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Shelbie L. Wahl-Fouts

One from the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choir

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#71: Wednesday, June 23, 2021
So…You Want To Write A ChoralNet Blog?

Do you have a choral-related topic that you are passionate about? Is there something in your rehearsal or classroom process that you are really really good at, that you want to share with other choral colleagues? Is there some part of the choral world that really speaks to you – and you want to share that excitement with others? Then perhaps consider writing a blog for ChoralNet!

I started writing blog entries for ChoralNet in 2018. At present, its been 3 years, 70 entries, and counting! Initially, Sundra Flansburg, Director of Membership & Communications at national ACDA, approached me in early 2018 about sharing my expertise on women’s/treble rep. I thought – this is great! Awesome! Yes! I wanted to be more visible outside my state/region, so I jumped in feet first. I was thrilled to share my excitement about repertoire with the ChoralNet audience.

Initially, I wrote weekly. Then I realized that was too frequent a schedule to keep up indefinitely, especially as I was in my third trimester of a pregnancy, about to have a newborn on my hands. So, after a bit, I transitioned to bi-weekly, and then monthly. Monthly has worked out very well. Frequent enough that I feel like my offerings are regular, expected, on a schedule. But not so frequent that I’m scrambling to get enough content.

I like to talk about repertoire. To present about repertoire at conferences. To write about repertoire. Repertoire is my “jam.” So, doing a repertoire blog for ChoralNet seemed an excellent avenue.

In my entries, I usually choose one piece at a time – and then dissect the piece for the ChoralNet readers. Sometimes the repertoire is by a living composer – and I can reach out to that composer for a quote, or to chat with them. Sometimes the repertoire is a commissioned piece – and I can reach out to the conductor/ensemble who commissioned the piece, for insight on the initial creation process.

Often, the piece is one I’ve done with my ensembles at Hollins University, and/or a festival choir I’ve conducted. Then, I pepper in my own experiences – why did I pick it, how did I teach it, what pedagogy strategies or resources did I use, what did my singers think of it, what might I do differently next time, how did I program it along with other items on the same concert, and more. These are the ones that are easiest for me to write – stream of consciousness and such – and end up being the most helpful to other conductors, based on responses I’ve received.

Sometimes, it isn’t a piece I’ve done, but a piece in my “to program” pile. (We all have one [or more] of those piles, yes?!) Thinking through a piece for a blog helps me work through any questions I may have about the piece, and work out where best to use it in a future semester or year. And hopefully it helps other conductors do the same.

Overall, my blog is almost entirely practical. I try to focus on information that fellow conductors could use in the trenches. Real-life, active, day-to-day strategies about repertoire and programming.

I love that ChoralNet is an official venue, since it’s hosted by ACDA, but doesn’t necessarily require formal cited writing like a scholarly journal article. Scholarly articles are wonderful (always read your Choral Journal!) – but they aren’t something I would be able to put out weekly or bi-weekly or monthly. For these blog entries, I can use my own experiences, and write in a comfortable dialogue, while still maintaining quality information. It can be informative, yet conversational – like excitedly sharing a piece with a colleague over coffee, or presenting an interest session at a conference.

At present, all the “regular” blog slots are set for the summer (weekly/monthly rotations, etc), but Sundra is looking for new one-off blogs, for when a regular writer has to take a week off, or there’s a 5th Thursday in a month instead of only 4, etc. That’s a perfect way to get started! Write one, no long-term commitment. See if it suits you, see what kind of response you get, and if you enjoy it. Then, if you’re interested in a bigger opportunity, rotations and cycles will change, and there will certainly be opportunity for a larger commitment later on.

Through my blogs, I’ve interacted with composers, conductors, singers, authors, and publishers. My blog affords me a national avenue to reach colleagues, teachers, and conductors in all settings, and to share my excitement and expertise with them. I love the networking, and the connectivity. I love being a viable, visible resource in the choral community. If you feel like you have a voice you want to share, please consider writing a blog! I’d be happy to answer additional questions you might have – just comment below and I’ll respond. If you know you’re interested, contact Sundra Flansburg . She’d love to hear from you!

