the quarterly choir resource full of training and ... · the quarterly choir resource full of...

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Edition 8: January 2012

The quarterly choir resource full of training and repertoire ideas!Voice for Life ‘Gold Dust’

Welcome to this edition of Voice for Life ‘Gold Dust’ from the Royal School of Church Music – a quarterly resource for all Voice for Life choirs, offering support, advice and training ideas for use with your singers.

This issue explores music for Epiphany, using music from the new RSCM Publication The Light of God’s Glory. This Epiphany procession, compiled by Peter Moger and Tim Ruffer, explores the manifestation of Christ not only to the Gentiles on the feast of Epiphany, but also in the Baptism of Jesus and the miracle at Cana. This music, then, is suitable for the whole season of Epiphany – not only for the Feast of Epiphany, whether celebrated on 6th or 8th January, but at any time from then to the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.

The next Gold Dust will explore revisions to the Voice for Life programme.

Colin Davey

Voice for Life Programme Manager +44 (0)1722 424844 [email protected]

January 2012

2 Worldofwarm-ups

3 Singspired!

‘We three kings’ by Ian Wicks

8 Hymntime!

‘In our darkness light has shone’

12 TheLightofGod’sGlory

The Epiphany procession

13 Repertoireresource

Music for the Epiphany season

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This simple arpeggio-based warm up encourages brightness and energy. Make sure your singers’ jaws stay relaxed, and place the ‘oo’ sound toward the front of the mouth to keep it bright and retain the energy of the ‘ree’ sound.

World of warm-ups

ng

C G C B¨9

ng

E¨ B¨ E¨ D¨9

ng

G¨

etc.

va va

C

va va

A‹7

va va

D‹7 G7 C C/B¨ A¨7 D¨

va va va va

B¨‹7

va va

E¨‹7 A¨7 D¨ D¨/C¨ A7 D

va va

etc.

ree

C G/B

oo

C

-

A¨7

ree

D¨ A¨/C

oo

D¨

-

A7

ree

D A/C©

oo

D

-

B¨7

ree

E¨

-

etc.

Keep the mouth and throat open on the ‘ng’ sound, and take care to keep the top note bright and avoid any flattening. The sirens should be smooth, with no obvious disturbance of the tone as you move between registers.

Detach the quavers in this exercise. Take care not to let the tongue go too far back on the high notes; it should be raised slightly to keep the throat open. Using an ‘ee’ vowel sound on the top note will encourage this further.

Day(Deh ee)-

Day(Deh ee)-

Day(Deh ee)-

Mah Hah Ah Mah Hah Ah Mah Hah Ah

etc.

Diction

Singspired! and Hymn time! both refer to the ‘diction’ section of the Voice for Life Choir Trainer’s Book. These exercises are taken from the relevant passages.

Experimenting with diphthongs: this exercise moves the second vowel sound of a diphthong (in this case, the ‘ay’ at the end of ‘day’) around, so that your singers can feel the difference when they place it correctly (the third version). Try it with the words ‘night’, ‘bright’ and ‘light’ before singing ‘We three kings’.

This ‘simultaneous onset’ exercise will help to develop the onset needed to sing the ‘Alleluia’s in ‘In our darkness light has come’ with suitable energy.

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Introduction

Biblical accounts of the Magi tell us little about them – we don’t know that there were three of them, that they were kings or what their names were – but John Henry Hopkins’s ‘We three kings’ has become one of the most easily recognisable elements of our Epiphany celebrations. Ian Wicks’s lively setting of these well-known words was composed for the choir of Salisbury Cathedral School. It appears, with accompaniment, in an SATB setting in the new RSCM publication The Light of God’s Glory; in the version here (for unison voices with descant) the accompanist will need to follow the vocal parts between bars 61 and 76.

Trainingideas

Much of the music of the verse is based around the syncopated q. q. q rhythmic pattern. It’s important to establish this firmly early on. Before you refer to the music, have your singers clap the pattern over the introduction – and don’t move on or look at the music until it’s secure!

Once the rhythmic feel has been established, learn to speak the words in rhythm. Make sure, even at this stage, that the speaking is energised and bright; otherwise, you may establish and reinforce a habit of projecting the piece lethargically even before you’ve started singing. Aim to speak at a slightly higher pitch than your singers’ default, and insist on the same blend and projection of vowels and consonants that you would when singing. When the rhythm is secure, most of your singers should be able to sightread the verse with reasonable accuracy; it only contains two leaps (the fifth at the opening of the first two phrases, and the descending third at the end of the second). Less experienced singers may need a little guidance at these points.

You will have to deal with the rhythm in verse four separately – and do it before your singers get there naturally; they should know the tune well by the time they get to this verse, and it’s easier to get it right initially than to break a bad habit. Counting this section in minims will help the alternation of crotchets and crotchet triplets to flow naturally, without sounding stilted or pedantic.

