The poem by Newman followed his conversion to Catholicism and follows what is imagined will happen to the soul after death. The poem was written over 22 days. Cardinal Newman was canonised as a Saint in 2019. Elgar did not wish to stray from Newman’s simple text and holy thought. Encouraged by Novello to make more of the Soul’s encounter with God Elgar grappled how to render the culmination of Newman’s vision of an instantaneous glimpse of God and moment of judgement when what was described by Newman was the tiniest moment of profound silence. Certainly less than a sixteenth of a note! Music needs time and timing while the subject matter is outside time. In the end Elgar provided suitable impressive chords. Perhaps disturbing the Souls sleep in purgatory. The first performance in 1900 in Birmingham was a near disaster but a better performance was given in germany in 1901 which satisfied Elgar. Doctrinal differences over the issue of purgatory hampered access to cathedrals and churches. Despite the universalism of the theme the work was not performed much outside the UK from 1914. 2020 sees several UK performances of the work with Birmingham Festival Chorus performing the work in November 2020. The Work is divided into two parts. The first part is 30 minutes. The second part 60 minutes.
The video starts at 27.56 some of Elgars best. Philip Langridge - Gerontius
Catherine Wyn-Rogers - Angel
Alastair Miles - Priest/ Angel of the Agony
Andrew Davis conducts BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus The full libretto
It is easy to overlook the fact that Newman's poem, which Elgar took as his narrative and shortened as his libretto, had experienced remarkable success in its own right long before Elgar turned his serious attention to it. It was reprinted numerous times during Newman's own lifetime, translated into French and German, and carried by General Gordon whose handwritten annotations were copied by admirers onto their own copies after Gordon's death at Khartoum.
The poem By Newman is divided into seven individual "phases".
References
1. The dream of Gerontius (poem) Wikipedia
2. The dream of Gerontius (Elgar) Wikipedia
3. Gerontius companion Best of Me
Nigel Perrin’s musical life began as a boy chorister at Ely Cathedral, from where he won a choral scholarship to King’s College, Cambridge, to study under Sir David Willcocks. After a short time spent singing in most of London’s professional choirs, Nigel became well-known as the high voice of The King’s Singers and for the next eleven years he travelled the world on concert tours, recorded some twenty-five albums and appeared in countless television shows with artists as diverse as Kiri Te Kanawa and Cliff Richard. This background and experience formed the basis of his current international career – conducting, directing choral workshops and summer schools, adjudicating and teaching. He is a member of staff at Wells Cathedral Specialist Music School, where he works with young developing voices and trains the Chapel Choir. Having established Bath Camerata as one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs, he is now greatly sought after as an inspiring choral conductor, directing the City of Bath Bach Choir, the Bath Festival Chorus and the Exeter Festival Chorus, and working regularly as consultant and motivator to many other choral groups. Messiah will be back at Pattishall in February 2024 https://www.hunsburymeadows.org.uk/uploads/messiah-perrin-feb2019-1.pdf
Today we looked at the genius of Haydn. Performed in 1798 the mass coincided with the defeat of Napoleon’s fleet by Nelson at the battle of the Nile. When Beethoven accepted the commission to write a mass that became the Mass in C performed in 1807 he said to his patron how difficult it would be to follow in Haydn's talented footsteps.
1797 was a difficult year for Austria. Four times Austrian forces were defeated by Napolean. Haydn's patron was a military man who had Haydn write a sung mass for his wifes birthday each year. The same year Haydn produced the Creation.
Cum sancto spiritu 13.00
Rehearsal notes. Getting "off book" in the Kyrie is relatively easy.
There is a structure to the movement which is easy to memorise.
An abbreviation is made where the words repeat.
} denotes the end of a phrase, [ ] soloists singing and breathing opportunity.
C minor plus starting notes are in lower case. C major notes in upper case.
Of course you should make your own shorthand pnemonic system, you might like colourful emojis!