Until next month!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts

Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is Director of Choral Activities and associate professor of music at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.
Email:
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

One from the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choir

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#70: Wednesday, May 19, 2021

They Can’t Put it Back: A Choral Trilogy of Appalachian Poems about Environmental Degradation
by Mary E. Simmons
SSAA, a cappella

Today, May 19, is Commencement Day at Hollins University for the Class of 2021. In honor of that, I’d like to present a new work by a graduating senior music major – a set we would have sung on our spring concert and at her senior recital, had either of those two events been able to occur as usual.

Mary Simmons has been a long-time choir leader in my advanced ensemble, and has excelled at both theory/composition and classical guitar. She will be continuing her studies at University of Kentucky in the fall, working towards a Masters of Music in Music Composition.

This work is a choral trilogy for treble voices, focusing on the environmental degradation and effects of mining in the Appalachian region. The poetry is from three Appalachian poets, and come from the anthology Coal: A Poetry Anthology, edited by Chris Green (2006).

Having grown up here in southwest Virginia, and continued in the area for college, Mary is passionate about this land and this space and its people. When I first read through her score in May 2020, I was immediately in love with the texts she chose, and her wonderful musical settings. I had only ever heard a midi recording, but I knew these were pieces I definitely wanted to do with the choirs. Sadly, the opportunity to program the work got lost in the ever-changing landscape of Covid-era choral and academic policies.

Fast-foward nearly a year later, to spring 2021. For her senior recital, which was an all-online event, Mary still wasn’t able to have a choir perform her work. So she became her own choir. In the videos below, you’ll see her singing virtual-choir-style in 16 boxes, having recorded herself four times on each of the four voice parts. And you’ll see that she added photography as well, to capture the imagery of both the beauty and the destruction that exist side by side.

The reaction to these works during her youtube recital premiere was extraordinary. I can’t give her the concert that these works deserve, but I can share them with each of you, in the hopes that you will contact her and consider programming this or other of her works in the future.

As a full set, the three selections total about 12 minutes. Each movement is beautifully set for 4-part SSAA a cappella choir.

Introduction: In this initial video segment from her virtual recital, Mary speaks for a moment about the works as a set, and briefly about each movement. All “composer’s comments” below are taken from this intro segment. Perusal score pages are linked below each video. For full scores or performance inquiries, please contact Mary at .

Movement I. Go Tell The Children

Text by Muriel Miller Dressler, from Appalachia, My Land, Morris Harvey College, 1973
Adagio, dolce – 4 minutes

Composer’s comments: “The idea behind this movement is questioning how we as a society could ever be OK with the damage that we have done to the environment, knowing what we have left our children.”

Begins with primarily vertical harmonies in F major, then shifts to an equal-voice round in G. Moves back to F with solo+choir, then closes with homophonic chorus.

Perusal Pages: click here

Movement II. Things have Changed

Text by Sarah Cornett-Hagen, from Coal Camp Child
Lento – 3 minutes

Composer’s comments: “This poem follows the narrative of a person who grew up in the Appalachian region and fell in love with the beauty and the land as a child, but has now moved away, and then come back to see that things don’t really look the way they had before, due to man-made things like coal mining and mountaintop removal.”

Opens with homophonic choral writing, with some contrasting segments of S1/S2 vs A1/A2. Some internal motivic motion within the voices. Fluid yet diatonic tonal structure, moving tonicized keys along with sections of the poetry.

Perusal pages: click here

Movement III. Goliath

Text by Billy Edd Wheeler, from Song of a Woods Colt, Droke House, 1969
Adagio – 4 minutes

Composer’s Comments: “This shows a person who is really fed up and done and ready to protest for the change needed.”

