"This wild, discordant noise proclaims our peril!"

It turns out that this is the translation of the words on page 69. Jamie didn't mention this until Gill asked him. I suspect he didn't want to discourage us any more than we already were... for tonight was somewhat dispiriting. I think the people who've missed loads of rehearsals (and not looked at the music in between) have finally registered that the concert is in just over TWO WEEKS, and before then we've got an AGM (which will occupy half a rehearsal) and a recording session (which would help if we were recording "The Bells", because recording sessions are always great for getting the notes firmly embedded - usually too late, but still! - but we're not). I doubt they'll do anything about it, but at least they've realised there's a problem. (But not that it's in any way their fault, of course.)

Jamie was again pretty calm and positive for the most part, but even he couldn't help show his frustration a few times. But we did get a lot done. (If only it sticks!) We actually sang the whole piece apart from the 1st movement. We even did pages 51-55! At last! I must admit I felt kind of smug when the music totally fell apart at that point... It was right near the end by the time we got to it, so there wasn't really time to do it properly, but at least people were alerted to the fact that they need to have a good look at that bit, and I'm sure the conscientious ones actually will.

The altos actually had a pretty good night, probably because we were following our "loud and wrong" philosophy. We were even held up as an example to the others, and you know how we love it when that happens! "There's lots of mistakes, but by God it means something!" was Jamie's description of our singing :-)

We also got "Good recovery - thank you, altos" after we had yet again saved the choir from grinding to a halt, by actually watching. (Revolutionary concept, I know!) But there are still things that many of the altos are getting wrong every time, and I really wish some of them would actually notice. The E natural on page 71 is one that Jamie nagged us about, but he was quite right - most people were singing an E flat. This contrasts ironically with the last bar of the top line of page 64, where the altos should be singing an E flat but most of them are singing E natural. (To be fair, there is an E natural a few bars earlier, and many people haven't noticed the key signature, I think.) Oh, and there are two places where the last note on the top line and the first note on the bottom line are THE SAME NOTE, but people are changing note between the lines and therefore getting the whole of the following music wrong too. This happens on page 67 with an F sharp, and on page 41 with a G. Argh! And that's not even mentioning the people who are still behind the beat and/or flat ALL THE TIME. Arrrrggghh! But still - on the whole we're still clearly the best section, so we can cope with a few imperfections from time to time :p

By way of contrast to our fantasticness, the sopranos weren't on form at all tonight. Maybe they had some key people missing, because they've normally sounded great recently. But tonight I actually wrote "don't rely on sops" on page 66 (by which I mean "be sure to follow the conductor rather than them") and I haven't had to write that for ages. They did sound very nice once they got the hang of the bit at the very end of the last movement, though. And the men sounded wonderful on their long low chord on page 81. I wrote "GB" in my score :-)

Not so many Jamieisms tonight. We did have "It was a very loud mistake, which I encourage all the time - but not here!" (on page 76). But other than that there was just the start of the 2nd movement, where he went into a little solilioquy about seductive triplets and clashing duplets and "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus". You probably had to be there :p

Other stuff: A few links I've been meaning to include. Did you know that Freddie Flintoff likes singing? Let's get him in the choir! (I found out about this through one of the many Jon Christos searches that leads people here. Apparently Flintoff has employed Jon Christos as his vocal coach!) Also, this story about a choir singing with Kate Bush is interesting, as is this one about dolphins being taught to sing the 'Batman' theme. And finally, if you can read German you might enjoy this blog, which I think is written by a German singer. It definitely has a link to this blog, anyway. (My German is very rusty, so I tried running the page through the automatic Google translator, but there were many words that Google couldn't cope with!)

And finally, the latest searches that have led people here include the following:

"girls bottom parts"

"jamie quiver" (which led to this post)

"casualty theme mp3"

"sleigh ride lyrics sopranos and second sopranos"

and, last but not least,

"sin and pleasure" ... which baffled me until I remembered this post!

That's TWO things, actually, Jamie

(at one point tonight, Jamie said that it didn't sound as if people were taking a breath where instructed on page 88 of "The Bells". He said: "That means only one thing - you're cheating, or you're not working hard enough.")

