Please find the program for the Dec. 5th concert, Christmas with Friends HERE
Faure Requiem with the VSO
A message from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
A special offer to our friends at the BC Choral Federation:
Get up to FOUR (4) TICKETS FOR ONLY $20 EACH to see Fauré Requiem with the VSO
Saturday & Monday, November 21 & 23, 8pm, Orpheum Theatre
Two masterpieces of the choral and orchestral literature come to life at the Orpheum. Maestro Bramwell Tovey presents Fauré's luminous and profoundly beautiful Requiem and Stravinsky's deeply moving Symphony of Psalms, bringing together the VSO with two award-winning Vancouver choirs, UBC's University Singers and the Phoenix Chamber Choir.
Your promotion code: vsofaure
HOW TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS: Visit the concert page then click on the "BUY NOW" button for the performance date that you want. From there, enter the promotion code (see above) in the Promotion Code box and click "APPLY". The screen will refresh itself, and then you can click on “choose your own seats” to book your tickets at this special $20 rate! This offer is for new sales only.
Click here for the concert poster.
DISCOUNT CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFERS. ONLY VALID ON REGULARLY PRICED TICKETS. DRESS CIRCLE SEATING IS EXCLUDED FROM THIS PROMOTION. NOT VALID ON PREVIOUSLY PURCHASED TICKETS. OTHER RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY.
How to play a midi file
Roger Nathan has sent instructions on how to play a midi file. You can access these instructions at How To Play a Midi File
These instructions can also be found in the music section of the Members' page.
Win $50!! Not too late!
ROCA's Night at the Metro Fundraiser is coming soon on Wednesday, Nov. 4th. Please try to sell lots of tickets to friends, family, neighbours, trick or treaters.....anyone!
It will be another hilarious night of Basil, Sybil, Polly and Manuel at Fawlty Towers. Tickets only $20! Tickets can be bought on line at FAWLTY TOWER TICKETS
Our selling incentive is in effect for this fun raiser. $50 (and a red rose, Larisa!) for the person selling the most tickets. Also, for every 2 tickets you sell your name will go into a draw for another $50. Remember to ask anyone who buys tickets on line to let you know so we can credit you for the sale. You just need to let Paul Dufour know.
Bravo and tonight's chorus rehearsal
·
Big bravos to everyone for some really magnificent singing on Sunday afternoon – lots of good feedback afterwards, and a number of people who were obviously really moved. There were a few shivers-down-the-back moments – and thank you for making an effort to come out of your copies more!
No rest for the wicked – or even for the virtuous… We have 6 weeks to get the Christmas concert together, and we need to do some carolling reminders with the red folders.
Before tonight’s rehearsal, please get out your copy of Hope For Resolution and mark
· From bar 10 will be done by Richmond Singers
· From bar 30 (A) will be upper voices 3-way split
· From bar 70 (B) will be lower voices 3-way split
· From bar 91 (C) will be all
· From bar 126 (E) will be ROCA on the SATB and Singers on the melody
· From bar 145 (F) 2nd sops and 1st altos on the melody, rest of ROCA on SATB; some of Singers will do the optional semichorus
The plainsong melody goes low for upper voices and high for lower ones. Sing what you can, and fake the extremes!
High voices split
1. Laura, Adele, Kathy H, Pat, Ruth, Mary, Elizabeth, Bernadette, Nancy, Cathy B, Genny
2. Anna, Alison, Julia, Amy, Doris, KarenT, Kate, Heather, Christy, Lavonne, Helen, Nina
3. Capary, Esther, Roxanne, Soyoung, Kyra, Jennifer, Glenda, KarenL, Barb, Pat, Letty
Low voices split
1. Elizabeth, Bernadette, Nancy, Cathy B, Genny, Roger, Chris, Bob, Bill, Rick
2. Kate, Heather, Christy, Lavonne, Helen, Nina, Don, Doug, Charles, Gordon, Peter
3. Jennifer, Glenda, KarenL, Barb, Pat, Letty, Jorge, Barry, Graeme, Bernie, Eden, Brian, Victor
Night of Silence will be
v.1 – Natasha Neufeld solo
v.2 – Richmond Singers
v.3 – ROCA does Silent Night (improve harmony) under RS melody
I’d like to get our carolling gigs set up a.s.a.p, so let me know if you hear of anywhere that wants us.
See you tonight!
Chorus Christmas Singout Opportunities
Here we come a-caroling!
