ENJOY MUSIC AT CHRISTMAS

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WE BOOGIE INTO CHRISTMAS.

We learned THE CEREMONY BOOGIE, a short song by Helen Yeomans, last week and sang it for the special birthday of one of our members. Coming back to it today, we soon settled into the boogie rhythm and by the end of the morning the three part harmony was sounding good. Since our lead in the tenor group was missing today we left that part for next week.

Donald Swan's and Arthur Scholey's setting of BABOUSHKA was our new song this morning. The six verses tell the story beautifully and the contrasting high and low melodies for Baboushka and The Kings respectively will allow us to show off especially the high voices in our group that haven't had a chance to shine lately.

We set ourselves quite a task today, getting our tongues round the Catalan words of the Orff- Keetman arrangement of
CATALAN CHRISTMAS DANCE. There is a singable English translation but the Catalan is much more interesting _ and who would ever sing 'Fum, fum, fum' in English?

A vinticinc de desembre
Fum, fum, fum!
Ha nascut un minyonet
ros i blanquet, ros i blanquet,
fill de la Verge Maria,
n’es nat en una establia
Fum, fum, fum!

We'll build this up gradually to what will be an exciting piece for Christmas.

LOVE, A TEAR AND FOOLS IN A BARROW.

Getting the beat -- Click to enlarge

AMORE and UNA LACRIMA _ these Italian words give the opportunity to concentrate on forming good vowel sounds and we took full advantage this morning, warming up our voices until we were singing out with gusto as we moved up the scale.

We continued with the round:
Hungry hunters sing a song
And bring along a banging gong.

The ng sounds of this allow us to feel the resonance in our voices and as we are singing it well now, it also results in beautiful harmonies.

Following the coffee, it was all hands to the beaters. After adding the missing instrument, the whip and learning the concluding section of the piece, we played, right through, FIVE FOOLS IN A BARROW, understanding for the first time I think, how exciting this piece is.
It will be wonderful now to come back to it in the coming weeks and begin to enjoy it in a deeper way.

ON A GREY MORNING WE SHOW FAITH IN THE BLUE SKIES.

When I discovered the round I WILL RISE by Alison Burns, it reminded me of a saying often used by a construction foreman Jakob had working for him who, at the end of a day when unforeseen rain made the concrete pour impossible, somebody severed a water main, _ in fact everything that could go wrong went wrong on the same day _ would say:
"Well there's a whole new day tomorrow, untouched!"
The song while not easy to pick up, has a real feeling of optimism, that we can start afresh tomorrow, which makes it enjoyable to sing. We will work on it in the coming weeks and look forward to doing it as a round.

I will rise into blue sky, I will rise_______
I will rise into blue sky, I will rise_______
You'll find me in silver, you'll find me in gold,
I will rise into blue sky, I will rise_______

(When we arrived this morning, the rain was lashing down from grey clouds, but as we were leaving, the sun shone out of______blue sky!)

In good voice after that, we concentrated on ALWAYS THE SINGING to learn the 4 part harmonies for the last section of the chorus and this should be very effective. We may in time even manage the harmonies for the whole of the chorus!

The harmony parts in ROW ON, with our smaller numbers today, while secure, were not well balanced, but this will be a good sound when we are back to our full attendance.

Note for those sent an audio file from your webmaster -- it will only open with iTunes or quicktime not windows media -- Download the file then right click the highlighted file with your mouse and take the option OPEN WITH and choose either iTunes or quick time player to hear the song "I Will Rise"

YEAR FIVE AND FLYING

Yes, amazingly this is our fifth year of ENJOY MUSIC! with no sign of flagging. We approach our warm ups with gusto and after a few weeks discovering our 'support' in those stomach muscles, we are feeling the power in the voices. It's great to feel all that extra breath and enjoy singing the longer phrases.

Our other focus these days is on keeping a flat tongue while singing, which is no easy matter if you've never given it a single thought. But allowing the sound a clear way out by keeping the tongue flat makes a big difference to the tone and we're working on that.

Coming back to I'LL FLY AWAY this morning, we took some time to remember the parts but our nineteen good voices made a rich sound and that blend sounded even better when we moved on to ROW ON, the beautiful fishermen's song in Ali Burns's arrangement with very close harmonies.

On the instruments, we played a slow downward scale supported by rhythm on the drum and maracas in three beat time.
The piece, called DECORATING THE THIRD, starts off very simply and moves on with decorations to each note of the scale. Certainly something to work at next time.

I'm not able to come next next week so our next meeting is on Tuesday 4th October.