The first note of the chorus must be pitched with care, and it’s worth spending a little time making this really secure. It may be worth learning the first phrase of the chorus by rote, but if your singers can recognise the sequential nature of the subsequent phrases they should be able sing these with minimal guidance. Make sure they are aware of the correlation between bars 12–13 and 19–20, to help make the final phrase absolutely secure. When the chorus is well-known, look ahead to bar 96 and identify the rhythmic difference.

If the 7/8 time signature of the chorus seems daunting, make sure you’re actually thinking of it as three counts ( q. q q – so the first count is slightly longer than the others). Compare the music of bar 9 with that in bar 13; your singers will need to take care over this crucial difference. Try ‘count-singing’ the two passages, very slowly at first, to make sure they’re rhythmically secure:

We three kingsSingspired!

One and Two and Three and Four and One and a Two and Three and

9

etc.

13

etc.

The descant follows the melody in thirds, except for the unison notes in bars 94 and 96.

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Performance

‘We three kings’ needs to be sung with a lot of energy. The consonants must be well-projected throughout. Take care not to over-articulate and make the music ‘choppy’; a well-supported musical line with strong consonants will give the sense of forward movement that this piece needs. Long notes and rests must be counted accurately, or you may find the music speeds up dangerously!

Treat the diphthongs at the ends of several lines (‘night’, ‘bright’ and ‘light’ in the chorus, for example) with caution; maintain a pure vowel sound through as much of the length of the note as necessary. There’s more information and exercises in the ‘diction’ section of the Voice for Life Choir Trainer’s Book.

Be careful not to over-emphasise the third note of each verse; the first word of each verse is important (this is particularly important in verse three, where ‘frankincense’ needs its correct emphasis – say it aloud if you’re not sure).

Verse three is only a little slower, with a rit. in the last two bars. Don’t slow down too much here, as this tempo carries over into the beginning of the chorus. Gradually, over the next eight bars, the tempo needs to come up to (not beyond!) your starting tempo; you may need to practise on your own before leading the choir in this, and compare your tempi using a metronome or recording.

Samplequick-firequestions

• What key does this piece start in? After hearing the key chord, sing the first note, then the third note• Why does the first bar have the number 4 above it? If unsure, why is bar 7 the fourth written bar of

music?• What does poco a poco tempo 1 mean (you may have to break this down into individual words)? Will

the music get slower or faster at this point?• What is the interval between the tune and the descant through most of the last chorus?• When was the composer born? Can you name another composer writing today?


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PHOTOCOPIABLE PAGE FOR SINGERS


Words: John Henry Hopkins Jr. (1820–1891)

Copyright © 2011 The Royal School of Church Music, 19 The Close, Salisbury, SP1 2EB. All rights reserved.

q = 127

Music: Ian Wicks(b.1963)

for Salisbury Cathedral School

We three kings

ALL VOICES ad lib.

7

11

15

19 ALL VOICES ad lib.

27

31

We

f

three kings of O ri ent are

bear ing gifts, we tra verse a far. Field andfoun tain, moor andmoun tain,

fol low ing yon der star. O

star of won der star of night,

star with roy al beau ty bright, west ward lead ing, still pro ceed ing

guide us to thy per fect light.

Born a king on Beth le hem plain,

Gold I bring to crownhim a gain King for e ver, ceas ing ne ver

o ver us all to reign. O

star of won der star of night,

6



35

39

43

47

51

55

59

63

67

star with roy al beau ty bright, west ward lead ing, still pro ceed ing,


Frank

f

in cense to of fer have I; In cense owns a Dei ty nigh:

Prayer and prai sing all men rais ing Wor ship himGod most high. O

f

star of won der, star of night, star with roy al beau ty bright,

west ward lead ing, still pro ceed ing guide us to thy per fect light.

a little slower with expression mp

Myrrh is mine; its bit ter per

3

fume

breathes a life of ga ther ing

3

gloom: sor row ing,

3

sigh ing, bleed ing,

3

dy ing,

3

sealed

rit

in the

3

stone cold tomb. O

p

star

poco a poco a tempo 1

of won der, star of night,

7



71

75

83

87 SOPRANO DESCANT

90

94

star

mp

with roy al beau ty bright, west

mf cresc.

ward lead ing, still pro ceed ing,


Glor

f

ious now be hold him a rise,

King and God and sa cri fice. Heav’nsingsHal le lu ia; Hal le

ff

O

star of won der,

lu ia the earth re plies.

ff

O

star of won der,

star of night, star with roy al beau ty bright, west ward lead ing,

star of night, star with roy al beau ty bright, west ward lead ing

still pro ceed ing guide us to thy per fect light.

still pro ceed ing guide us to thy per fect light.

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Introduction to Hymn time!