The name of the poem refers to the giant-sized land-eating machinery that is used during mountaintop and forest removal, but the poem also includes a David character – a person who is finding it within themselves to stand up to the machine. The closing line of this poem is the namesake of the full trilogy set title: They Can’t Put It Back.

This movement is more of a challenge in terms of key structure, non-homophonic writing, and meter changes, but the end result is worth the work.

Perusal Pages: click here

I hope you are as moved by these compositions as I was during Mary’s recital. I know I plan to program them with my Hollins ensembles once things return to normal, and will hope to include imagery much as Mary has done here. These are lovely and impactful compositions that can be done singly or as a set, and I encourage you to consider them for your ensembles in the future.

Title:They Can’t Put It Back: A Choral Trilogy of Appalachian Poems about Environmental Degradation     
I. Go Tell The Children     
II. Things Have Changed     
III. Goliath
Composer:Mary E. Simmons (b.1998)
Date of Composition:2019
Text Source:Poems from the book Coal: A Poetry Anthology, edited by Chris Green (2006)
I. Go Tell The Children (Muriel Miller Dressler)     
II. Things Have Changed (Sarah Cornett-Hagen)     
III. Goliath (Billy Edd Wheeler)
Subject(s), Genre:Appalachian region, environmental awareness, activism, mining, coal
Language:English
Voicing Details:SSAA, with occasional harmonic divisi
Accompaniment:A cappella
Duration:11-12 minutes total
Publisher:Contact composer –

Until next month!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts

Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is Director of Choral Activities and associate professor of music at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.
Email:
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

One from the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choir

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#69: Wednesday, April 28, 2021

What Comes Next? Repertoire considerations in the return to “normal”
Vidalita, arr. Diana V. Sáez
SA, piano or guitar

At this point in a normal school year, we’d be finalizing the performance schedule for next year. Students would be registering for ensembles for next year. We’d be solidifying collaborations, run outs, off-campus events, and invited guest artist concerts. Everyone would be looking ahead. Right now…it feels like we’re all in limbo. How can we best plan for fall, when we don’t know yet what fall will look like?

When my choirs are allowed to gather, rehearse, and perform again, as a full ensemble, for their first real indoor concert, it will be a wholly unfamiliar experience for them. Currently they’ve been doing music literacy work, plus rehearsing only in small groups, 8 ft apart and masked, in the music library, for 30 minutes at a time, for less than half our usual total weekly rehearsal time. No choir room, no chapel/performance space, no supportive acoustics, no social activities, no full choir, no performances. 

It’s not “choir as they knew it.” Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like choir, just a “class.” Especially for non-majors that take choir as a 1-credit add-on elective, finding the joy in music-making right now, when we aren’t allowed to perform, or even rehearse, as full choirs is a huge struggle. 

Ensemble- and community-building is a challenge, as is creating a beautiful, lyrical tone. Vowels are tough, and vocal placement is tougher. Long, supported phrases feel impossible. The farther apart students stand, the less they can hear of their neighbors, so the less they individually sing, and the less confidence they have – even moreso if we’re outside. 

Students with previous vocal training, or those taking voice lessons currently, have found some ways to feel comfortable singing in a mask. Conversely though, students who came in with less experience, or with less/no formal vocal training, or maybe who are trying choir for the first time, get easily frustrated in masks. And understandably so. They are trying – so hard – but it feels like everything is stacked against them. 

By next academic year, I will have two years of students who will have never sung in the ‘before-times’ while at my school, and two years of students for whom normal is a distant and very brief memory. Our last real performance will have been in December 2019.

My program, like many of yours, will have shrunk and dwindled in size and scope. It’s disheartening and demoralizing, to watch programs we’ve built start to crumble. Its soul-crushing to watch students leave your program because singing in a mask is not any fun, or because they miss performances, or because they are so tired and overwhelmed with the rest of life/school that they just don’t have anything left to give.

But, despite it all,  moving on, and moving forward, is the only option. 