- Posted using BlogPress from Carol's iPhone

ENJOY MUSIC STARTS NEXT WEEK

Are you missing ENJOY MUSIC? I hope so because I am and I'm looking forward to getting together with everyone again for our new session which starts this coming Tuesday 6th September.
So it's time to rack those brains and see how many of our songs are still in there since last May and even do a few ma mae me maw moos while you're rattling some dishes in the sink or giving the grass the (hopefully) last cut.

Very best wishes,
Moira.

A NEW CARL ORFF PIECE - FIVE FOOLS IN A BARROW.

When I introduced this piece to the group two weeks ago the response was very sceptical. The text is an old rhyme and as such is not particularly inspiring, but in Orff's setting for voices, barred instruments and percussion it comes alive in a fun, exciting and delightful way.
In spite of having lost half of our number to golf, holidays, bird watching, invigilating and family commitments, our thirteen voices picked up the harmonies in no time and proceeded to transfer the melodies on to the instruments with impressive dexterity, allowing us to feel the potential of this music.
I was immediately sorry this was our closing day of the session and hope we're able to pick up in September where we left off today.

MUSIC GROUP PRESENTS MILNGAVIE C.E. WITH A FRAMED PHOTO OF THEIR SWANS

Moira, Michael, janitor of the C.E. Centre and Carol - Click to Enlarge

 The Enjoy Music group have presented this beautiful framed photograph taken by one of the members of the group, Carol Fell, at the beginning of February this year - just when the ice was melting after the long cold winter. The photograph is to be hung in the foyer of the Centre.

Below are a few photographs of the birds on the pond that we watch ---- We are now into May and the Swans have started to build their nest. You can see it in the distance if you click on the photo above to enlarge.

FORAY TO FINTRY

Once again Moira had invited us for a summer meeting at her farm in Fintry. The rain which had lashed down as we drove, soon cleared to let us enjoy the lovely views from her windows in every direction and the wonderful quality of light in the room with the vaulted roof where we sing _ exhilarating to hear the difference in sound from the low ceilinged room we sing in normally. Even the keyboard gave a much fuller sound!
After singing through some old favourites we learned EL MEU AVI, a habanera from Catalonia. The habanera rhythm is fun to sing and it's interesting to take the text apart, guessing the word meanings using clues from everyone's various knowledge of French, Latin and Spanish.
After that we were entertained by tunes on the mouth organ and beautiful songs with guitar, both much enjoyed.
Lunch was a high point _ good food, wine and unhurried talk. The hen pheasant strutting past outside looked envious!
We're back in the C.E. Centre next week, 17th May, for our final meeting of the year.

WE BID FOR THE BLEND

Abiding by our AGM resolution, we started promptly at 10:00 this morning. Marvellous what you can pack into those full 50 minutes and by Jove by 10:50 we were well ready for that coffee break.
We focused attention on keeping an open throat to achieve a full, relaxed sound and listening to each other to give a good blend of our voices. Then we learned the well known folk song riddle I GAVE MY LOVE A CHERRY, the simple words and melody of which give the opportunity for slow, careful singing. This was a very satisfying exercise, having the effect of sensitising us to the total sound of the group and was a really enjoyable sing.

Now repeating the programme of last week when many members were absent, we began by giving GAUDEAMUS HODIE laldie, following that with ALLELUYA, both in good harmony and then singing through the beautiful verses of LOVE IS COME AGAIN.

On the instruments today, after some practice with scales, we returned to JAKOBSTOWE JIG. Impatient to get on and practise, we left the F natural bar in position instead of changing to F sharp. This had the effect of changing the melody to a minor key and it was interesting to hear how the mood of the music had changed and also good to see how quickly the parts were memorised and played.

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WE DEAL WITH THE BUSINESS THEN HAVE A GOOD SING.

When your secretary and treasurer are willing to stay in their posts and continue the good work, then the rest is easy, as they say and so it was with us this morning. We concluded our A.G.M. promptly, and were glad of the good cup of coffee and a chat after our three week absence, before moving on to the singing.

GAUDEAMUS HODIE was a good start and we settled in to the three parts comfortably, enjoying the harmonies. Similarly with ALLELUYA which is based on Pachelbel's Canon and also in three parts. All that good practice in the winter months paid off and we picked it up effortlessly which is when you really get to enjoy the song. Looking out on the swans in the pond on a sunny spring morning, we were singing exactly the right word.

A favourite Easter Carol in our group is Martin Shaw's arrangement of the old French carol, tune Besançon, and words by J.M.C. Crum, LOVE IS COME AGAIN. We sang this in full voice, with plenty of spring energy and following that, ALWAYS THE SINGING went with a beautiful lilt in three beat time.
Finally, for the benefit of new members, we returned to our old favourite, the Irving Berlin song, LAZY, which goes with a swing, always fun to sing.

Many members were unable to come today but our small number had plenty of verve and at the end of the morning, we all felt the benefit of the music good energy we'd passed round.

