Arioso

From 10/21 for 10/28

• "Kalanta"
  • Use these practice tracks to master the Greek from m.13-22: Call & Response and Spoken in Rhythm. Add the pitches on your own :-)
  • Memorize the English melody (m.22-30)
     
• "Little Tree"
  • We worked in sectionals on the Soprano and Alto parts from mm.53-70. Practice this at home! Where are we in unison? Where do we split?
  • We identified that this section is sort of like a "bridge" in this piece. It doesn't quite sound like the other sections we've learned (beginning and the end). The Altos called it "the teenage years" of the piece, because it goes back and forth from dark to light, upbeat to melancholy, and seems sort of confused overall (haha!). The Sopranos identified that these changes are due to multiple changes in the key and the tempo.
  • Reflection: "little tree" celebrates the Christmas Tree as a central feature of this celebration. Inspired by this poem, write your own ode to something central to one of your celebrations (doesn't have to be Christmas!). Your poem can be in ANY form, and can have a rhyme scheme... or not! Needs to be at least 3 verses long and should paint a picture for the listener about this object, its story, and how it makes you feel.
     
• "Sleigh Ride"
  • Review your part in the two-part split!
     

• Uniforms
  • Uniforms are required for the Nov. 10 gratitude performance. To those who have not paid for and received their uniform bottoms ($33), you have two options:
    • Come to the Academy (100 W Water St., Appleton) during office hours to pay for and pick up the garment. We are open Monday-Thursday, 8:30-5:00pm and Friday, 8:30-3:00pm.
    • Pay online, and your garment will be delivered at the next rehearsal.
       

From 10/14 for 10/21

• "Cuncti simus"
  • ​review the verse melody on a Latin vowel/consonant combination of your choice. Watch out for repeated notes and quarter vs. half notes!
     
• "Little Tree"
  • Sopranos: practice m.88 to the end on solfege (90%) and words (10% only if you've mastered the solfege!)
  • Altos: words from m.88 to the end, checking for rhythms and pitch accuracy
     
• "Sleigh Ride"
  • ​GREAT work with Ms. Rissel in sectionals on this! Review on your own under tempo (slowly). Do NOT sing at top speed yet! Altos: be intentional about singing through those jazzy notes.
     
• To those who have not paid for and received their uniform bottoms ($33), you have two options:
  • Come to the Academy (100 W Water St., Appleton) during office hours to pay for and pick up the garment. We are open Monday-Thursday, 8:30-5:00pm and Friday, 8:30-3:00pm.
  • Pay online, and your garment will be delivered at the next rehearsal.

From 10/7 for 10/14

We spent much of rehearsal getting voiced into our new seating chart! Think through this process... how did the sound (of your group or others) change as we moved people around? How do you think this voicing process will feel or sound different next time we do it in a few months?

• "Little Tree"
  • ​Read the poem in the front cover of the piece. Select your favorite example of imagery (using words to paint a picture). What do you like or appreciate about this line of text?
  • Map out your part from the beginning to the bottom of p.5. Which line will you be on when we're only in two parts? How about three?
  
  
• "Hashivenu"
  • ​Plan where you're going to breathe! When you practice this piece, use the breaths as an opportunity to really Tank Up :-) We looked at the physical mechanics of breath last night. How does this knowledge of your body help you to sing, especially with long phrases that take a lot of supportive air

From 9/30 for 10/7

• "Hashivenu"
  • We began by learning another piece in relative minor (la-minor), "Hashivenu." We were able to sightread the melody on solfege... without writing it in! (If you missed rehearsal, please write in your solfege and learn how to sing this melody for Monday) We gradually added the text and planned where to breathe.
  • Arioso singers described the sound of this piece as mournful and sad. We looked at the English translation and reflected on why it may sound this way, given its meaning.
  • Personal practice: review what we learned for next week (singing the melody on text)
  • Next week, we will sing this piece in a beautiful round!
  