This is the one I use
Rehearsal note - Kyrie
Ky-ri-e} Kyrie} e-lei-son} K K K [ ] Kyr-rie} e-lei-son [ ]Chris-te}
KE}KKEE}K}E}EEEEEE}KK}E}K}EEEE
Ky-ri-e} Kyrie} e-lei-son} K K K [ ] KK}E}EEEEEE}
Ky-ri-e}KK}EEEE
We can see how tenors are required to sing high g. Note where tenors sing the high g how Haydn where possible makes it easier by having you sing G major followed by g minor. The octave leap makes it much easier. The octave leap is also visible in the D and ds of the opening. This also makes a useful milestone in the piece helping to divide it up into manageable chunks to remember.
Glo-ri-a in ex-cel-sis de-o}GG}GID}GGIID [ ] Et in ter-ra pax ho-mi-ni-bus Repeat
bo-nae vo-lun-ta-tis Repeat Lau-da-mus te Be-ne-di-ci-mus-te Ad-o-ra-mus-te
Glo-ri-fi-ca-mus te te lau-da-mus te be-ne-di-ci-mus te ad-o-ra-mus te glo-ri-fi-ca-mus Repeat te [ ]
Do-mi-ne fi-li u-ni-ge-ni-te Je-su Chris-te Je-su Je-su Chris-te Je-su Je-su Chris-te [ ]
Do-mi-ne-de-us A-gnus de-i fi-li-us Pa-tris Pa-tris [ ]
Mi-se-re-re no-bis Repeat [ ] De-pre=ca-ti-o-nem no-stram Repeat [ ] Repeat [ ]
Mi-se-re-re no-bis Repeat [ ] RRR [ ]
tu, tu so-lus, tu so-lus san-ctus tu so-lus do-mi-nus, tu so-lus al-tis-si-mus} tu, tu so-lus, tu so-lus sanc-tus tu so-lus do-mi-nus, tu so-lus al-ti-si-mus, je-su Je-su Chris-te
Coronavirus is spread by close contacts sneezing and coughing. There is no vaccine. Symptoms include laboured breathing. Precautions include wearing a face mask and good hand hygiene. So far the mortality rate appears some 3%
Coronavirus is now with us and in the public eye.Ships and whole cities are in
quarantine.The virus is contagious and
transmitted in the same way as colds and flu.People are becoming ill with respiratory shortness of breath and dying including
some of the medical staff who treat them.
As to which essential oils I look past the articles claiming essential oils are all conquering or a waste of time.There is plenty of scientific research on PubMed and in the aromatherapy literature demonstrating essential oils have anti viral and anti biotic properties. Literally scientists can watch the bugs die and we should not doubt the evidence of their eyes.
I am exposed to viruses all the time.We all are.But the show must go on.
Personally in the last seven days I have sung Brahms,
Beethoven, Vivaldi, Mozart, Orff and Haydn.This may seem a strange way to start an article on Essential Oils and
Coronavirus but bear with me.
The point
is in our daily lives we are in close contact with many others. Personally I
have sung in the presence of hundreds of other people in just the course of
last week.During the day I work in a
busy office.Papers and people come in
and out.Were some people I met at work
or play sneezing or coughing? Of course they were. Could someone have sneezed
around those papers in the last day leaving bacteria or viruses on those papers?
Of course.
Part of
the way I manage the risk of this exposure is by taking vitamins particularly
Vitamin C.Also having a positive
mission in life helps minimise the risk.For example usually doctors who treat patients do not themselves tend to
succumb to disease.It’s a measure of
the seriousness of the matter that the doctor who alerted the world to the
issue of Coronavirus has died.Clearly
prevention is better than a cure.
I shower
daily and wash my hands.Daily hygiene
routines help me stay free from microscopic pathogens.I eat a varied diet to maintain a healthy
immune system and I exercise.Not as
much as I should but I exercise.
Part of the way I manage the risk of this exposure turning
into an infection for others is being responsible. If I have an active cough or
a sneeze I stay at home and work in bed until I feel better.Not everyone is able to do this of course.
