Choir Rehearsal

Date: February 10, 2010

Coming next week, I will be holding a rehearsal for my church choir since the choirmaster will be unavailable. I am in my senior year at TCU and almost on my way out, but there is a problem that lies ahead. While he is gone, I will have to rehearse Beethoven's 9th with them and I want to know how to even out the general church music rehearsal with this Beethoven rehearsal? Also, what advice could you give me as how to rehearse the Beethoven? This will not be their first time to sing it, but it has been a while since.

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Stephen Stomps on February 11, 2010 2:48am

Derrada,

You are the luckiest TCU Senior alive! YOU get to prepare Beethoven's Ninth!

There is an advantage since the choir knows the piece. One never forgets the piece once performed but they may be

a little rusty. But you are not going to put YOUR STAMP on this work in one or several rehearsals.

So, in essence, sit back and enjoy. Get to know the score as best you can. If you can play through the parts on piano (however badly you play) you will know the score better. But in one week, you need to have this in your ears. So get you to a sound system and listen! Look at the score. Don't try to copy the conductor or do anything fancy. Just know what to do if there are "train wrecks".

Learn to say things like, "altos, was that really in tune? You could do better, yes?" and then turn to you pianist and ask cheerfully, "could we help the altos?" "OK altos, measure 6007! " give the cue and go. "OK! let's put that with the Tenors. You OK tenors? Right!" give the cue and you are off. "Anybody have a problem that we can go over? Yes? Where? OK, well go over that. See where we are?" cue and go. All right.

Let's work in the final statement. Everybody. Pitches? dum-dum-dum-dum. OK Seine.........! Any problems? Where? OK lets go back there."

YOU must not get in the way if they know the piece. You need to enable them. Keep thing moving. The singers just need some management and courage (check out the Cowardly Lion: c-c-c-c-courage).

Ronald Richard Duquette on February 11, 2010 7:19am

The tenors will also love you if you take the REALLY high notes down an octave to practice. Beethoven, like Handel, didn't really like tenors, it seems....though there are times when the distaste IS justified!

Ron Duquette

Stephen Stomps on February 11, 2010 9:46am

I sang the 9th under Robert Shaw who told the suffering S T and B's that it was written by a "a deaf old man".

Kathryn Bowers on February 11, 2010 11:31am

The sopranos will love you if you ask them to practice the really high parts down an octave some of the time. Spend some quality time making sure that the German diction is really excellent and rhythmically crisp. Have fun!

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