Spring 2022 - Brahms' Requiem
Rehearsal notes and resource links
REHEARSALS Thursdays from 7.30pm - 9.30pm Old church. Bring a pencil! And please take a Covid lateral flow test before each one.
CONCERT Friday 7.30pm 8th April 2022
If you are new to Village Voices, do not be put off if people around you seems to be picking it up much faster than you. Remember that many of us spent almost a full term rehearsing it in 2020, and we were confident then that a term was enough. So if you feel you are falling behind, don't be afraid to ask your neighbours for help.
We have a page of resource links, to free aids to learning many choral works, including Brahms' Requiem.
Adjustments (announced so far)
Brahms' original music was for the German words, and in places was distorted to fit the English version. Ian will change the setting in various places to be closer to Brahms' intensions, and is kindly providing some .pdf files to show the adjustments. Where he hasn't yet, we have given rough indications of the new rhythms below, with "/" to mark the crotchet beat, and "-" for a continuation of the the previous syllable. We hope this is clear.
Movement 1 - Click here for the .pdf file - updated 25/1/22 to note changes on p.4.
pp. 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 (all voices): All passages that include "comforted" (which sounded too much like "come for Ted") are rewritten, using either "be given comfort" or "have comfort".
p.4 (ATB): from "shall reap" to "in joy", no change to notes. (A): once, in bars 5-6-7; (TB): once, in bars 7-8.
p. 6 (all voices): All passages that include "come again rejoicing" are rewritten, using "come with joy".
End p.7 (ATB): "And bring his sheaves with him" rewritten to de-emphasize "with" in favour of "sheaves".
Movement 2 - Click here for .pdf file
pp. 20-21, pp. 25-26 (all parts): from "come with singing unto Zion" to "unto Zion come with singing". Similarly p.26 from "Zion" to "come then". See .pdf for details.
p. 21 bottom (SAB) and pp.26-27 (STB): from "gladness" to "joyful".
pp.22, 23 (all parts): from "sorrow" to "pain".
pp.23, 24 (all parts): various changes between "shall flee" and "away" and (once) "sorrow". See .pdf for details.
Movement 4 - Click here for .pdf file
pp. 47-48, 51 (all voices): from /are/Thy/-/ to /are/-/Thy/ . Similarly (p.47 b.16 SATB) from /Thy/-/ to /are/Thy/ and (p.48 b.19 AB) from /Thy/-/-/ to /are/-/Thy/.
p.48, b.19 (T): from /ly/-/-/ to /love/-/ly/
p.49 (all voices): from "Yea longeth and fainteth" to "desireth and longeth"
p.50 middle and bottom (all parts): from "ring out their joy" to "rejoice in God"; also (S, b.16-17) from "ring out joy" to "unto God".
pp. 50, 51 (all voices): "living" with two crotchets on "ing" - resplit so just one crotchet for "ing".
eg (p.50) from /liv/ing/-/ to /liv/-/ing/.
p.52-53 (all voices): from "bless-ed" to "blest"; from /bless/-/-/ed/-/are/ to /blest/-/-/are/-/- . Also, from "that dwell in Thy house" to "that in Thy house are dwelling". Details on .pdf.
Movement 5
pp. 57, 58, 63 (twice) (all voices): "as one whom his mother" changes to "as one whom his own mother"
From /one whom/- his/ to /one whom/his own/
Also bottom p.57 (B), from /one whom/his/-/ to /one/whom/his/own/
Movement 6 - Click here for .pdf file
p.67, b.9-11 (all voices): from /We/shall/-/-not/all/-/ to /We/shall/-/not, we/shall/-/ (minim beats)
p.68, b.6-9 (all voices): from /. be/chang/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/ed ./ to /. shall/all/-/be/-/chang/-/-/-/ed ./
p.69, b.7-8 (all parts) is /sound/-/of/the last/ (minim beats). b.5-6 different adjustments for different parts.
p.74, b.1-2 (ST), b.2-3 (AB): from /swall/-/owed/up/-/ to /swall/owed/is/swall/owed/
p.77 to end (all parts): from "Worthy art Thou, Lord" to "Lord, Thou art worthy" to match the key word "Lord" with Brahms' musical emphases. Also p.79, b.1 (B) from "praise of" to "honour"; and p.83, b. 5,6,7 (BTA) from "Worthy art Thou" to "of glory praise". Additional changes to AT p.87 - see .pdf file.
p.77 to end (all parts): from "Thy will they were" to "Thy will they are". Hence the full line reads "because of Thy will they are, and were created", which makes more sense.
Movement 7 - Click here for .pdf file
p.90, b.2-4 (B): from /dead/-/-/-/which/-/-/-/die/-/-/-/ to /dead/-/which/-/die/-/in/the/Lord/-/-/-/
p.96, b.4 (B): from /Lord/-/which/-/ to /Lord/-/-/-/ (omit "which")
p.98 (ST), "dead which die in the Lord", from /dead/- which/die/-/in/the/ to /dead/-/-/which/die/in the/
Some other changes are shown in the .pdf score. Here's an overview of them.
p.91 (ATB) and p.93 (AB): from "Even so saith the Spirit" to "Yea, the Spirit saith".
pp.91-2, and again pp.93-4 (all parts): from "for they rest from their labours, and their works" to "that they rest from all their labours, and their own works".
Rehearsals week by week
13/1/22
We sang through the whole piece.
Ian announced two sets of adjustments, for movements 5 and 7.
20/1/22
Sang movement 1, adjustments announced, .pdf available; movement 4, some adjustments, .pdf available.
27/1/22
Sang movements 4, 1, 5 (with adjustments), parts of movement 2 (with some adjustments), movement 6 up to p. 26, movement 7.
3/2/22 - No rehearsal this week! But please make sure the adjustments in your score are up to date. Ian has supplied adjustments to movement 6 since last week.
10/2/22
Sang from movements 6, 1 and 4, with some focus on the word changes.
The poster is now available in pdf format - see the concert page. You can use it to help publicise the concert, either by sending the file electronically to family and friends, or by printing it out for display.
17/2/22 Half term - no rehearsal!
24/2/22
Sang movement 1; then 7 (with new text changes in .pdf file); then 6, with new changes "because of Thy will they are, and were created" (see above); then 5, and 3 up to p.40.
3/3/22
Sang movements 3, 5, 2.
10/3/22
Sang movements 1 - 6. Next week we'll start with 6, then 7.
17/3/22
Sang movements VI (end and beginning), 1 and 2.
24/3/22
Sang through all 7 movements.
31/3/22
No special notes. But ... next rehearsal is at Brixworth.
7/3/22
Brixworth church. Usual starting time of 7.30, but please be punctual this week, because we need to start by sorting out positioning.
8/3/22 Concert (7.30). Please arrive at 5.30 (to be confirmed) for final rehearsal.
Dress: black and white for ladies, dinner jacket for men.