We all depend on people showing up even with
a cough or sneezing.For example the
soprano soloist on Saturday sang bravely and beautifully even with an evident
cough in rehearsal.It is even more
imperative at work to carry on and ride public transport.People depend on us and we depend on them. I don’t tend to wear a facemask when I go out but clearly
that is a habit we may all have to get into.
I have qualifications in science so the strange
looking words don’t confuse me I know what I am looking for.I quickly see there is presently no vaccine.
So for the time being the matter is serious and deserves our attention. As ever
prevention is more important than a cure.
Besides coughing and sneezing the symptoms include a shortness of breath.
I see that the virus is transmitted in the same way as colds and flu by
respiratory droplets.I would most
likely breathe in the virus to become infected.
Do I diffuse essential oils with an atomiser in the home and
at work? Yes I do. A room spray adds water droplets to the atmosphere and that
seems a bad idea.In fact running a
dehumidifier seems a sensible precaution. The oils are volatile and will
diffuse in the air themselves or with the aid of an atomiser.
As to which essential oils I look past the articles claiming
essential oils are all conquering or a waste of time.There is plenty of scientific research on
PubMed and in the aromatherapy literature demonstrating essential oils have
anti viral and anti biotic properties. Literally scientists can watch the bugs
die and we should not doubt the evidence of their eyes.
So which essential oils do I use? Lavender, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus
oils and Lemon. You only need a few drops at a time so the bottles which are
inexpensive will last a long time.Do
read the precautions on the bottle label and if placing on the skin dilute with
oil like olive or sunflower oil.A
particular cautionary note I would add is to only use fresh and genuine
essential oils.
Angela Kay MBE Founder, Artistic Director, Conductor – Nottingham Festival Chorus, East of England Singers, Southwell Daytime Voices, Wollaton Daytime Voices & Nottingham Community Voices
Angela Kay studied at Nottingham College of Education, now Nottingham Trent University, and has been involved with the choral life of Nottinghamshire for most of her professional life. Angela formed the Nottingham Choral Trust (now Music for Everyone) and has continued to develop it by working with enthusiasm and imagination as its Artistic Director. Originally known in Nottingham as a mezzo soprano soloist, Angela’s career developed first into choral and then into orchestral conducting. She has conducted many of the major works from the choral repertoire to critical acclaim.
The review is in ..................................
February 1 2020
Albert Hall, Nottingham
4****
Review: William Ruff
@ReviewsGate
The Nottingham Festival Chorus brings passionate humanity to Brahms’ Requiem
We all have our favourite David and Goliath stories in which which the little guy wins against the odds through determination and passionate commitment. Well, there’s something of the David about the Nottingham Festival Chorus. Armed only with scores, rehearsal CDs and a weekend course they not only take on the giants of the musical world but emerge unscathed and often triumphant from the encounters.
On Saturday they sang Brahms’ German Requiem, a majestic, moving, complex work and one that is unusual amongst Requiems. It’s a long way from the Latin Mass for the dead. Instead Brahms presents a cunning selection of texts from the Lutheran bible which places the emphasis firmly on comfort for the bereaved rather than immortality for the departed. Yes, there are grand fugues and a spine-tingling funeral march but essentially it’s an intimate piece whose effect depends on very precise attention to things like the composer’s instructions about phrasing and dynamics. There needs to be plenty of light and shade as well as expressive shaping of ideas and careful handling of the way climaxes are achieved.
In conductor Angela Kay’s very experienced hands this was achieved remarkably well. There were admittedly a few moments when she had to work hard to bring her nearly 200 singers into line, but generally ensemble was tight. Amongst the highlights: the unison conviction of the second movement in which the chorus sang that all flesh is grass; the bass soloist’s prayer at the start of the third movement; the great beauty of ‘How lovely are Thy dwellings’ with its lovely soprano solo and promise of comfort; the splendid depiction of the last trumpet in the sixth movement.
There was impressive playing from the Nottingham Concert Orchestra too and the Festival Chorus was blessed in its two soloists. Lizzie Humphries brought purity and a sort of wide-eyed innocence to the soprano role, reaching into the spiritual core of the music. [She had also been the joyfully agile performer of Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate which preceded the Requiem]. Alex Jones was the impressive bass soloist, his tone dark, firmly focused and arrestingly authoritative.
