Monday, May 4, 2015

Repertoire Post #4

The Silence and the Song, Mark Patterson - SATB 9th Grade Choir

•Why this piece is worthy of consideration:
 -  I really love how musical this piece is in terms of phrasing and color. I love the melody and the words and it sounds really beautiful when sung, as we saw in class when I used this for my final teach. The piece is also in 4-part, which is great for an intermediate choir that is still exploring blend and independence of line.

•The ensemble for which the piece will be appropriate:
 - I think this would be a really good piece for either an advanced middle school choir or a 9th grade high school choir. The musical aspects are relatively simple, but there is the potential for a lot of musical things to be worked on, like phrasing.
 
•Discuss range/tessitura and how the piece works for singers:
- Soprano: C - E, this gets the sopranos into the higher part of their range.
- Alto: B - E, I really like this because the alto range is very similar to the soprano - more like part 1 and part 2 as opposed to soprano and alto.
- Tenor: G - E, this may be tricky with changing voices.
- Bass: B - B, some of this may be a little low, but for the boys that can do it, I like that they have the opportunity to.

•What musical ideas can be taught:
-blend, phrasing, dynamics, spinning air/sustaining breath
 
•What about the text is worthy of singing:
- As with many Mark Patterson songs, this piece has some really nice text. It is easy to relate to and really beautiful - definitely not fluff text.
 
•What, if any, material should be adapted/re-written:
- Some of the lower bass notes may need to be taken up depending on the guys. Also, some of the tenor parts may need to be re-written if the boys singing it are still going through voice change.
 


 

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