Happy St Patrick's Day - To all at Enjoy Music

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WE WARM THE BODY AND THE SOUL

The music of the Icelandic group SOUTH RIVER BAND, the track called A DRAM BEFORE BREAKFAST, gave us a tuneful, rhythmic lead for our clapping and moving round the circle activity. This was both warming and hilarious - amazing how easily a mix-up can develop - but by the third try we got it right, which was hugely satisfying. I'm willing to bet it'll be perfect first time next week.

Owing to a combination of circumstances _ my trusty early morning helper had answered a child minding call and I was delayed having a flat tyre attended to - there was no time to lay out the instruments which meant we had a singing morning.

We warmed up the voices with a short melody for vocalising by Wolfgang Hartmann which will be very effective when sung in canon.

Good to feel the confidence and especially the support from the resolute singing in the bass part in the choruses of I'LL FLY AWAY. Three sections of the group sang a verse each and by the end of the song, feeling the effect of the good harmonies, we definitely 'flew'.

We are still working on ROW ON but moving into a new phase as there's now a real feeling of understanding coming through when we sing the harmonies in the chorus and this, together with the beautiful text in the verses, means I can hear it becoming a firm favourite with our group.
We ended the morning with some joyful singing of JULIAN OF NORWICH, ALWAYS THE SINGING and MANDELA DANCED IN THE SQUARE.

KEY TRIALS

Finding the optimum pitch for a song sung in unison in our group of mixed voices is quite a challenge and we explored the possibilities fully this morning with JULIAN OF NORWICH  - a lovely song for a spring morning. We sang it low, with resonant basses, we sang it high, our sopranos soaring, we sang it middle, altos smiling, before finally settling on a key where I could see lots of confirming nods as everyone realised this was the best compromise key. It was a good exercise to get the feel of our own and each other's voices and develop sensitivity to pitch.
We continued to work on ROW ON ROW ON, gaining confidence in those harmonies.
After the coffee we played WOLFGANG'S CANON but ran out of time for finishing the whole piece.

WE MADE IT!

4 Part vocal and 4 part instrumental.

Songs take some time to 'bed in' and this being our third week since starting ROW ON we were ready to learn the harmonies. The text comes from the diary of a 19th century whaling ship captain and the song, a beautiful, low melody with 3 very close harmonies gives the effect of strength and togetherness. Our high tenor led the low altos in a lovely part, the basses were led by a soprano singing low, two sopranos took the alto part and the other voices, alto and soprano, held the tune.

Now that's what I call adaptability! A good example of the strength of the group being greater than the sum of its parts, And what an enjoyable sing.

Similarly with Wolfgang's Canon, everyone played it well today and when we split into 4 parts there was that wonderful feeling that we could go on forever. After that there is always the opportunity to be creative with the music, to find ways of changing the timbre, increasing the tension, building up to a climax, before ending on a high, or beginning a gradual fade before the finish.
That's our challenge for next week - to decide on how to complete the piece.

Irene suggests that maybe we should try this now we're getting somewhere with the xylophones !!

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YES WE LEARNED OUR MUSIC.

The Ducks and Swans breaking the  ice (Click to enlarge)

It did pay off, even for those who don't read music, that Wolfgang's canon could be accessed on the blog last week. Today we were a real ensemble (they called it a band) and played the canon first straight through all together, then in two, followed by three, parts. Wonderful to experience the almost mesmeric effect of playing the piece, time after time, fitting in with, but yet in beautiful contrast to, the other parts.
We also started an new song today called ROW ON from Ali Burns' compilation, TEN THOUSAND PEARLS  - all of this between catching glimpses of the ducks trying clumsily to make their way over the thin ice on the pond which caused frequent hilarity.

HARMONY AND CANON

We started this morning to a track from the c.d. of Russian Dance Music compiled by the Russian/Dutch folklorist and dancer, Hennie Konings. The beautiful and remarkably open sounds of the singers inspired us to concentrate on singing gently with a relaxed and open throat. That focus led us into our version of Pachelbel's Canon which we sang in three part harmony and sounded specially good.
Next we sang the African song Banuwa with its rich harmonies.
Then we returned to I'LL FLY AWAY, remembering the three parts and enjoying how they fit well together.

After the coffee, with everyone on instruments, we learned this canon written by my good friend Wolfgang Hartmann. To begin with it's a great exercise to memorise the structure and shape of the melody, then it's good practice in crossing over the beaters and ultimately should be an effective and exciting sound played in canon with added percussion. That'll take some weeks but the process should be fun. I've copied the music here to give help with memorising, since you can't look at music while playing the xylophone!

Click to enlarge - then right click mouse below the music image to choose print

BURNS DAY

Wee sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou needna start awa sae hasty
Wi bickerin brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,
Wi murdering pattle!