Brahms himself said of his Requiem: ‘I confess I would gladly omit ‘German’ and simply put ‘Human’ in its place. The Nottingham Festival Chorus clearly knew what he meant.
Lets start by getting inspired. Below is a performance of the Domine Deus.
I particularly like a performance by a Norwegian quartet. here is a link for ease of reference. Playlist Petite Messe Solennelle av Gioacchino Rossini fremført i Levinsalen på Norges musikkhøgskole 9. februar 2012 av musikkstudenter fra Norges musikkhøgskole og Operahøgskolen i Oslo.
A tricky bit is the Christe in the kyrie. The bases start. "Count and 1 and 2 and 't' and 4" and watch the conductor and all will be well.
With Beethoven there is close relationship between the orchestra, the soloists and the choir so its helpful to review this video below about the Beethoven symphonies before we rehearse a note.
There was not much demand for church music when Beethoven was composing however he received an important commission to write the Mass in C. This is now recognised as the masterpiece that it is.
One advantage we have is that the score is complete so we do not have the competing versions we find the incomplete Mozart masses. We know exactly what Beethoven intended.
The Messiah Choruses by Handel are a particular favourite of mine.
The upper G and A notes are a great tenor exercise. Its possible for a lower voice to flip into falsetto. Personally I like to sing these choruses without doing so. Its a great feeling of satisfaction to voice this with the passion that Handel intended adding immensely to the drama and enjoyment of the piece.
This is a favorite piece with choirs and audiences in winter but its quite long so remember to bring a cushion!
'The VOCES8 Method', is resource for teachers which encourages whole school music making in a way that links music with literacy, numeracy and linguistics. ... The VOCES8 Method is published by Edition Peters and has been translated into French, German and Japanese.
When I first start started singing I joined a choir singing this work.
The choral director greeted me
with the words "you have joined us to sing what is probably the most difficult work in choral music".
The Great Mass is one of the great products of Western Civilisation. There are soprano solos which attract all the usual words like incredible. The choruses too are sublime. There are various performances below.
In this blogpost I am concentrating on the Sanctus Osana. Its possible to overthink things but the Sanctus Osana repays a little study.
First lets get inspired. The final 15 bars of the Osana are repeated at the end of the Benedictus.
The last 15 bars
This below is a nice performance below of the Osana beginning at 1.44. You will be pleased to know this follows the Peters edition!
Inevitably with such a lot of notes, this is Mozart after all, its easy to get out by a crotchet or quaver, but there are milestones along the way to look out for to get realigned such as
- midway through Bar 27.
- Bar 52 after the base melody with tenor 2 signalling the change.
The sopranos in this performance are soft and not eclipsing the altos who have an important job keeping the recurring melody going particularly in the tricky middle section.
Your conductor may insist on a quicker tempo.
The whole Scherrer RTR performance is further down with links to the movements. There are also links to the Gardiner performance movements.
This is a nice performance below of the cum sancto with the base and tenor line strong and the sopranos soft
Thats really all that needs to be said about the Cum Sancto.
By contrast the Osana lasts just two minutes yet its middle section invariably gives choruses trouble at first. I imagine ..... choral directors having the recurring disturbing dream that they are conducting the Orchestra in full flow heading as fast as possible to the safety of the last 15 bars while the four chorus sections gaze helplessly at each other.
The soprano soloist who has just rendered 'et incarnatus est' to the charm and acclaim of the audience will be mortified if you spoil her big moment!
This below is a nice view of the orchestra and conductor. Note in particular the trombones who play the recurring melody and timpani kettledrums prompting key moments.
You may find these points helpful.
1. One complication is the choir divides and the Osana is sung in two choirs.
2. The words dont present too much of a challenge. O-san-a in ex-cel-sis. O-san-a. The in excelsis pronounced in eggshell-sis, ec-sell-sis or not as your choral director prefers.
3, There are several editions of this movement. Rehearsal tracks are not totally of help. Even the best omit parts of the middle sections or confuse them. We are truely for the middle part on our own!