This section is designed to help deliver relevant training for singers to achieve their hymn/song singing targets at Light Blue and Dark Blue levels, and for the Bronze, Silver and Gold Award exams.

Aim to dedicate some of your rehearsal time each week to hymn/song singing. This could be as little as 5 minutes, perhaps after your warm-ups; it may be considerably more. The simple verse (or verse–chorus) structure means that singers should be able to pick up the melody fairly quickly, but may need time to be able to read and understand the lyrics fully (young singers in particular). Don’t feel you must cover a whole hymn (teaching the notes and discussing lyrics) in one rehearsal. You can cover a couple of verses one week, then come back to it the next week to consolidate, test their memories, and then add more verses.

For choirs that sing regularly for worship, regular work on hymns and songs will help breed familiarity with the melodies and lyrics, allow greater understanding of the meaning of the hymn texts and improve the overall quality of hymn (and other congregational song) singing. Choirs that don’t sing regularly for worship can use this approach with any verse, or verse–chorus, songs to teach the music and lyrics and help your singers understand what they are trying to communicate.

Background

Timothy Dudley-Smith is the writer of over three hundred distinguished hymn texts, including the celebrated ‘Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided’, and ‘Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord’. In 2003, he was appointed an honorary vice-president of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and in the New Year Honours of that year was awarded an OBE ‘for services to hymnody’. In 2011, he was made a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music at the RSCM Celebration Day Service at Peterborough Cathedral.

‘In our darkness light has shone’ is based on John 1.1–14, familiar to many of us through its place at the heart of many Christmas services. It was written for a family Christmas card in 1997, and published in the Dudley-Smith collection A house of praise. It is included in Sing Praise, set to the tune Upton Cheney by John Barnard, written specifically for this text. The hymn can also be sung to a number of more well-known tunes, including Easter Hymn, Gwalchmai and Llanfair.

Training

Teach the music line by line, using a neutral vowel sound. Be aware that crotchet movement in the lower parts at the end of most phrases means that you’ll only be able to take a quaver from the final minim of each to breathe; you may find it less disruptive to sing four bars to a breath, just lifting slightly at the internal comma before each ‘Alleluia’.

Take care in bars 2 and 6 – make the major sixth leap quite wide to ensure a bright C and allow precise intonation on the following note. Play the harmony underneath the tune as you do this – your singers will hear the modulation to G minor in bar 6 a beat before they have to sing the A§, and so will find it easier to place the note correctly.

In our darkness light has shoneHymn time!

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When you come to add words, make sure each ‘Alleluia’ is sung with energy, rather than being merely an extended punctuation. Timothy Dudley-Smith says in his commentary on this hymn that ‘“Alleluia” is a very early liturgical expression of rejoicing, from the songs of the saints in glory (Revelation 19.1,2,4,6). Though more usually linked with Easter and the resurrection, it seems entirely appropriate for Christmas and the incarnation with its message of “great joy ... to all people” (Luke 2.10).’ Make sure that the vowel sound starts energetically, but without any trace of hard glottal onset. See the notes and exercises on onset in the ‘diction’ section of the Voice for Life Choir Trainer’s Book for more information on this.

Go through the first verse together. The language is simple, but some of the imagery may need explanation, particularly to less experienced singers. When everyone is familiar with the words, put them together with the music. The verses are quite short, and there isn’t a lot of complicated language, so you may be able to cover the whole hymn in one or two sessions.

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In our darkness light has shone, Alleluia,still today the light shines on, Alleluia;Word made flesh in human birth, Alleluia,Light and Life of all the earth, Alleluia!

Christ the Son incarnate see, Alleluia,by whom all things came to be, Alleluia;through the world his splendours shine, Alleluia,full of grace and truth divine, Alleluia!

All who now in him believe, Alleluia,everlasting life receive, Alleluia;born of God and in his care, Alleluia,we his Name and nature share, Alleluia!

Christ a child on earth appears, Alleluia,crown of all creation’s years, Alleluia;God’s eternal Word has come, Alleluia,he shall lead his people home, Alleluia!

UPTON CHEYNEY

q = 84

74 74 D

Words: Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926), based on John 1.1–14Music: John Barnard (b.1948)

Words © Timothy Dudley-Smith

Reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press. All Rights Reserved.

Music © John Barnard/Jubilate Hymns. Administered by the Jubilate Group, 4 Thorne Park Road, Torquay TQ2 6RX

[email protected]. Used by permission

If your church owns a ccli Music Reproduction Licence, you may copy this page, FOR LOCAL USE ONLY, without further

permission. You are requested, however, to report all items you copy on your yearly ccli returns.

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John 1.1–141In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

All biblical quotations from The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education

of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


Inourdarknesslighthasshone, Alleluia,still today the light shines on, Alleluia;Wordmadefleshinhumanbirth, Alleluia,Light and Life of all the earth, Alleluia!

