"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: ...