This verse was just the ticket to get the voices going and loosen up the mouth muscles. At one point it felt as if the whole building resonated with these wonderful words as we walked around, all reciting in our best voices.
THE DEIL'S AWA WI THE EXCISEMAN is a tough one for those new to it and specially for our Welsh and English born members but its driving jig rhythm carries it along, more so when supported by the percussion, making it a joy to sing.
We did spend weeks last year learning GREEN GROW THE RASHES O and I was pleased to hear how well everyone remembered it. The men were effective in their verse "Gie me a canny hour at e'en" and the whole song sounded good.
Similarly with AULD LANG SYNE, which was also well remembered from last year. It's set low for the women's voices but since the men are comfortable and able to sing out the whole sounded rich and good.
We finished sharp at 12:00 to be in good time for our haggis lunch at Douglas Park Golf Club.

That was good food, songs and poetry readings all in the true spirit of ENJOY MUSIC!  ---- enthusiastic participation and warm appreciation from the audience.
I need say no more, as the pictures speak for themselves.   !



To see larger photographs CLICK HERE and then click on the slideshow

WE FIND OUR VOICES AGAIN

Listening to Custer LaRue this morning as we limbered up inspired us to vocalise the lovely melody of her song. The text, being in old Scots, is not clear so "la la" had to suffice; we enjoyed the brightness of the old tune and made a good sound.
We revived the old favourite which really invigorates the facial muscles I NEED A WAITER, in 3 part round which worked well and then moved on to LOVE SOMEBODY YES I DO, singing with gusto and harmonising the last two chords.
Coming back to HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?, today we managed to lighten it up and make it flow as it should, with a full sound through the two verses and choruses.
In THE TURNING OF THE YEAR the extra attention we gave to opening our vowels and crisping up the consonants paid off with a much more lively sound and the thoughtful, almost meditative last phrase achieved quite a lovely tone, finishing with fine harmonies on the last two notes.
On the xylophones today we improvised melodies over jig rhythms played on percussion _ good practice and fun to enjoy the sounds of the instruments in this way.

BACK AFTER SEVEN WEEKS.

It wasn't easy to get started today as people, while eager to sing, had to catch up with each other after such a long break.
Amazing to tally that its really six weeks since we had to cancel our meeting and then our Christmas lunch because of the snow and listening to ourselves this morning we agreed the break had been too long and the voices had suffered. So the warm up took some time but we got off to a good start listening and moving to the beautiful voice of Custer LaRue with the Baltimore Consort singing the text from 1620 by the Scots poet Montgomerie, COME MY CHILDREN DEAR.

Listen to her singing IN A GARDEN SO GREEN---- CLICK HERE

Title: In A Garden So Green

Anonymous, pub. Forbes, Cantus, Songs and Fancies, 1662 Scotland

In a garden so green in May morening
heard I my lady pleen of paramours. complain
Said she, my love so sweet, come you not yet nor yet?
Heght you not me to meet amongst the flowrs? pledge
Elore, elore, I love my lusty love, elore lo.

The skies upspringis, the dew down dingis,
the sweet larks singis their hours of prime.
Phoebus upsprentius, joy to rest wentis
lost mine intent is and gone's the time,
Elore, elore, I love my lusty love, elore lo.

Danger my dead is, false fortune my feid is, enemy
langour my leed is, but hope I despair. dreariness, song
Disdaine my desyris, so strangeness my feir is,
deceit out of weir is, adew I fare.
Elore, elore, I love my lusty love, elore lo.

Then to my lady swyth did I my presence kyth, swiftly, make
saying, my bird be blyth, am I not yours?
So in my arms two did I the lusty jo
and kisst her tymis mo then night hes hours.
Elore, elore, I love my lusty love, elore lo.

Live in hope, lady faire and repell all dispaire.
Trust not that your true love shall you betrase. betray
When deceit and languor banished is from your bowre. refuge
I'll be your paramour and shall you please
Elore, elore, I love my lusty love, elore lo.

Some weeks ago Rosemary had given me the words and music of HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING? and today we learned this beautiful hymn, singing it many times.
My life flows on in endless song
above earth’s lamentation.
I catch the sweet, though far off hymn
that hails a new creation.

No storm can shake my in-most calm
while to that rock I’m clinging.
Since love is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?

We followed this with THE TURNING OF THE YEAR, the song which celebrates the lengthening of the days, before stopping for coffee. Hearing the JAMESTOWN JIG I realised that some good practising had taken place over the holiday period. The fingers were nimble and at last the parts fitted comfortably together.
In a quick discussion at the end of the morning it was clear that everyone was in favour of the idea of having a Burns Lunch on 25th January. We'll now try to arrange that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL ALL READERS

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