Beginning today with some scat singing in a jazzy round by Orff teacher Woflgang Hartmann, we further warmed up the voices with the round BIRDS FLY SOUTH, in three parts plus bass ostinato. Two whistling improvisers, although soft, gave the piece atmosphere and the ensemble worked well.
After that, we took a fresh look at the Burns song GREEN GROW THE RASHES O! and decided we liked every one of the five verses. There was some discussion of how we should pronounce various words _ we have many different backgrounds, as far as Scots language is concerned _ in our group. Interesting to hear the range of ideas and come to consensus. The range of the tune is a challenge for our mixed voices but we'll work at it and perhaps stretch the range of a few members (in a good way).
We missed the flutes today for the Connemara lullaby but substituted voices before coming in with the words. Wonderful how we can now sing and play at the same time, keeping it all together beautifully.
Finally, we practised the parts for THE FAIR LADY, which we've always found difficult and we'll come back to that next week hoping to get it right next time.
