Halifax Camerata Singers

What a glorious day after the big snow. Looking out of my office window it is so peaceful and the sun is trying to peek through the clouds. Life is good and I hope wherever your are: work or home having an unexpected holiday, that you are having a great day as well.

A few notes re last Tuesday: if you were one of the nine people who missed the rehearsal, the choir did some good work on the two Rautavaara pieces, the Raminsh "Ave Verum",  "First Snow" ,  "O Sacrum Convivium" and the second of the three Slavic Songs of Raminsh.  I can't say it was a great rehearsal, as in some cases it was one to a part and that's not fun with these complex harmonies, trying to balance the surrounding parts. However the people who were there did a great job and worked hard.

I appreciate the notification when you are absent, even if it is late. I check my email right before rehearsal and always appreciate knowing if you are going to be late or worse, absent, so thank you for notifying.

But one of my pet peeves is when the message ends with something like "don't worry , I'll practice my music."  I realize that it is meant to put a positive spin on an otherwise not so positive situation, however  I know you will practice your music. You don't need to remind me as I take that for granted -  that you will practice your music, learn your Russian and Finnish texts, and do whatever it takes to arrive prepared.  How else will you get your head inside these scores and learn them?  Certainly not in the 20 or so minutes I spend on them each week. But Camerata is not a choir in which you can practice your music at home and everything somehow magically comes together. You are a more sophisticated ensemble that that. If someone in the line up is missing they will not hear how much the choir is pushing a crescendo, or how much to sing the third note of a cluster,  or when the diminuendo begins and ends.  That only happens in knowing (and trusting) the people you are singing beside you. And in order to do that it takes confidence and experience by singing it, feeling it over and over...in the 20 or so minutes I spend on the piece.

I understand all of the good reasons people miss - illness, inclement weather, job responsibilities, etc., etc., etc but make no mistake about it, in a choir like Camerata the magic will not happen until everyone is there.  That all being said,  I appreciate sincerely how hard everyone worked on Tuesday night.  There were some really lovely work done on "First Snow", the Miskinis, Raminsh "Ave Verum" etc.

Oh...and by the way....I will miss the two weeks of February 15 & 22 :)
However you will be in very experienced hands as Tristan and Christina already know which pieces need the work.

For this Tuesday, we will push hard on the following:
The three Raminsh Slavic Songs - there is a fun,  inebriated tenor solo on the last song of the set - "Along the Peterskaya" - complete with basses whistling (in a drunken sort of Russian whistling-style) and ...wait for it...sleigh bells.  Does anyone know where we can get sleigh bells?  And a slap stick (where can I get a slap stick - and that doesn't mean Greg at his... hmm, "best")
Rautavaara - both pieces
First Snow - final review
Amulla varhain - notes are easy - listen to text on the website.

Before signing off, I want to wish Camerata Xara the best in their fundraising concert "Sweet On You" this Saturday, February 5, 7:30 pm at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Tickets are still available and if you are able to go contact Tenille (tenille.goodspeed@gmail.com) or go to http://www.xara.ca/.  I regret very much that I am going to miss this one, but wish the Xara girls and Christina all the best as they raise money for Xara's participation at Festival 500 this summer.

Finally, congratulations to former NSYC and National YC singer and pianist/composer Edward Enman (see the separate post) in winning the HCS Young Composer's Competition. Lovely piece. 

Have a great weekend folks.

PS.  Keep looking for Christina's text pronunciations of the Raminsh Slavic folksongs #s 2 & 3.  They will be on the Choir only page of the website tonight or tomorrow.  More Russian!