Many, many Jamieisms tonight. So I'll list them first. (We had sectionals in the first half again, but the ladies were with Jamie this week.) (We did a bit of work on "The Hills" when we got back together, but mainly it was work on the harder bits of "The Bells". Although yet again the bit starting at page 51 was missed. We stopped 4 bars before it at the end of the sectional, and when we sang through a big chunk of the 3rd movement at the end as a full choir, we stopped at page 49. Again. See, it looks as if we've worked on it, because we all have things written on those pages, but those marks are mainly from the language rehearsals. We've only actually sight-read that section, on two widely-separated occasions. We've never note-bashed it, and I really think it will need it.)

Anyway, my favourite of tonight's Jamieisms (there were more).

"Every rehearsal I feel like I'm throwing stuff at a wall. Most of it falls off..."

"I should be able to see the blood in your eyes!" (to the sops on p42)

"Suddenly I feel like a tai chi instructor." (after demonstrating yet more vowels-accompanied-by-hand-movements)

"I'm the ambassador from the sovereign state of Xenia."

But the best one had to be his description of the busker that played his violin so much that he's only got ONE FINGER left... and it's bleeding... I can't even remember what he was trying to illustrate with this analogy! I was too amused!

A couple of other random thoughts: Firstly, it occurred to me, while reciting "slukh nash sladastna" on page 7, how similar Russian is to Orcish. (Those who are bigger Tolkien geeks than me will no doubt claim they're totally different. But still.) And secondly, I realised that Jamie's "vowel face" makes him look rather like Logan Echolls. (Except with less hair.) Alarming. (Logan Echolls is a character on a TV programme called Veronica Mars.)

Finally, to change the subject, I want to mention a few more search terms that have brought people to this blog. Quite a lot lately have been searching for "engage the enemy more closely", which I quoted a few months ago. A few seem to have been searching for me specifically, which is a little spooky. We've also had visitors looking for "choir outfits style for ladies", "liz and lisa", "Haydn's Nelson Mass mp3", and "jon christos". (Quite a few for him, actually. And as a result we seem to be linked from this page, which may amuse those who sang with Russell Watson a few years ago.) Oh, and there was also a search for "jamie hare", which baffled me, because I didn't remember ever using the word "hare", but then I saw that it led to this post :-)

I suppose I ought to explain the "facial urge jamie" searches, since I found out the answer last week and promised to explain. It seems there is a website called Facial Urge (PLEASE NOTE: if you are at work this site will probably be blocked, as it is a porn site. Don't click unless you're sure you want to see.) Anyway, there is a girl on that website called Jamie, and I assume it is her that all these people are searching for.

P.S. For those who have asked how to download my mp3 files of "The Bells": You need to go to this post and right-click on each of the links (i.e. where it says "1st movement" etc.). You should get a drop-down menu which will include "save target as..." or something similar (I don't use Windows so I don't remember the exact words). Select that, and then it will probably ask you where you want to save it. Save it wherever you like as long as you know where it is!

"Oh my lord, you're becoming Russian!"

Sorry for delay in posting. I seem to be overwhelmed with work at the moment. Not even played World of Warcraft!

Wednesday's rehearsal was good and bad. Good because it was my birthday, and Dr Liz (who's just started a new blog, btw - go check it out) brought me a balloon, which I tied to my chair :-) Then, at the end, Meg and Tom and Bruce sang "happy birthday" to me in beautiful harmony. Most impressive!

Also good was the fact that we finally got to see one of the things we're recording in 3 weeks' time - The Hills by John Ireland. And very lovely it is too.

Bad things included the fact that there was a very large number of people missing, and lots more were late. The weather was appalling, and international football traffic probably didn't help. (I spent the whole rehearsal feeling guilty that I hadn't checked the England venues recently - when I checked the football fixtures against the schedule last summer, I did check for international games too, but the venue for Wednesday night hadn't been confirmed, and I forgot to check more recently.)

