It was so good to be back, and many thanks to all for keeping things going in such an inspired way while I was in quarantine.
Our warm up this morning was a revival of the Zulu song of welcome, SENJUA and I was glad to hear that many people remembered the three part harmony, even from quite some time ago, making the full sound that is so attractive in African songs.
Then taking our cue from the brilliantly sunny morning, we learned the Sydney Carters hymn to spring from 1981 JULIAN OF NORWICH, the theme of which is 'All shall be well'. With its references to bells, this song will be effective with accompaniment from our glockenspiels.
As I explained this morning, in our group we enjoy songs that are musically interesting without being too 'wordy' but at this time of year there's one song that's just irresistible because of its playful text, full of joyful rhymes _ from the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers -- SPRING, SPRING, SPRING. We took some time to read through the three verses before we sang it and I'll be surprised if there are not a few sore jaws tomorrow!
After the break we had a good practice on the instruments, two new members catching on surprisingly well and getting the idea of using both hands to play up and down the scales. We will keep this up and be well prepared when we next start a new Orff piece.