4. The particular score really helps. So I offer these insights from my study of the Peters edition score (edition 3 on choralia.net). There is an old and new Peters edition. It doesnt really matter as long as you are uninhibited about singing out your particular score. See also Cyberbass,
5. Yes a lot of notes particularly in the in excelsis flourishes. If you ever wondered what the button slowing the speed of rehearsal tracks down was for now you know! Tenors might find practicing in falsetto helpful. After all the sopranos make light work of their flourishes.
6. Passing the baton
The Osana begins with its simple and recurring melody. The Bases sing "Osana in excelsis Osana". Each section sings the melody passing the baton to each other like runners in a relay race.
The Tenor 1 introduces the lengthy run "in excelsis". This too gets passed like a baton from section to section.
The key to a successful performance in my opinion is for each section to know EXACTLY when it has the melody or the 'in ex celcis' flourish and its starting point. Provided the baton is not dropped all will be well!
This passing of the melody is nicely illustrated in this performance with the camera panning from section to section. In case we miss the point the trombones are placed next to the sections.
The score
So lets get to it. Bars 18-30 are reliable on the rehearsal tracks. Bars 31-43 are the danger area. Fear not all will be well!
The Bases start with the melody in bar 17 with "O" a low A. "Osana in excelsis Osana." The baton passes to the Tenor 2 with middle C. "Osana in excelsis Osana."
The Tenor 1 also start with their in excelsis fourish then this flourish passes to the bases and so on leading upto the shorter in excelsis interchange in bars 29-31. Bar 31 already!!
At the end of Bar 23 the Alto 2 picks up the melody with a G. "Osana in excelsis Osana." while the tenor 2 has a flourish Osana with the bases in excelsis which is reflected in the Orchestra base line.
The Alto 2 end with a flourish Osana. Bar 26 and its the turn of the Soprano 2 with a C "Osana in excelsis Osana" while the tenor 2 is in the middle of their in excelcis flourish. The Alto 2 flourish Osana in bar 27 is reflected in the orchestra baseline. Soprano 2 start the sopranos off with their two in excelsis flourishes.
The san in O-san-a is often the first beat of the bar so watch the conductor. The first note of "cel" is another useful marker.
You may find it helpful if there is a bit of choral etiquette with each part giving the part with the melody a bit of "room" at least for the first four repetitions.
Bar 29 is an important milestone to note.
Bars 29-31 are dominated by the in excelsis which the sopranos, Tenor 1 and Bases and sopranos pass back and forward. The Altos await their moment to pick up the melody again in Bar 31.
You guessed it. "Osana in excelsis Osana." Both Alto 1 and 2 start with an E followed by the Tenor 2 with an A. The Tenor 1 starts with in excelsis and completes the second part while the Tenor 2 repeats in excelsis. Tenor 2 has two important flourishes "cel" in Bars 32, 34 and an important O-san-na in bar 37.
In Bar 34 the Altos 2 hang onto the tune. "Osana in excelsis Osana." the Altos repeat the second "Osana" to keep the melody going to Bar 38.
Bar 38 and its the turn of the Tenor 1. "Osana in excelsis Osana."
The Sopranos 2 have the tune in bar 40 and are joined by Soprano 1 "Osana in excelsis Osana." Bars 40,41,42,43 are powerful with the sopranos having the melody. bar 41 and the tenor 2 signals the change O-san-na with a G.
Bar 44 the Tenor 2 signals O-san-na in -ex-cel-sis with Fs befire the Osana flourishes of bars 45 and 47.
We are nearly there. In fact we ARE there. We have reached the last 15 bars which are repeated in the Benedictus. The Bases pick up the melody in bar 43 "Osana in excelsis Osana."
Bar 49 is the last singing of the melody with both Altos and Bases. The tenors do and repeat their Osana. Away go the Altos again in Bar 49 joined by the Bases with the melody "Osana in excelsis Osana"
The tenors signal the change in Bar 52 with their "-na" an F. Choir 2 starts the drive to the finish while Choir 1 has one last flourish.