I did hear a couple of people saying that they feel they hardly know The Bells at all, and we need lots more rehearsals than we have scheduled. But I disagree - IMHO there have been more than ample rehearsals, but unfortunately very few people have attended all of them. It's very frustrating to go over the same stuff again because a whole load of people have turned up that weren't there last time we did THE EXACT SAME STUFF. Argh. (I must admit I spent a large part of Wednesday's rehearsal admiring Jamie for keeping up such a positive attitude throughout, when inside he must surely have been incredibly annoyed at the whole "one step forward, two steps back" feeling.)

Other bad things - we spent the first half in sections, ladies and gentlemen separately, and for various reasons I invariably hate that. But at least it was only the first half. Oh, and when we sight-read The Hills, despite it being pretty straightforward, it still seemed as if the vast majority of people (certainly a lot of the ones near me) were waiting to listen for each note before singing it, so that it just draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged. ARGH. You're in one of the best choirs in the country, people, why can't you take a chance?!? You're even encouraged to get it wrong! All the time!

Oh well. Must stop ranting. What did we actually do on Wednesday? Well, I was hopeful we might finally do the bit of the 3rd movement that we've still never done (p51 etc.) but we didn't get to that bit. We started at the end of the 3rd movement and worked backwards, but only got back to page 61. A few good Jamieisms though (including the one in the title):

"Wow, that's really wrong, isn't it?"

"Can each note be a suitcase that falls out of the hold?" (p71-2)

"D'you wanna do that with your right arm? It's great fun!" (this was after demonstrating the idea of going for the vowel on the "pile-up on the motorway" word, vzglyad, on p64. Bit visual - you probably had to be there...)

Oh, and not really a Jamieism, but it amused me - on p62 we were having trouble getting the note for "yes", and when it seemed as if we could do it, Jamie said "happy?" and we chorused... "Yes!" (OK, I'm easily amused. I admit it!)

A few final things. Naomi told us about the Halifax Choral Society performance of Gerontius with the Hallé on 13th November, for which they are asking for volunteer extra singers (see Liz A if interested). Naomi added: "This will be a no-sash occasion!"

Barbara gave me a CD that has Shostakovich 2 on it so I could put it online. I haven't quite enough web storage space to do that yet, but when I take down The Bells I will.

Graham E writes about the Mellor concert here (you may need to scroll down to his comment).

And finally - I was talking to the three new altos, who all seem to be still having fun, and Lisa commented on how very much she'd enjoyed her first individual session with Maggie. So, yay!

Mark Elder interview

Very hurried post here - just on my way out to another committee meeting. But I've been meaning to post about this for days and haven't had time.

Graham E sent me an mp3 (7.4 MB) of a very interesting Mark Elder interview that was on the radio last week (Front Row, Radio 4, last Wednesday I think). Mainly about the change in the Hallé's fortunes since he took over, and how he did it, but he says some interesting things about singers at the end.

Simon from the Youth Choir wrote to tell me the same thing, and also helpfully pointed out a direct link to the whole programme online. Useful for those who can't download stuff. He adds "the interview begins approx. 6 1/2 mins into the programme & lasts for about 8 1/2 mins".

Thanks guys! (And it's good to know the HYC read this blog!)

Oh, btw, I found out about the Facial Urge Jamie thing. Will explain more tomorrow. But I should warn you, it's porn-related :p

"Ladies, not all of you are saying KAK!"

That's not a Jamieism, that's a Xeniaism, just for a change. What can I say? It amused me :-) (It applied to page 54, if you were wondering.)

I feel the need to record here the two basic rules of singing in Russian.

1. Go for the vowels.
2. That L isn't really there... except that it is...

So, you know I wasn't feeling well yesterday? This morning I had lost my voice completely. But I didn't realise this until I was just leaving the house for work, when I said goodbye to the cats - and discovered I couldn't speak. It was too late to call in sick, though, so I went in and tried not to speak too much. Amazingly I felt quite a bit better by home time (not sure how) and with the help of some Vocal Zones I felt able to go to the sectional. I was half an hour late, though - I closed my eyes briefly, while sitting in my armchair, and opened them rather later than I intended to. Oh well.

