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I hope you are all keeping safe and well and manage to be with friends and family over the Christmas New Year period. This has been an unprecedented year thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and has effected many people in different ways. Sadly for us singers and choirs we have not seen any return to normality nor may we for a while yet. Sad to say we may see the anniversary of the start of the pandemic before we get back to singing. As there is no end in sight but there is movement on releasing a vaccine plus inoculating people, let's hope the 'norm' returns quickly then we can get back to doing what we like best - singing together as a choir. In the meantime I wish you well and I am obviously planning a new programme of music so if you have any suggestions, please contact me! Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing you all again in 2021! David - Musical Director for the Incognito Singers
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You will be pleased (or not) to know that all but two Christmas songs are ready and available for download, oh, and rehearsal! OK you may get some strange looks while on the beach humming along to your Christmas backing tracks! Just think though, now the Christmas music is available our MD is working on 2020 music, so if you have any suggestions let's have them before the end of August. Gerry (Bass/Baritone) is the winner up to now with great suggestions on a regular 'bass-is', sorry couldn't resist the pun! Just to let you know our Publicity Co-ordinator is also hard at work, rearranging concert dates for December and working on concert dates for 2020 also. Anyway do enjoy the summer holiday, the return and season dates are on our Rehearsal page. Also, if you have any News items to share with the choir or folks (not on Facebook) send an email to our web admin.
Hope everyone is enjoying the summer break? Our MD/Web Admin/Secretary.... is still hard at work doing music and overhauling the website, so he's not seen much sun of late! Anyway, in his spare time he has posted a few more music titles to the practice page in the members area. Currently they are only available as sheet music, the backing tracks will follow as soon as Murf comes back from house clearing in the UK. We're not going to spoil the surprise and say publicly what the titles are. We don't want to spoil the surprise for our audience - they will have to wait a little bit longer.
Sometimes you just have to sit down and learn them! All the songs for the Royal Albert Hall performance have to be committed to memory! That's no mean feat. Plus our MD has threatened us to learn all our future music too so that we don't rely on copies. Eeek! So what are the tricks to learning lyrics. Our MD outlines his approach:
Don't worry we've all been here and have to do it. How do you think our MD manages to keep his head up, mouth the words and bring each part in accordingly? He has to learn the music and words too and for more than one part! When you first perform a piece without copies you feel naked and then become conscious about your hands and how you stand but that's a topic for another day. As for writing out lyrics our MD uses the following method:
The following extract from the Hallelujah Chorus might give you an idea. This is for Bass 1, therefore the other singers lyrics are greyed out and in brackets as he will not be singing them. Ignore the red squiggly underline, that is the word processor objecting to the word being spelt wrong with the hyphen. But the hyphen is there to remind him to sing the word longer or separated.  And finally with a piece like the Hallelujah Chorus you just have to work out how many 'Hallelujahs' to sing, especially in the end phrase. Have fun learning lyrics!
We like to perform music we like. But we also want to perform music you like! Our MD is throwing open an invitation for new music suggestions for the 2019 music season, as we need to get on with the music ordering, arranging or transcribing now, them the pieces are ready for January 2019. We have a good mix of songs from the show, musicals, films, ballads, love songs, folk tunes and a few classical pieces. What songs should we include next? Let us know what your favourite pieces are and if they are available for SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass choir) then we will look t including them in our repertoire. We tend to steer clear of sacred music and big works as other choirs have this covered. We like easy listening plus something a bit different. So whatever your suggestion, simply comment below. Thanks in anticipation of your suggestions.
There is a new members page listing forthcoming event programmes and running orders. The page is to enable members to have a one stop place to locate information about an up and coming event. Although an email will have been sent out by our MD, emails tend to get misplaced. So hopefully this new page will save any confusion. Members simply login to our website and select the Programmes page. The page is not available to members of the public as it would spoil the surprise of what we are going to sing at our events. To minimise costs we do not publish concert programmes. Our MD does all the introductions of songs and thanks those involved along including our sponsors.
The Phantom comes to Albox. As part of this seasons new music, we are starting rehearsals soon on a medley from Phantom of the Opera. It just goes to show we listen to our audience, as some said they thought the choir would do a medley of Phantom music proud. I hope we do!
We have a new piece of music to rehearse. Always on the lookout for new music and something a bit different from the other choirs. We have a new piece in our 'practice' pile. It's called 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perry, but this is a great four part choir arrangement. If you want to get an idea of what the song is about, then check out the YouTube video, however members can log in and download our sheet music and backing tracks to practice before next rehearsal.
The music for the Albert Hall concert in 2018 is almost complete. It's at 85% Our MD has been busy behind the scenes trying to get all the music complete and posted for singers to start practicing. I know the concert is not until November 2018, but we have to know all the songs from memory! To date we are still waiting for three pieces to be sent to us, as they may be arrangements of William Relton, the musical director and conductor for the event. As we cannot attend the regional rehearsals in the UK, there is a rumour that Mr Relton may visit us sometime in 2018 before the big event - OMG!! So we better start rehearsing! Anyway enjoy the music....
