Pro Arte Practice Instructions
Folk Songs of the Four Seasons:
Review what we learned for our last concert
p. 59 – review letters F through N (descant folks, especially). Work out ending, letter R to the end.
p. 65 – review letters A through C. Sopranos work out solfege for you part beginning with letter F through the end of the piece.
p. 70 – Concert choir sings Soprano I, Pro Arte sopranos sing Soprano II. Work out solfege through the bottom of p. 74 (up to the fermata).
p. 78 – review through rehearsal letter E. work on text for the entire piece. Sopranos, learn descant at the end of the piece.
We will sing the following music this Sunday, November 11th:
Review the hymns and service music handed out at the last rehearsal.
Messe Basse - review
Simple Gifts – review. Molly and Lilly secure the Soprano II notes at the bottom of p. 2
I Believe in the Sun – review. Altos, please secure your notes. mm. 43 to the end.
Da Pacem:
Review your part for this entire piece. Work especially on counting sustained notes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKK52tUDOW4
S I: Dominique and Matilde
S II: Molly and Lily
AI: Kamirra and Lauren
AII: Siara and Katherine
Concert Choir Practice Instructions
Sing You Now - review
Folk Songs of the Four Seasons:
p. 59 – review soprano and alto parts through letter J. All Concert Choir members please learn the alto line (the melody) from letter K through letter N.
p. 65 – work out solfege through letter C. G is ‘Do.’ The first two pitches of the melody are Sol and Do. Once you learn this first section, you will have learned your notes for the entire piece. When this piece divides into two parts, Concert Choir sings the bottom “Full Chorus” part.
Review pieces we sang on our last concert.
The following pieces are for the November 20th Thanksgiving Service at Grace and Holy Trinity:
Psalm
Jubilate! – check rhythm and pitch memory. Practice C naturals in the beginning of the melody.
Hine Ma Tov - Finish learning through the end of the piece and memorize. We are in F Major, so F is ‘Do.’ Make sure everyone keeps singing in head (floating) voice throughout this piece. Try to not over sing/force your sound.
Bread of Love, Cup of Grace – finish learning the entire piece as we worked on it last rehearsal. Study the “road map” – repeated sections, when the descant is sung, etc. I am sending a recording with this. Even though it is not the best quality, it should help you learn the music. https://www.sjmp.com/files/audio/bread-of-love.mp3
Regarding the key signatures and how the solfege syllables relate, it can be helpful to sing the scale that matches the key signature on the syllables (do, re, mi, etc.) before working on the piece. If you do not have a piano, download a free pitch pipe app to be certain you are learning your music on the correct pitch. Refer to the scale sheet I handed out. Remember, music making is a process and learning music takes time. These instructions are a guide. Do the best you can! The more regularly you practice, the more rewarding our rehearsals and performances will be.
