Empress : Kaiserin

Countdown to Missa Solemnis - Last Night

Today was better! The orchestra toned down quite a bit, although it's still difficult for the lower voices sometimes. The soloists improved - well, they are professionals after all - and some of us realised that the strongest singer turns out to be the alto! Rich bodied voice. Wow, I'm in awe, as well as being envious.

We did another run through today, only stopping at critical unbearable moments. The first half of the rehearsal was Kyrie and Gloria, and after the break Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei followed. It was difficult for the sopranos to sing Credo right after the break, because we don't get to sing long enough before hitting a sustained B-flat at the second page. There were still some messy parts - people don't know the parts and entrances well enough to sing confidently without waiting for their partners. I reckoned this problem comes from the other choirs. And the soloists' parts also call for some tidying-up. But it was a huge improvement from last night, and the overall outcome was pretty lovely. Tonight was actually a "open rehearsal" event, and Storyteller and Mum turned up - apart from the last two movements, which obviously displayed that we didn't work on them enough due to late entries and untidy interweaving lines (I knew we were spending too much time on the first three movements!) - and commented that everything was pretty good. Mum told me later that she sighted our conductor's wife amongst the audience. *dreads*

On a personal note, I think the choir needs more time to work out the entrances and beats from bar 120 onwards in Agnus Dei. No point depending on the conductor; I realised tonight that he's only gesturing our entries as and when he likes. Meaning "you are on your own out there, guys" when he's in a bad mood, and "watch me coz I'm so going to cue you in" when he's in high spirits. So much for the unpredictable war-like section, Mister Beethoven... =______= You confused us all... Too late to practise now, but I'll make my last-minute share of responsibility first thing in the morning.

On an even more personal note, if you've read my lj entries recently that is, tomorrow's performance is dedicated to Soshi...

posted by empress @ 7:36 PM