Yes another tongue twister.... Following the success of the Ukranian Christmas Carol - Sleigh Ride, which has a few tongue twisting lyrics, such as "ting-a-ling-a-ling-ring-a-ting-ling", then our MD thought it might be fun(!) to have something similar as a secular piece. He has found such a piece by Aaron Copland called. Ching-a-ring Chaw. And yes there are a few lyrical challenges in this piece too, but not quite as difficult as the Christmas one. Let's hope the audience like this one just as much? Singers can access the music online via the Log In > Members > Music > Practice page and download the sheet music PDF and rehearsal tracks.
Some new music has started appearing online.... For choir members only, you will be pleased to know that some of next years music is starting to appear online in the Members > Music > Practice page. It is the start of the music being used for the Royal Albert Hall Programme, which as you remember has to be learnt by heart. So no copies on the night, or at the rehearsal the day before! In fact we will have no copies from October 2018 onwards. Music so far (04/06/17).
... and a few more titles added (14/06/17):
Watch this page and news feed for updates!
The choir now has a core performance list, which means we should be able to do a concert at short notice. The list includes a good mix of songs from the shows, ballads and a few winter songs. Singers are advised to keep the Core Performance List and associated music with them. Singers can make suggestions to amend the list accordingly. Choir members can Log In to our website and view the list at:
... Members > Music > Core Performance List. We are now on a Christmas Break. Rehearsals will resume on Wednesday 11th January 2017, starting 18:30 until 20:30. The new season of music is available to members in the Log In > Music > Practice page of our website. Rehearsal dates and how to find us are in the About > Rehearsals page on our website. Potential new members are welcome to come along to a rehearsal to see and hear us in operation, however we do currently have a waiting list and we maintain a balance of voices and sections. For more information send us a message via our Contact form. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Well spotted Basses! Pleased to announce that the Basses have spotted there was a broken link in the Members > Music > Practice page, which meant you did not have access to the backing/rehearsal track. In fact no one did apart from the Soprano 1s. So I wonder how long it has been like that? Just as well it was originally sent out as an email with links - phew! For a minuet then, I thought no one had bothered to listen to their rehearsal track - perish the thought... Any way normal service has been resumed there should be no more 404 errors when clicking on links. DJM
For anyone learning the lyrics to this piece of music from Les Miserables, you soon realise that one part of a verse doesn't rhyme! This has always been a great debate by singers and perhaps audience alike, as to whether the transcribed lyrics have been transcribed incorrectly, or was the original meant to be like that? I can say from experience of singing the choral arrangement for years and seeing the stage musical, it never entered my head as they all seemed to agree. But it is interesting to check out whether there is a typo somewhere. After all I have discovered a recent lyric typo in two different versions of 'The Prayer', so it always pays to check. Thanks to one of our keen eyed Tenors who came across the following extract from an interview with the lyricist Herbet Kretzmer, this probably puts the debate firmly to bed for us - for now: SHEAHEN: In the hauntingly beautiful “Castle On A Cloud” a natural rhyme seems to be avoided. “There is a room that’s full of toys; there are a hundred boys and girls.” Shouldn’t that be “girls and boys” to make it rhyme ?
KRETZMER: Yes, of course, that’s how I wrote it. Trevor Nunn and/or John Caird suggested the switch because the ‘boys-toys’ rhyme telegraphed itself and lacked surprise and, secondly, the song is sung by the untutored little urchin Cosette who is not expected to be facile of speech. Still, there must be some in the audience at every performance who conclude that the little girl simply fluffed her lines. Incidentally, speaking of “Castle On A Cloud”, Alain’s original French lyric took an altogether different line on Cosette’s plight. It had the unhappy child fantasizing about being rescued by a prince. I felt, however, that little girls of that age do not dream of men, even if they are princes. I also felt that the saviour/prince idea had been rather too famously done in the old Disney song “Someday My Prince Will Come.” So I took Cosette’s little song in another direction, and made it a plea for love and comfort in a safe place.
The summer school sessions are aimed at non-music readers with some previous singing experience. However music readers and experienced singer will still find the events enjoyable. The proposed events will be held in the El Santuario de Saliente Alto from 10:00 until 14:00 with a break for tea or coffee, then followed by a 'menu del dia' lunch. The events are open to members of the Incognito Singers and non-members. The estimated cost of the each event is 15€ (for members of the Incognito Singers) and 20€ (for non-members), which includes lunch (at 12.50€) plus tea/coffee and tuition. You will need to bring with you a pencil and some paper. For more information or show your interest please post a comment below.
A new member's area has been added to our website. The member's area is username and password controlled. Members of the group will get an invite to join and set up their new password. The area is specifically designed to help members access choir related material and information. If you are a member and haven't yet received an invite, then get in touch via our Contact page.
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