So…when we finally can sing together, in our regular rehearsal/performance spaces, in our regular sized groups, for our regular length rehearsals, hopefully closer together, and hopefully leading to actual performances…what do we sing? We will still likely be masked, especially if we want to perform indoors, but if all the rest of the “normal” is back to normal, that’s not a deal breaker. 

As I think about the future – I have some key repertoire (and non-repertoire) thoughts floating around in my head, that I think will benefit my singers and my program as we move forward:

  • Songs that are one, or two, or three levels of difficulty lower than I might have programmed in the before-times. Confidence needs to be rebuilt – in all levels of ensembles. Leave the one-on-a-part music, and complicated polyphonic selections, for another time. I love complex-rhythm selections, and divisi-within-small-ensembles, but this isn’t the right time, at least not for my choirs. Especially with lower numbers overall, easier is better. I may have a major or a strong reader here or there that is capable of something more complex, but that is probably the exception rather than the rule. Next year is about the health of the whole. Build back the confidence and belief in their own abilities.
  • Less music overall. Fewer pieces. Fewer concerts/events. Humpty Dumpty the Choir Program has had a great fall during the Covid-times. And needs care and nurturing to get put back together again. I know I want to jump head first into all the performances – just like we used to do and more. But I also know that won’t be as successful as a pared down schedule could be. I hope to be allowed back to a regular series of opportunities by our administrators, but consciously choose to do less than I would have in the before-times. Take the time to build community again. Build confidence again. Really support a true joy in singing for and with others, even if we are still masked. (Re)Build a sustainable program, not just moving from concert to concert.
  • Fewer choirs? When I started in my current university, there was one main choir, and an advanced off-shoot group. Eventually, I transitioned the program into three stand-alone ensembles – a beginner, an intermediate, and an advanced. And all three groups would rehearse together once a week also, creating a tutti ensemble to start/end the concerts. So, really four groups. And it worked. I loved it. The students loved it. But, you know what? I don’t think that’s sustainable next year. Or ideal. Or necessary. Or helpful. I need to reconceptualize my program for next year, to find what I think will benefit the current singers most. Maybe that’s fewer choirs. Maybe that’s more combined rehearsal/repertoire, and less divided among individual choirs. Maybe its re-working my existing rehearsal times in a different way. I’m still working out the details, but its definitely on my mind.
  • Repertoire that is lyrical. I frequently program fast/feisty/fierce rep for my choirs. I arguably don’t program as much lyrical music as I could. But one continued struggle this year has been getting long, lyrical, well-supported, tuned, confident phrases, out of masked, distanced, tentative singers. I for one know my singers need a return to simplistic, soaring, tuneful phrases.
  • Unison! (Re-)Building beautiful confident tone and a blended sound is another of my goals for next year. One of the best ways to do that (though not always the easiest!) is with unison rep.
  • Warmups. So many more warmups. And purposefully chosen, with clear intent. Ideally we all do this all the time – good solid warmups with good solid intent as to why each one was chosen. But with the chaos and disjunct nature of the current rehearsal structure/location/layout/numbers, sometimes that’s a tall order this year. However, if one of my main goals is to (re)build a beautiful tone, purposeful intentional warmups are one of the key ways to accomplish that.
  • Repertoire from a variety of cultures and traditions – lifting up the voices of historically- and currently-underrepresented communities as composers, arrangers, lyricists, poets, and culture-bearers. We can give lip-service to ‘diverse and multicultural repertoire’ – but that isn’t enough anymore. Our singers, especially as students in an educational setting, deserve well-reasoned, well-researched repertoire choices, not just well-intentioned. I feel like dissecting my repertoire choices needs to be wholly transparent – something my students can see and process along with me. Who is the composer/arranger, are they associated with the culture of the piece itself? Where did the text come from…what did it mean when first used…has the meaning changed? Can my students see themselves in the offerings in this concert/semester/year? There are so many questions to put here – that could be an entirely different blog.