First caroling request – this is with Concert Realty who does a breakfast buffet for the tenants in their two main buildings
· Tuesday 15 December, 8-10am – 1190 Hornby St, Vancouver – just a quartet (no room for more) all of whom can hold their own parts
· Thursday 17 December, 8-10am – 5811 Cooney Road, Richmond – could be a bigger group – this is the building with the nice atrium!
If you’re available for either, please contact me at brigid@uniserve.com
There will be more caroling gigs, I hope, and I’ll start a signup sheet sometime soon.
Reminder: there’s the “O Canada” gig on Wednesday 25 November; I have 2 sopranos (Laura & Karen), 2 altos (Pat & Genny), 2 tenors (Don & Barry) and no basses. Gentlemen, please? And any more voices would be welcome…
Brigid
Orchestra and Chorus Pre-Concert Reminders
REMINDERS PRE-CONCERT
Saturday:
· on risers to start perfroming at 9:30am
· need to be done by 11am to allow the Orchestra to do their own rehearsal
· TICKETS: Please get money and unsold tickets to Karen Tardif in the Chorus this morning.
Sunday:
· 2pm sound-check to get the “organ” balanced through the house speakers
· Ladies: new outfits; Gentlemen: tuxes with aqua poufs
· Everyone: please use black concert folders
· Please leave the close-to-church parking for our audience members
Another opportunity to perform Faure for the Chorus
I am planning to feature movements of the Faure Requiem for the All Saints / All Souls 11:15am service on Sunday 1 November at St Mary's Kerrisdale. If you're interested in being part of it, please let me know a.s.a.p, and don't hand your music in on Tuesday 26 October.
Everyone else, I need music IN!
I will be rehearsing Thursday 28th evening, 8:15-9pm, but it'll be almost exclusively the Faure, so it's an optional rehearsal for ROCA folks. Sunday call is 10:30am for the 11:15 service.
Let me know - it's nice to be able to do something like this more than once!
Brigid
Chorus Performance Notes
Rehearsal notes – please Read, Mark, Learn and Inwardly Digest…
1. Introit & Kyrie
· Page 7 – much more eye-contact, please – notes are not difficult!
· Page 8/9 – tenor and soprano melodies should be memorised and off copy
· Page 9-10 transition: NO DIMINUENDO till bar 58
· F onwards – you shouldn’t need to look at your music at all!
2. Offertory
· Tenors are flatting, mostly on the repeated B’s, 7-10, and then on the C#s, 15-18
· As orchestra and soloist finish the Hostias at G, you need to be concentrating for the new entry and the tempo change
· Big crescendo at 82-83 and then DON’T let it go until after the page turn
· Bar 90 is very dangerous for early breaths – LISTEN to the altos.
· 91/92 needs careful listening; big steps going up, don’t let it sag coming down; SPIN the sound and listen to the organ for tuning. If you can’t hear it, you’re too loud!
3. Sanctus
· Breathe early with each phrase so you can float the sound. Sopranos (tenors and basses too, but I hear it worst in sopranos) – the tone from B flat to C is much wider than you think, and the hooded “oo” vowel of Sanctus flats very easily. You need to make sure that it’s always the same B flat you return to
· After C – make sure that the 8th note pickup is only an 8th, and not a 16th – a couple of people are rushing it.
4. Pie J – lovely, Amy!
5. Agnus Dei
· Another melody that needs to be memorised and right out of copy
· C onwards; sopranos, the danger is that the first note and the last note of bar 48/50/56 etc do not always match – use your good singing technique to support all the way. You tend to pull this whole passage down…
· E onwards – as the beginning – out of copy!
6. Libera me
· Be ready to explode on the “Dies Illa” after C; at D don’t let it be slower even though it’s piano, and then be ready to build to 77 and prep the diminuendo there.
· At E, altos and basses, EYES!
· At F, this is another “to be memorised” melody- very focused but also very quiet; it’s magical when you can get that suppressed tension into it
7. In Paradisum
· Sopranos, I shouldn’t need to have to do this with you four times – you know how to prep the sound, and where you need to think about going over onto a note and not climbing up to it. You finally got what I was asking for, but you have to find a way of marking that into you copy
· Please be very careful about the difference between dotted 8ths and even 8ths – there’s nearly always someone (not always the same person) who makes a mistake
· Last page everyone – notes are not hard, words are not hard, OUT OF COPY, please!
I think this can be a wonderful concert – but I need 110% focus from you all, please!
Brigid
Tuesday Rehearsal at Richmond Pentecostal Church
Both the chorus and orchestra will be rehearing at the Richmond Pentecostal Church at 9300 Westminster Hwy on Tuesday, October 20th at 7:30PM.
