[Choir] Choir info, Spring 2020

[Bethany Reeves]

Dear Choir,

Welcome back! I hope you have all had a splendid break and are well-rested and ready for the adventures of spring semester.

First news for Choir: no rehearsal this coming Thursday 1/23. We start next week, on Monday 1/27. For those in spring Choir for the first time: this is to allow me to focus wholly on launching DeBaun's annual Shakespeare project in the first week of school.

Our theme this semester is "The Animal Kingdom."

The Spring Concert date is Saturday April 25. Please put this date in your calendars!

We'll be doing some music from "The Lion King," Sam Pottle's wonderful "Jabberwocky," and a LOT of Whitacre, among other things. The links below provide a few previews. 😄

By Eric Whitacre:

"Little Birds" - in Spanish, poetry by Octavio Paz. This lovely piece features some aleatoric writing and choir-produced sound effects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vidp4JjvtUo
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.0DIZNUoXbYR98CF5cWDBmgEsDh&pid=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vidp4JjvtUo>
Little Birds<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vidp4JjvtUo>
Provided to YouTube by TuneCore Little Birds · Eric Whitacre Byu Choirs and Eric Whitacre 2 ℗ 2014 Shadow Water Music Released on: 2009-12-07 Auto-generated by YouTube.
www.youtube.com
The link below starts with the first of the three short pieces in Whitacre's "Animal Crackers Vol. 1," then leads straight into the 2nd and 3rd pieces. These are great fun, and a comic departure from his usual aesthetic. The whimsical poetry is by Ogden Nash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30nu_o2yv3E
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.0DIZNUoXbYR98CF5cWDBmgEsDh&pid=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30nu_o2yv3E>
Animal Crackers Vol. 1 1. The Panther<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30nu_o2yv3E>
Provided to YouTube by TuneCore Animal Crackers Vol. 1 1. The Panther · Eric Whitacre Byu Choirs and Eric Whitacre 2 ℗ 2014 Shadow Water Music Released on: 2009-12-07 Auto-generated by YouTube.
www.youtube.com
This, of course, might be just about every Whitacre fan's favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKrsDN91WgY
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.kqrsbgRbRUscxRoerB6BJQHgFo&pid=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKrsDN91WgY>
Whitacre: The Seal Lullaby<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKrsDN91WgY>
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Whitacre: The Seal Lullaby · Eric Whitacre · Eric Whitacre Singers Light & Gold ℗ 2010 Decca, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited Released on: 2010-01-01 Conductor: Eric Whitacre Producer, Studio Personnel, Editor: Raphaël Mouterde Studio Personnel, Recording Engineer, Mixer ...
www.youtube.com

Sicut cervus ("Like a deer") - by Palestrina, one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance. Here's a recording in our key (G):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yd5EE0hAB8&list=RD0yd5EE0hAB8&start_radio=1
[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0yd5EE0hAB8/hqdefault.jpg]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yd5EE0hAB8&list=RD0yd5EE0hAB8&start_radio=1>
Palestrina - Sicut cervus - The Cambridge Singers - YouTube<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yd5EE0hAB8&list=RD0yd5EE0hAB8&start_radio=1>
Psalm 42 Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus. *****-----*****-----***** Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks: so ...
www.youtube.com

I like the verve of the following recording a bit better, but it's in the lower key (F).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mdmco61Htk

"Jabberwocky" - text by Lewis Carroll, from "Through the Looking Glass"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IqC-gZeQVM
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.V-rnAsjbwThwPMoCWcAIJQEsDh&pid=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IqC-gZeQVM>
Jabberwocky - Sam Pottle<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IqC-gZeQVM>
Cantabile Chorale - 8th Brawijaya Choir Festival 2017 "Grand Prix" Conductor: Bagus S. Utomo
www.youtube.com
The accent here obscures Carroll's marvelous, wacky language, but musically these folks are just marvelous. BTW - yes to the instruments (we'll need volunteers), but no one need paint their face. 🙂

Other things on deck:

  *   "The Turtle Dove" - traditional, arr. Purifoy
  *   Possibly 1-3 others, including "Stray Cat Strut" pending some arrangement re-arranging.  😉

Finally - THE ALMA MATER!

Looking forward!

Cheers,


Dr. Bethany Reeves
Director, Stevens Choir & DeBaun PAC Voice Studio
Music Program Coordinator, DeBaun Performing Arts Center
Stage Director/Teacher, DeBaun Shakespeare & Summer Theatre Projects
Stevens Institute of Technology

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