A piece that hits many of the points above is “Vidalita”, a traditional northern Argentinian folk song, arranged by Diana V. Sáez for SA ensemble plus piano or guitar. Dr. Sáez is an expert on Latin-American choral music, and is known for her careful, quality compositions and arrangements. I feel confident in her authentic choral portrayal of this tune, especially if performed with a traditional classical guitarist. The song begins in unison, with both part I and part II singing together. Then it becomes two-part, with melody+upper oohs, or melody+lower oohs, or melody+harmony. The song is short, not overly long or complex. Its tuneful and hummable. Its in minor, with the occasional si and one fi. So, I could continue to work on my singers’ progressing music literacy skills, while also emphasizing phrasing, contour, shaping, and support. And give students an opportunity to sing a piece of Latin-American origin, arranged by a Latin-American composer. (Who also happens to be a woman!)

There will be a lot to re-build next year, in many if not all of our choral programs. Purposefully-chosen, carefully-selected repertoire can be a key component of that rebuilding. The transition will likely require us to think differently about our rep, and our concerts, and our overall structure. But its possible. Rebuilding will happen. We will sing together again. The music will rise again. The journey begins now…

Until next month!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts 

Title:Vidalita
Music Source:Traditional northern Argentinian folk song
Arranger:Diana V. Sáez
Date of Arrangement:2016
Text Source:Traditional northern Argentinian folk song
Subject(s), Genre:Love, longing, life
Language:Spanish
Voicing Details:SA – first unison, then two-part
Ranges:S: E4-E5
A: D#4-E5
Accompaniment:Piano, or classical guitar
Duration:~2:00 total
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Composer’s website, including perusal score, and audio https://dianavsaez.com/compositions/vidalita/

Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is Director of Choral Activities and associate professor of music at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia. 
Email: 
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

One from the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choir

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#68: Wednesday, March 17, 2021

She Rises
by Catherine Dalton
SSAA double choir, a cappella

This is one of those pieces that I picked up at a conference 5 or 6 years ago, and have been wanting to do since. But I was always a little tentative about the combination of rhythm complexity and double choir together. Enter the pandemic. With shorter group rehearsals to allow for air change, and restrictions on practice room usage to one student only, my singers are doing more work on their own, outside of class, and away from each other. For my advanced group, one-on-a-part work makes a lot of sense this term. 

I was initially hesitant to program this with only 9 students, but I played the piece for my singers and they were instantly hooked. To a one, they jumped at the chance for individual accountability and personal responsibility. And they loved the idea of something rhythmically challenging. (This semester’s advanced group is a unicorn – and I love them!)

It stretches me too, as a teacher. I’ve been solid at teaching them rhythmic music literacy in both simple and compound meter. But, I’ll be honest, I hadn’t pushed them to compound subdivision (and subdivision syncopation, and subdivision with dots), yet. Well, “yet” is here now. 🙂 We started the semester with compound meter boot camp – flashcards, worksheets, echoing, dictation, composition cards, the whole bit. I told them we couldn’t open the music until we could perform all of the rhythmic components separately. And wow have they stepped up. 

We had a rehearsal earlier this week where we ran down our worksheet of all the different subdivision permutations, and they nailed it. Then I promptly handed out the music, assigned one-per-part, and we started reading. Lots of prep work to get us to the point of “open and read,” but so worth it. We are still taking baby steps with Dorian mode, but we’re getting there! 

But, enough about my teaching approach. Let’s talk about the song! I’ve long been a fan of Catherine’s work, and this piece is no exception. Its energetic and tuneful, and feels like its constantly coursing with life. There’s a Celtic style folded into the writing – both rhythmic and tonal.

The poetry, also written by Catherine, focuses on the life cycle of the Sun. There are section headings in the work for “Night is ending,” “The Sun Appears on the Horizon,” “The Height of the Day,” “Color Floods the Horizon,” and “The Sun Disappears.” Each section of music speaks (sings?) to that particular point in the day. You can feel, and hear, all the moments: shafts of light through clouds, blazing midday, the briefest of pink light on the horizon. But, do not be fooled. This piece is not just about the Sun. It’s about energy, and life, and illumination – including the light and strength we find within ourselves.

