Today marks two weeks from our Advent Concert. There are about six or eight more binders, so if you *still* haven't gotten one yet, please sign one out the next time you're in the loft.
At last Wednesday's rehearsal we spent a lot of time reviewing Me Thinks I See an Heavenly Host, God is with us (both in English and Slavonic), Avar Part's Bogoroditse Devo, and the Doxastikon for St. Nicholas on December 6 Make Ready, O Cave.
Youtube links:
Me Thinks I See an Heavenly Host: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaawHFeGBVw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUtZxqtfybQ
Bogoroditse Devo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbyUZkBHCko and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e65GLeA4bV8 (only for the first 90 seconds about)
There are still a few more things we need to spend time on at upcoming rehearsals. A few of the liturgical pieces we haven't sung since last year and need to have a fresh look. Also, we still need to spend time on Kastalsky's Shepherds of Bethlehem. I feel like we've really come a long way on this. We are singing it at just about the tempo I would like. It sounds like most of the notes are there, and the our diction is coming along well. The Little Drummer Boy, God's Son is Born, and a few of the Carpathian carols we need to continue to review and refresh in our minds.
Youtube links:
Shepherds of Bethlehem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB2w_q_216w and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3riAmXEq7k
Little Drummer Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOo2zPdD-TU (minus the triangle)
Still remaining are three rehearsals including the dress rehearsal:
Wednesday, November 28
Sunday, December 2 (after Church School, probably in the gymnasium because of the second liturgy)
Wednesday, December 5 (dress rehearsal)
The following Friday (December 14) we have our concert at TMORA. More information will be coming about this.
Finally, some of you might be wondering about me. After four visits to the doctor over the past two weeks, I'm finally starting to feel better. It turns out a pesky virus was to blame for all my misfortune. Thank you to everyone who as pitched in and helped all the services at the cathedral run as usual. It's comforting to know that we have well trained assistants and singers who can step in and cover for me at the drop of a hat when I'm not well. I hope to be back and feeling normal by this Wednesday.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Concert Binders
Concert binders were distributed at this past Wednesday's rehearsal. If you didn't have a chance to pick one up, there are plenty more in the loft. Please, just remember to sign out the binder before you take it.
In other blogs I've spent a little time writing about the origin and history of a few songs in our Advent concert repertoire. Until now I've said nothing about The Little Drummer Boy. Admittedly, at first I was a bit hesitant to include it. I'm a bit more cautious when it comes to singing things in church, and whether or not they have a 'church' sound (whatever that means; it's quite debatable what a 'church' sound is and I could probably write about this in multiple posts - one can find many compositions that I would say do not have a 'church' sound but for better or worse are sung in the Orthodox Church). In the end, I chose to include it simply because the composition itself is not too far removed from other Western carols we sing. The Carol of the Bells is one that comes to mind. I was surprised to learn that Mykola (Nicholas) Leontovych, who composed The Carol of the Bells, did not write it as a carol, but as an example for his compositions students. Only later in North America was it reinvented as a carol. Unlike The Carol of the Bells, the history of The Little Drummer Boy actually has a closer connection to the feast of the Nativity. Its origin can actually be traced back to a Czech carol. Wikipedia has the following to say:
The song was originally titled "Carol of the Drum" and was published by Davis based upon a traditional Czech carol. Davis's interest was in producing material for amateur and girls' choirs: Her manuscript is set as a chorale, in which the tune is in the soprano melody with alto harmony, tenor and bass parts producing the "drum rhythm" and a keyboard accompaniment "for rehearsal only". It is headed "Czech Carol freely transcribed by K.K.D.", these initials then deleted and replaced with "C.R.W. Robinson", a name under which Davis sometimes published.The Czech original of the carol has never been identified.
In other blogs I've spent a little time writing about the origin and history of a few songs in our Advent concert repertoire. Until now I've said nothing about The Little Drummer Boy. Admittedly, at first I was a bit hesitant to include it. I'm a bit more cautious when it comes to singing things in church, and whether or not they have a 'church' sound (whatever that means; it's quite debatable what a 'church' sound is and I could probably write about this in multiple posts - one can find many compositions that I would say do not have a 'church' sound but for better or worse are sung in the Orthodox Church). In the end, I chose to include it simply because the composition itself is not too far removed from other Western carols we sing. The Carol of the Bells is one that comes to mind. I was surprised to learn that Mykola (Nicholas) Leontovych, who composed The Carol of the Bells, did not write it as a carol, but as an example for his compositions students. Only later in North America was it reinvented as a carol. Unlike The Carol of the Bells, the history of The Little Drummer Boy actually has a closer connection to the feast of the Nativity. Its origin can actually be traced back to a Czech carol. Wikipedia has the following to say:
The song was originally titled "Carol of the Drum" and was published by Davis based upon a traditional Czech carol. Davis's interest was in producing material for amateur and girls' choirs: Her manuscript is set as a chorale, in which the tune is in the soprano melody with alto harmony, tenor and bass parts producing the "drum rhythm" and a keyboard accompaniment "for rehearsal only". It is headed "Czech Carol freely transcribed by K.K.D.", these initials then deleted and replaced with "C.R.W. Robinson", a name under which Davis sometimes published.The Czech original of the carol has never been identified.
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