Christ the Son incarnate see, Alleluia,bywhomallthingscametobe, Alleluia;through the world his splendours shine, Alleluia,fullofgraceandtruthdivine, Alleluia!

All who now in him believe, Alleluia,everlasting life receive, Alleluia;bornofGodandinhiscare, Alleluia,we his Name and nature share, Alleluia!

Christ a child on earth appears, Alleluia,crown of all creation’s years, Alleluia;God’seternalWordhascome, Alleluia,he shall lead his people home, Alleluia!

Which verses of the passage from John do the bold passages refer to? Can you spot any other references to this passage in the hymn?

Verse

Verse

Verse

Verse

Verse

Verse

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This sequence of words and music provides the framework for a devotional service and also a wide range of choral resources for use during Epiphany.

The service is conceived as a procession in which words, music, movement, symbol and ceremony

The Epiphany processionThe Light of God’s Glory

This sequence of words and music provides both the framework for a devotional service and a wide range of choral resources for use during the Epiphany season.

The service is conceived as a procession in which words, music, movement, symbol and ceremony play their part to help deepen our understanding of the mystery of God who, in Jesus, shares our life by taking human fl esh.

The word Epiphany means ‘showing forth’ or ‘manifestation’. The Feast of the Epiphany (6 January) is the occasion on which the Church celebrates showing forth of the child Jesus to the Gentiles. But the Epiphany season recalls two other signifi cant ‘manifestations’. One is the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. The other is Jesus’ fi rst miracle, or ‘sign’ – the turning of water into wine at the wedding at Cana in Galilee.

The choral music o� ers fl exibility in a wide range of styles and levels of di� culty for choirs of all standards and has been chosen with limited rehearsal time in mind. Congregational items include new and established Epiphany hymns and contemporary worship songs.

The Light of God’s Glory provides a valuable addition to the music and liturgy of Epiphany for churches of all sizes.

The Light of God’s GloryThe Epiphany Procession

The Light of God’s GloryThe Epiphany Procession

Catalogue no. RS41Order no. SO136

The Light of G

od’s Glory

LOGG ver6.indd 1 22/09/2011 14:17:52

play their part to help deepen our understanding of the mystery of God who, in Jesus, shares our life by taking human flesh.

The choral music is in a variety of styles and levels of difficulty for choirs of all standards and has been chosen with limited rehearsal time in mind. Congregational items include new and established Epiphany hymns and contemporary worship songs.

Includes music by:

• Malcolm Archer• Thomas Hewitt Jones • Martin How • Grayston Ives• Andrew March• Peter Moger• David Ogden • Richard Shephard• Ian Wicks

Compiled by Peter Moger and Tim Ruffer

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Repertoire ideas for the season of EpiphanyRepertoire resource

Arise,Shineforyourlighthascome by Richard ShephardSource: Sunday by Sunday Collection 1Arrangement: SATB choir with organHelps to develop: Range, dynamic contrast, intonation, well-projected consonants

Growingrace by Malcolm Archer Source: Sunday by Sunday Collection 1, choral leafletArrangement: SATB choir with organHelps to develop: Legato singing, dynamic control and balance, scalic passages, tone and blend

GraciousSpirit,HolyGhost by Malcolm ArcherSource: Choral leafletArrangement: Two-part with organ or pianoHelps to develop: Intonation and ensemble; arpeggio patterns

Thewisemencamebystarlight arranged by John BarnardSource: The Carol Book SupplementArrangement: Three- or four-part with keyboard (could be sung by unison voices with descant)Helps to develop: Melismas; legato singing with larger leaps; intelligent phrasing and breath control

Godcomesamongus arranged by John BarnardSource: The Carol Book SupplementArrangement: Three- or four-part with keyboard (could be sung by unison voices with descant)Helps to develop: Accurate intonation; projection of text, sustained quiet singing

Thejourney by Simon LoleSource: Choral leafletArrangement: SATB choir with organHelps to develop: Octave leaps and descending scales; careful tuning of repeated notes

AprayerofStRichardofChichester by Richard AllainSource: Voice for Life SongbookArrangement: Two-part with pianoHelps to develop: Ascending and descending sevenths; careful intonation in passages of dissonant harmony

All of this music is available from RSCM Music Direct.

Tel: +44 (0)845 021 7726

Fax: +44 (0)845 021 8826

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.rscmshop.com

Lightoftheworld by John DankworthSource: Songs, psalms and spiritualsArrangement: Unison or four-part with keyboardHelps to develop: Wider leaps; accuracy in pitching non-diatonic notes; developing and strengthening passaggio

Listen by Aniceto Nazareth (arranged by Malcolm Archer) Source: The Bronze CollectionArrangement: Two-part with organHelps to develop: simple vocal harmony; shaping of phrases; well-supported legato lines

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