The topic is all the more poignant because this past week there have been particularly beautiful sunrises over the Blue Ridge mountains. Breathtakingly glorious. I anticipate asking my students, in a few weeks, to take some time to snap some photos of the sun at various points in the day, and then share. Then we can arrange the photos in the order we best think goes with the song. Who knows – maybe that will be the visual backdrop for a recording we can share at the end of term?

Mode. The piece is primarily in D Dorian, with the occasional Bb tossed in (making it standard D natural minor). La minor has been a great option – la ti do re mi fi so la. Only one affected note. The choir was familiar with la-minor already, so the jump to Dorian has been fairly smooth. On the flipside, if you want to teach the pitches by rote, there is motivic repetition in terms of pitch patterns. So it sticks in the ear. (And there are part tracks available for purchase by third-party retailers, if you google.) 

The double choir part. Truth be told, it’s not as scary as “SSAA/SSAA” might seem! There are a number of places in the piece that are traditional SA, or SSA, or SSAA, or even a few unison phrases. And in the double choir section, it is rare for a voice to be truly alone. Choir 1 S1/S2 might be similar. Or all sopranos, from both choirs, might be on the same rhythms, but different harmonic points of the chord. 

This is an excellent lesson in analysis. Look up and down, who is your part paired with? Who sings the same pitches as you? The same rhythms? How long does that partnership last? When does it change? We did a little of that at our first handout of the music, just scanning up and down the staff, and I heard some “ohhh” moments. When they realize it isn’t as scary as 8-part looks. Think of it like a big group-dance number in a musical, or a courtly dance scene from Tudor England. Partners are changing constantly, but there’s a design and a purpose and an order to it. Plus, many of the motives in the big double choir section are phrases that have been heard before in the piece, so it’s not all new material. 

The piece itself also has some intermittent vocal percussion – some rhythmic consonants and variations of vowels. From the programs notes that Catherine included in the front cover, these are perceptions of the ‘sounds the sun makes.’ Yet another aspect that my students are really enjoying. 

So, if you have a small ensemble and are looking for a one-on-a-part piece, this is a great choice. Alternately, if you have an ensemble of any size and are looking for divisi with rhythmic complexity, or a chance to work on compound subdivision or Dorian mode, this selection is excellent for that as well. The energy is undeniable!

Title:She Rises
Composer:Catherine Dalton
Date of Composition: 2014
Text Author:Catherine Dalton
Subject(s), Genre:Sun, light, illumination, personal drive, inner strength
Language:English
Voicing Details:SSAA double choir (SSAA/SSAA); Not all of the song is double choir – some is unison, SA, SSA, and SSAA.
Ranges:S1: (Choir 1) C4-A5; (Choir 2) C4-F5
S2: C4-E5
A1: A3-D5
A2: G3-D5
Accompaniment:A cappella
Duration:~3:40 total
Publisher: Hickory Street Publishing (www.CatherineDalton.net)

Composer’s website, including perusal score, and audio by Vox Femina Los Angeles (Iris Levine, artistic director):
http://www.catherinedalton.net/works/she-rises

Atlanta Women’s Chorus Virtual Choir (Melissa Arasi, artistic director)
https://youtu.be/r8A4vYLB8nU

Until next month!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts 

p.s. As an aside, I’m currently pairing this song with “Cool Moon” (SSA by Richard Williamson). Click here for the blog post. So that’s a Sun-themed rhythmically-complex, 8-part divisi, modal piece to focus on individual work, and a Moon-themed rhythmically-simple, three-part, diatonic, easy-solfege piece to work on balance, blend, phrasing, and tone. So far so good!

Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is Director of Choral Activities and associate professor of music at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia. 
Email: 
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

One from the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs

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#67: Friday, January 1, 2021

2021: The Year Ahead…

I suspect that many of us are in a similar place right now: still reeling from the challenges of the semester/quarter/season that just finished, and overwhelmed with contemplating the one that is very soon to come. On top of that, we find ourselves divorced from our regular year-end concerts, holiday performances, and religious musical traditions. And, quite possibly, spending hours in front of a computer doing music-adjacent work for a virtual song/project/concert, but without any of the actual community music-making that feeds us as musicians. And that’s just the choir-related part of things! Suffice to say, it’s been a rough 2020 all ‘round.

So…what should I write on this first blog of 2021, on New Year’s Day no less?

The old adage is: “The show must go on.” But I’d like to propose an update: “The show will go on.” Somehow, some way, music will find a way to continue. Group music-making of all kinds has been hard-hit this past year, choral music in particular. There are so many questions for the next months ahead, which vary drastically depending on your state, your type/level/age of ensemble, your audience, vaccine availability, etc. The “how” of things will look different for each choir and each director and each school or program.

But the bottom line is this – at some point in the future, it will be safe to sing again. And people will be drawn to that – singers and audience alike. The show, in fact, will go on. (Just thinking about that future concert, even just a future “normal” rehearsal, makes me tear up a little.) It is so hard to see that far forward right now, when we’re all in the middle of the weeds, but it will happen.

When that day finally comes, we need to be ready. For that inevitable beautiful, amazing, and magnificent future time, I have a few repertoire suggestions from past blogs. Uplifting, empowering songs for that first concert, or that first season. Works about the beauty of music and the beauty of life. It will take a lot of work and patience to rebuild our programs, but those first beautiful notes of group singing will be more than worth it. And I for one cannot wait.

“Breakable” by Jenni Brandon
Text by Annabelle Moseley
SA, piano

“I Started Out Singing” by Jocelyn Hagen
Text by Naomi Shihab Nye
3pt Treble, piano (or piano & string orchestra)

“Be Like The Bird” by Abbie Betinis
Text by Victor Hugo
5-part canon 

“Leave My Heart Its Songs” by Dominick DiOrio
Poetry by Amy Lowell
SSA, piano, two violins, viola

“Kidsong” by Stephen Caldwell
Traditional text
SSA, piano

“Music of Life” by B.E. Boykin
Text by George Parsons Lathrop
SSA, piano

To see all my repertoire blogs [67 and counting!], click here.
To see a spreadsheet list of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

Goodbye to 2020. Hello to a happy, healthy, and reinvigorated 2021.

Until next month!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts

Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is Director of Choral Activities and associate professor of music at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.
Email:
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

One from the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs

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#66: Friday, December 4, 2020

“Music of Life” by B.E. Boykin
Text by George Parsons Lathrop
SSA, piano

A few months back, a fellow choral conductor suggested I look at the works of contemporary composer B.E. Boykin, and I am glad they did!

B.E. Boykin

In listening to Boykin’s pieces for women’s/treble ensemble, “Music of Life” jumped out at me. I liked the sound, the tone, the style. I liked that there was frequent unison, but also some lovely harmony. I liked the text. I hadn’t yet seen a score to peruse, but I knew I wanted to investigate further.

Boykin self-publishes through her own site, Klavia Press. https://www.klaviapress.com/ “Music of Life” is one of seven treble selections listed there. Only thumbnails are listed; you cannot view perusals on this site. But, you can get a perusal pdf by emailing the customer service address.

The text is a beautiful homage to music, nature, and life. It is one of those feel-good-about-music texts you could use in most any concert, and in some sacred settings as well. Great for a MIOSM event. Post-Covid, when we can safely get back to singing in person, in large groups, with actual audiences, I expect everyone will be looking for pieces that celebrate music and art and singing. This will be a great option!

The selections opens with a brief piano intro, and moves into unison choir. Compound meter lilt, with flowing piano. Minor. All very ethereal and beautiful.