The rehearsal was mainly concentrated on the Russian, so as to make the most of Xenia. We just did the 3rd movement. Frustratingly there wasn't time to actually sing all of it, and the main bit that got missed out was, yet again, the section from p51-55, that we can't actually do because we've never done it properly. Not to worry, though, I'm sure Jamie will pick it up next week.

I was absolutely staggered when it emerged that some people - and it was a significant number, not just one - didn't have the "vi kli ka yet" word alterations written in. I mean, those words appear quite a few times, and we've done the 3rd movement more than any of the others. And it's not people who have missed the rehearsals, as far as I can see. I can only conclude that it's because they've been chatting and missed the instruction every time.

Oh, I met the last of the new 1st altos, Emma. She said she wasn't too alarmed after her first rehearsal. Brave lady :p

Jamie used the phrase "up the Swanee" at one point, and for some reason my brain popped up with the thought "Where is the Swanee river? Is it even a real river? I have no idea!" So I had to look it up when I got home. Be honest with yourself and see if you know the answer before you check by clicking here :p (While I was at it, I found out some interesting stuff about the Swanee whistle too!)

A few proper Jamieisms to finish:

"How many descending minor thirds in a row? Five! This is gonna be GREAT!" (p54)

p.42, after mocking our pronunciation of "tokaroche":

Jamie: Was that unfair?
Ladies: Yes! Very!
Jamie: ... But was it funny?
Ladies: NO!

And finally, on page 46, after some intensive swooping practice (you had to be there!):

Jamie: "Next week it'll be there, because you've practised the gaps... and you won't sound like a Turkish religious singer calling people to prayer..."
Ladies: ...

"The joy will come later..."

This is our fabulous Russian language coach, Xenia de Berner (yes, I asked her how to spell her name, so I can state that with confidence). Note to self: remember to turn on night vision option on phone so as to reduce the number of blurred photos :p

I don't think I was the only person who was full of a cold and starting a sore throat tonight. (Poor Alison sounded ill before the rehearsal, and sounded twice as bad at the end - doubt she'll make it tomorrow!) I wasn't helped by the fact that they put all the heaters on shortly after the start of the rehearsal - I was already too hot before that! I do realise that I'm usually in the minority when it comes to heat perception. But I really, really hate WHGS. (I've said that before, haven't I? Must stop going on about it!)

My ears are a bit blocked and sore at the moment too. It's possible that this is why so much of the singing sounded flat to me - much worse than usual. (Quite often it sounded as if people started a semitone flat - for example, when Maggie played a chord and then got us to sing it, after we sat down.) I don't know how ear infections affect pitch perception, or indeed whether or not they do at all. But I can't blame my ear problems for the fact that everyone seemed to be singing so far behind the beat, can I? (Jamie kept pointing this out too, so it obviously wasn't just me!) I hate it when I have flat and/or tardy people in earshot - I tend to end up singing louder than I ought to, in an effort to drag the pitch and/or tempo back on track. Sometimes this works. But it doesn't do my voice much good - or, indeed, the sound of the group! Argh. (I do try not to do this, but I find it really hard.)

Jamie was back tonight, anyway, as I said. Good to see him. Also we had a few welcome Jamieisms. The subject of this post was his comment from page 7 (that's the page with possibly the hardest text). We also got: "These people don't take the BUS!" (when Xenia suggested we practise our Russian on the bus) and "It promotes facial growth, doesn't it, gentlemen?" ('it' being the singing of Russian vowels).

Oh, and it turns out that "O kak svonka" means "How sonorous!"

Picked up a leaflet for the Carol Concerts. They appear to have more or less exactly the same programme as last year. Which is somewhat boring (although I'm sure the audience will love it). However, Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride is included, so that's OK. It just wasn't a proper Christmas the year they didn't play that. (The choir doesn't sing in that, although we do have a vital role to play. I'll explain nearer the time, for those who don't know about it!)

