal join in, and the horn motif is absent, replaced by a unison crescendo into the Judgement theme (see notes for page 1)

page 159: note pause over barline at end of top line. This is where the soul of Gerontius gets his "momentary vision of God". The full score says "N.B. At 120 'for one moment' must every instrument exert its fullest force. If any extra Timpani players are available, they must play the 3 bars at 120." The dynamic is great, isn't it? fffzp :-)

page 163: the 2nd line is the last one that Gerontius sings in the piece; the bottom line always reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer... ("In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.") (What?!? I know I'm sad :p ) There is a dominant pedal in the last 4 bars (i.e. the long A in the bass; see notes on pages 46 and 135)

page 170: I love the fact that the 2nd basses only join in after the words "bring us not, Lord, very low" :p

page 175: 1st bar always feels like a 2nd alto solo, even though it isn't (the soloist is singing too); another dominant pedal starts here; last bar of page is one where the semi-chorus sops used to invariably sing the wrong rhythm, but it's been right for a few years now :-)

page 177: the harps are the only things playing on the barlines during the last chord

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Here endeth my Gerontius analysis. If you read this far, hope you found some of it of interest!