The first idea, and much of the second, is all unison, which makes this a great start-of-semester piece. Lots of opportunities to work on vowels and phrase-shaping, without chasing notes/parts. The second section includes some 2-part divisi, but returns to unison at the end of the phrase.

The third section is written in three parts, but scaffolded as in a partner-song, working up to tutti SSA. The note in the score says to sing this section multiple times – with each part presenting their line alone, and then all parts together. So, the end result is a lovely 3-part harmony with a polyphonic feel. But, much like a partner song, there is reinforcement of each line first, before singing together. [The music is marked Group 1, 2, & 3, but the ranges aren’t equal, so standard SSA works out well here.]

From there, the song moves into a nice solid homophonic SSA ending, closing in a strong major chord.

The work is in d-minor, with only diatonic notes (except that Picardy third in the final chord). It is easily learned on solfege, and a good piece to teach or reinforce minor-key reading. Ranges are limited. Melodic motion is often step-wise with tonic-triad leaps; there are few jumps of awkward intervals. Rhythms are all entry-level compound meter: eighths, quarters, and dotted quarters, with only the occasional tie.

My only complaint with this selection is the layout. There are some places where it goes between 2-note harmony and 3-note harmony, but all on the same staff. So, you will have to take a moment to assign which note the S2s sing, when there aren’t three pitches. Additionally, dynamics and phrase markings are absent. Arguably, this could be a great teaching moment for the ensemble, to work through phrasing and dynamic decisions corporately, and add them in together! Again, the song itself is lovely, but the printed layout isn’t 100% polished, which might lead to some extra moments needed for clarification in rehearsal.

Separate from considering the text or the music itself, which makes this a great piece on its own poetic and musical merits, I can see this piece fulfilling a number of needs when it comes to choosing repertoire:
–If your groups are primarily comfortable in unison, but you want to expand into some harmony
–If your groups are comfortable with multi-part music, but you want to re-focus their vowels and phrasing through unison work
–If your group sizes and part distribution and rehearsal plans are all over the map due to Covid, and you want a piece that will be successful even if your numbers/parts/modality keep changing
–if your groups are used to “harder” music, but you are looking for an anthem to bring them together and energize them
–if your groups are strong with minor solfege and compound meter, and you want a sight-readable piece for them
–if your groups are just beginning to explore compound meter and/or minor sight-reading, and you want a piece to tie-in to your literacy teaching
–if you have multiple groups of differing levels, and want a feel-good “music is amazing” piece they can all sing together

I could go on. I really do see many many scenarios in which this piece could be used – by groups of all sizes and levels. The text paints a beautiful picture. The music is hauntingly elegant. And the piece is neither childish-sounding, nor too difficult, which is its own sweet-spot for treble/women’s repertoire. I strongly encourage you to take a look at this selection for an upcoming concert. Plus, make sure to take a look at the composer’s other works for treble/women’s choir as well.

Title:Music Of Life
Composer:B.E. Boykin
http://beboykin.com/
Date of Composition:2015
Text Author:George Parsons Lathrop (“Music of Growth” from Rose and Roof-Tree: Poems, 1875)
Subject(s), Genre:Music, song, nature, earth, growth
Language:English
Voicing Details:Unison, SA, and SSA
Ranges:S1: D4-F#5
S2: D4-D5
A: D4-Bb4
Accompaniment:Piano
Duration:~3:30 total
Publisher:Klavia Press
https://www.klaviapress.com

Performance Recording:
https://soundcloud.com/user-539063463/music-of-life

Until next month!
-Shelbie Wahl-Fouts

Dr. Shelbie Wahl-Fouts is Director of Choral Activities and associate professor of music at Hollins University, a women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.
Email:
Bio:     https://www.hollins.edu/directory/shelbie-wahl-fouts/

For a listing of all current and past blog entries by this author, click here.
For a spreadsheet of all blog posts and their repertoire, click here.

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