  
• "Kalanta for the New Year"
  • We sang the melody at m.22-30 on solfege as a recap of last week's homework assignment.
  • We added text, paying close attention to where the melody moves or repeats notes.
  • Some singers shared what they had discovered about vasilopita. We found clues and connections in the text to the refrain! This led to a fun discussion about other holidays and traditions from our own lives that involve finding. Some memories shared in rehearsal included: Three Kings Day in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, Chinese New Year, Easter egg hunts, family scavenger hunts, and several "find the pickle on the Christmas tree" traditions.
  • Reflection: choose someone in your life who is at least 10 years older than you. Share with them what you've learned about vasilopita, describing this special bread and the significance of its tradition. Ask them to share a similar tradition from when they were growing up. See if you can start a conversation with them similar to the one we had in rehearsal, where we connected vasilopita to our own lives and celebrations!
  
  
• "Cuncti Simus"
  • We brought the refrain up to tempo!
  • Personal practice: Practice the refrain at tempo on text using a metronome set to the tempo marking listed.

From 9/23 for 9/30

• Cuncti Simus
  • We started rehearsal by exploring 3/4 meter through handclapping games. Our focus was on keeping a steady tempo, subdividing, sending energy through all beats equally, and changing emphasis.
  • We used our handclapping patterns to figure out the rhythm for the chorus of "Cuncti Simus." Practice singing and clapping it in rhythm this week. By next Monday you should be able to sing and do it without your music! Beat 1 = pat, Beat 2 = clap, Beat 3 = snap/pat the air like a partner is across from you. Be careful of the tricky "Ave" !!
• Little Tree
  • ​We reviewed all of our Christmas Tree sections and spoke through the other sections in rhythm. Everyone was paying close attention to the rhythms, which made reading this piece go quite smoothly! And we figured out that the "spangles" are all the sparkly stuff ;-)
• Jubilate Deo
  • ​We started our voicing process using "Jubilate Deo." Please review this piece, especially if it's not familiar to you or if you're singing next week - it's in your music packet.
• Kalanta
  • ​We learned that the relative minor scale is from La to La!
  • Write in the solfege for mm.22-30 of "Kalanta" and learn to sing it on solfege. Here is our Do for this piece:

• Reflection due 9/30 (write on your reflection sheet in the box for this week):
  • What is vasilopita?
  • When is it enjoyed?
  • What is one of the unique traditions involving vasilopita?

**Come to rehearsal next Monday with the answers.**

From 9/16 for 9/23

• We began rehearsal with creating a tall sound by creating space on the inside and relaxing the jaw. This sound transferred beautifully into our singing for the rest of the evening - brava, Arioso!
• We went outside for some team-building time, passing energy and sound around our circle and then getting to know each other with the game "The Winds Are Blowing."
• The melody from last week's assignment and warmup reappeared in "Little Tree!" We identified this melody as the primary theme of this piece and traced it through the composition. As chosen by the choir, we marked its first appearance at the pickup to m.7 with a little Christmas tree, decorated it with a star at the pickup to m. 36, marked the pickup to m.88 with a tree incorporating an excitement squiggle, and m.97 with a tree that has an ornament on it.
• Everyone was reading thoughtfully and paying close attention to the rhythms, especially quarter notes vs. eighth notes!
• We spoke mm.22-30 of "Kalanta of the New Year" in rhythm, trying to create a gentle and connected sound.
• Use this practice track to learn the pronunciation of the chorus of "Cuncti Simus"
• Reflection assignment: bring your small picture with you to rehearsal next week! Be ready to show it to someone and describe what it would feel like to be in the picture.

From 9/9 for 9/16

Thank you for a lovely first rehearsal, Arioso! And many thanks to everyone who was able to make it to the Parent Meeting.

- Check out this melody Arioso Week 1_1.pdf . Review the top line (hint: it's what we learned from the board tonight!) in solfege. Then figure out how to sing the bottom line. Can you find the first four measures hiding somewhere in the second bit? :-)
- Draw a small picture of your special celebration on a notecard, Post-It, or bit of paper and turn in on your way in to rehearsal next week!
- Make sure our Gratitude Performance at First English Lutheran Church on Sunday, Nov. 10 is on your family's calendar! Be there by 10am in your performance attire. We will have rehearsal directly following the service until 12:45 (no rehearsal the next night Monday 11/11).