{"id":380,"date":"2010-12-08T11:19:52","date_gmt":"2010-12-08T11:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/cantusfirmus\/?p=380"},"modified":"2010-12-13T18:32:37","modified_gmt":"2010-12-13T18:32:37","slug":"no-time-to-rest-vaughan-williams-and-jackson-to-finish-the-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/cantusfirmus\/2010\/12\/08\/no-time-to-rest-vaughan-williams-and-jackson-to-finish-the-term\/","title":{"rendered":"No time to rest: Vaughan Williams and Jackson to finish the term"},"content":{"rendered":"

No time for the choir to rest on the laurels of their successful concert last week: as I said to them, the hard work starts here! Notwithstanding we\u2019ve performed thrice already and have the University Carol Service on Friday, last night was the last rehearsal of the term, and a chance to return to the challenging repertoire for February\u2019s Crypt concert.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written a setting of the folk-song Mother, Make My Bed<\/em>, for the choir to sing in February \u2013 the text concerns messengers rushing to tell a lord that his wife is dying, and by the time he reaches her, she is dead \u2013 he dies the following day. Not exactly cheerful stuff\u2026 The piece starts with a lively dance-like rhythm in the lower voices, but as the narrative darkens, the altos introduce a pedal-chord that becomes progressively more dissonant. The harmonies then start to slow down, until a six-part chord in the lower three voices becomes the tolling of funeral bells. The choir picked it up quickly, and it promises to work well in the evocative surroundings of the Cathedral Crypt.<\/p>\n

\"Gabriel<\/a>

Gabriel Jackson (photo credit Malcolm Crowther)<\/p><\/div>\n

Thence back to the two Shakespeare settings by Vaughan Williams, and the first two movements of the Jackson Edinburgh Mass<\/em>; a hard slog here, with much note-learning required for the individual voice-parts. \u2018Full fathom five\u2019 splits at one point in to an eleven-note chord, which needs absolute accuracy to work. The inner-voice parts of the Jackson are also rather tricky, and needed much part-by-part learning. Having worked on the Advent antiphons for last week\u2019s concert, though, the opening plainchant of the \u2018Kyrie<\/a>\u2019 came much easier than last time, and had a fluidity about it that it needs.<\/p>\n

The rhythmic vitality of the ‘Laudamus Te’<\/a> section of the ‘Gloria’ also presented a challenge – there was much head-scratching amongst the basses, although in fairness there’s no constant pulse, and the tied notes across the bar-lines in\u00a0bars changing between 5\/8 and 3\/8 beats do make life rather interesting…<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult, particularly after the euphoria of a recent concert, to get back to note-bashing and maintain the momentum; but the choir set to; there\u2019s more to come in early rehearsals next term if we\u2019re to do justice to these pieces, as I\u2019m sure we will.<\/p>\n

(And a happy birthday to Paris in the sopranos, to whom the whole choir sang a resonant ‘Happy Birthday’ at half-time: you don’t get the University Chamber Choir singing to you on your birthday that<\/em> often, do you ?!)<\/p>\n

Our last commitment is Friday\u2019s Carol Service: stand by for feedback on it afterwards.<\/p>\n

(Listening extracts via emusic.com; you can hear sections of the whole Mass here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n