Couple of other things: Wendy gave me a copy of an interview with Mark Elder about our recent Elgar CD, from the Awards issue of Gramophone magazine. Unfortunately I can't find it on their website or I'd link to it, but it's worth looking out for.

Graham E sent me the link to the Sunday Times review of our CD. Plainly they don't know what they're talking about - making derogatory remarks about our diction! The cheek!

No news on the Prom DVDs, I'm afraid. Not had a chance to talk to my friend lately, and I could email him to ask, but I don't want to pester him. I'm sure he'll sort them eventually.

Finally... I missed out the best news. We have loads of new members! Well, 7, of whom 3 were present tonight. Two 1st altos (Liz and Lisa), who seem very nice, and a 1st tenor! The poor guy (whose name is Phil) looked quite shocked at the choir's reaction to this announcement... to say we were pleased is putting it mildly :p (Not that we're not equally pleased to meet Liz and Lisa, but 1st altos are one of the largest sections in the choir. 1st tenors... aren't.)

I happen to know that the other 4 new members are: 1st soprano, 2nd soprano, another 1st alto, and a 2nd tenor (yay!) The section that's most in need of a boost is actually the basses, though, not the tenors. In case you're wondering, current numbers (including the new people) are:

S1: 25
S2: 34
A1: 33
A2: 18
T1: 10
T2: 11
B1: 11
B2: 8

Or... S: 59, A: 51, T: 21, B: 19

Or... Ladies: 110, Men: 40

Erm... anyone know any men who can sing but aren't in the choir? Send them our way!

Great choral moments, part 3

Not done one of these for a while, so I figured I'd throw one in!

Before I do, a couple of other things:

I've just updated the online schedule. (Link deliberately not provided, email me if you have lost it.) (That's "lost the link", not "lost it" in general :p ) Lots of changes, so please take note. (Quite a few football clashes not mentioned on the printed schedule.)

Jackie H points out that The Bells "was featured on CD Review on Radio 3 this morning. You'll be able to hear it on Listen Again. There will be a complete performance tomorrow on The Cowan collection at around 11.20 am tomorrow."

Graham E alerts us to this concert in Mellor next Monday, featuring Mark Elder and Hallé players. He adds: "I fail to understand why these concerts are not mentioned at choir, or for that matter why the choir seem never to be invited to make a contribution!"

I was telling people a few weeks ago about a blog post I'd read that talked about "Bo Skovhus, the strapping Danish baritone with the cheekbones that could cut glass" and ends "Well, it can't be porn-star-lookin' Danes every night..." (The guy in question ended up not actually singing in the Prom in question - didn't catch the reason why, but I watched the whole thing, thinking "He's not good looking at all!", before they mentioned that he'd been replaced!) I mention it here only to provide the link, because I couldn't remember his name when I was telling Gill about him.

And finally, the Great Choral Moment. It's the Aida intro.

A few years ago, we sang a large chunk of Aida at the Proms, preceded by a performance in Manchester. But it was the Manchester gig that had the great moment. Let me explain why.

Just before the Grand March, there was a bit where half the choir had to sing offstage. In London this was impractical, so they did it from their seats. But in Manchester they sang from the choir assembly area, with the result that they had to come back onstage for the next bit. It was agreed that because the intro to the Grand March is so long, they could come back on while it was playing rather than having to stop the show to get them in place. And this was the great moment. You see, that intro is so fabulous anyway - it starts with the trumpets, and we had a load of offstage trumpets standing right behind us for added effect. Then it builds up and up in intensity, and this is heightened by the fact that you know that on the next page the choir enters on a wonderfully loud and full E flat major chord. I've sung this chorus many times, but this occasion was better than all of them combined... and the reason is that THIS time, the intense anticipation during the intro was multiplied due to the fact that half the choir was pouring back into the hall during it, so the feeling of "at the end of this intro, we're going to sing a huge impressive chord" became "at the end of this intro, TWICE AS MANY OF US are going to sing a huge impressive chord!"

Maybe it's just me, but the memory of how I felt during that page, that night, still sends shivers down my spine :-)