choir

[cellio]

This Pennsic the Debatable Choir will mark its 25th anniversary. (Whether this is actually the 25th anniversary depends on how you count some early proto-choir formations, but this doesn't really matter. It's 25th anniversary observed. :-) ) We've started working on the music for it and I am jazzed. This is going to be fun, and is looking to be a longer concert than we usually do, which makes me happy.

ariannawyn asked me to direct one piece, which we started last week. Somewhere around a third of the choir (maybe a little more) has sung it before though not recently, and at least one person who hasn't is an excellent sight-reader, so after two practices at which we also did other music, people know it well enough that we can start putting some shape to it next week (dynamics, paying attention to what the words mean, that sort of thing). Except I short-changed the altos this week on going through parts, so I'll have to make it up to them.

I've lost track of how long I've been in the choir. I was one of the original members, but I took two breaks. I think I've been there for about 20 of the 25 years, but it never seemed important back then to track such things. There are two other original members, also with gaps (for moves to other cities, in their cases). But we manage to have a good supply of newer members too, so even though the choir is approximately a quarter-century old, we have plenty of vim and vigor and lots of fun.

But I must admit that even after that many years of choral singing, I just cannot wrap my head around French. Italian? Sure, no problem -- I don't speak the language at all but I don't think you'd know that from my singing of it. Latin? I understand a little of it but it's basically like Italian in my brain. Hebrew (we're doing one Hebrew piece)? I understand what we're singing; no problems there. English? Mostly fine; the 12th-century stuff is rough but we're not working on any of that right now. German? Eh, I can make it work. But French, on the other hand, to my brain is nothing but a sequence of random-ish phonemes with "eur" sounds mixed in. Memorizing French songs really challenges me. I don't know why. Fortunately for me, currently the Italian songs outnumber the French ones in the concert list. :-)

Comments

[akitrom.livejournal.com]

What's the program? And, will you be performing it at the May event?

[rjmccall.livejournal.com]

I don't know what era the songs you're singing are from, but Old French phonetics were very different.

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

I can read & remember French OK, but I can't pronounce it to save my life. I blame it on growing up hearing PA Dutch regularly. OTOH, when I lived in Germany, my accent had people believing *I* was German.

I tried to take Latin in HS, but they made me take 2 years of French 1st -- and then dropped Latin. (Does the DC use classical or ecclesiastical pronunciation?)

I ended up taking Spanish instead, which in combination with French has gone a surprisingly long way toward grokking Italian lyrics I've sung.

Speaking of multiple languages, I find when I'm (technical) writing that I can't listen to anything with lyrics in English. However, lyrics in *other* languages, even ones I know enough of to understand the words, don't bother me.

[ariannawyn.livejournal.com]

I think the whole choir has matured a lot over the last few years, and most of the newer members are really quite good singers. Pieces that once took us weeks to learn just notes and rhythm for now come together in a practice or two, allowing us to spend more time on nuance. That's one of the reasons I was willing to go with the idea of such a long concert.

FWIW, the basses are going to need a fair bit more work on your piece next week, too. :-)

I talked to Liz via email about doing a recording and she was enthusiastic, offering to let us use her concert venue, Mr. Smalls, and to help with recording and engineering. We're going to get into more specifics when I see her at Youth Fighter Practice on Sunday. I'm really excited about the possibilities.

[jeannegrrl.livejournal.com]

Goodness that sounds like lots of fun! Good luck w/ the French!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm with you on the French. I've even sight read in Old Church Slavonic with less difficulty! I will say that I always found the medieval French pieces easier than modern French pieces I've sung with other groups, but still. So many wasted letters used. Don't they know that Hawaiian or Slovak could benefit if they just shared with other countries?

Congratulations to the choir!

--Pamela/Anastasia