Middle Level Girls Honor Choir Rehearsal Materials

American Choral Directors Association, North Central Division
February 8-11, 2012, Madison, WI
Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, Conductor

Congratulations on your successful audition for the 2012 ACDA North Central Division Honor Choir.  Below, we've provided music details to assist you in preparing for our time together in Madison.  You will find the work challenging at times, but immensely rewarding.  We look forward to seeing you in February.

Click here to download all rehearsal files in a .zip archive.
 

Vela Vela, traditional Xhosa song
as taught to Mollie Spector Stone by the University of Cape Town Choir for Africa

There is no score for this piece.  It is from an indigenous, oral tradition prevalent in South Africa. We will teach it on site in Madison, but your being familiar with it ahead of time will help immensely. There is a also a traditional South African dance which accompanies the song.  We will be learning that for our performance as well.

All singers should download the song, as performed by Paul Caldwell and the Youth Choral Theater of Chicago, from the North Central ACDA web page which provides you with rehearsal tracks.  Listen to it often. 

"The University of Cape Town Choir for Africa uses Vela Vela as one of its school songs. They usually sing Vela Vela at school concerts, competitions and weddings. Sometimes singers perform Vela Vela to announce the arrival of a choir (at an event or in a competition) or to announce the arrival of the bride at a wedding."

from the book/dvd set, Vela Vela: striving for authentic performance in black South African choral music available only from www.molliestone.org

• Vela Vela

Beneath the African Sky, Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory

This is a lullaby inspired by the story of a young girl who escaped the Rwandan genocide and grew up as an orphan in various African refugee camps. The choir's tone should have an air of innocence. Four-measure phrases permeate the work.

M 17: Carry over (don't breathe) between the words sky and sits.
M 18: Pronounce little girl as liddle girl. The T should be relaxed, not crisp or proper. Every time.
M 20: Tall O on alone. Almost an OO.
M 21: Decrescendo to shape the line on the word sighs.
M 22: No breath.
MM 24, 26 and 28: Tall OO on Who.
MM 37, 39 and 41: Tall O
MM 38,40 and 42: Pronounce liddle.
MM 51, 55 and 70: Pronounce pretty like priddy. No prissy T. Every time.
M71: Insert a caesura (railroad tracks) after the word changed.
M 73: Tall O on home. Almost an OO. Sound very lonely.
M 75: Tall O on roam. Almost an OO.
MM 78-80: Ritard. A tempo pick-up into 81.
MM 81-82: Carry over; no breath.
M 86: liddle
M 88: priddy liddle
M 90: Pronounce prettiest like priddiest. No prissy, proper T.
M 116-118: liddle and priddy.

• Beneath the African Sky
• Beneath the African Sky, Soprano part 1
• Beneath the African Sky, Soprano part 2
• Beneath the African Sky Soprano Part 2.1

Três Cantos Nativos dos Indios, Kraó Marcos Leite

Even though this piece is unique and idiosyncratic, there is not a lot to say about it ahead of time. Its unique flavor can't really be experienced outside of the group rehearsal setting. Pay particular attention to the pronunciation guide in the score. At the beginning, RÁM(M) is pronounced HUMMMM and begins with a gutteral H. In measure 57, Uá is pronounced wah. Those are the biggest potential pitfalls. But follow the pronunciation guide and you'll be fine. Just come with the notes learned. Cold. That will allow us to spend our time together crafting the piece into something we'll never forget.

• Tres Cantivos Nativos
• Tres Cantos Nativos Alto 1
• Tres Cantos Nativos Soprano 1
• Tres Cantos Nativos Soprano 2

Up on the Mountain Shouting, Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory

1. Throughout this piece, there are teeny, tiny rests dropped into the middle of phrases. Those rests are essential to creating musical fireworks, so pay careful attention to creating split seconds of silence when they occur.

   Examples of this can be found in the following spots:

   M 5, fourth beat;
   M 13, fourth beat;
   M 21, second half of beat 4 in the S1 and S2 parts;
   M 46, downbeat

   These are just a few spots. Rests of this sort permeate the piece. Pay attention to them.

    

2. The biggest vowel trap for those of us living in the Midwest is the first syllable of mountain. Concentrate on creating an open AH on the first part of the diphthong. Same thing with shouting. The first vowel should be a tall AH.

3. Altos: Note the rhythmic figure starting in the pick-up to M 20. And note the ostinato rhythm that begins in M 65. They are not the same. Be very attentive to that.

• Up on the Mountain Shouting
• Up On the Mountain Shouting Soprano 1 Part 1
• Up on the Mountain Shouting Soprano 1 Part 2
• Up On the Mountain Shouting Soprano 2 Part 1
• Up On the Mountain Shouting Soprano 2 Part 2

Additionally…

We will be creating a new work in collaboration with you – during our rehearsal time together. This is an unusual project…to commit to writing new music from scratch and performing it in such a short time. You cannot prepare for this. Neither can we. The improvisatory element is half the fun.

But since you don't have to learn that song ahead of time … and since we're teaching Vela Vela on site in Madison, you only have 3 songs to practice.

Please please please do your homework and come with these three pieces prepared. If we have to learn the rhythms and notes together in Madison, all the wild and crazy stuff (making up a new song and the African dance for Vela) are going to get cheated in terms of rehearsal time.