Our first rehearsal this past weekend went really well. We
met to go over expectations and procedures, set up a rehearsal
schedule, and talk about the process of working in chamber ensembles.
After getting the business side of things out of the way, we
listened to the Ave Maria...virgo serena.
It is so nice to be immersed in such fantastic music again and to share it with
students who have had little experience with Josquin. Over the course of about
an hour, we were able to rehearse the Ave well enough to sing through it
entirely with only a few hiccups here and there.
The singers on this project are great musicians and will
find and fix those problems before the next rehearsal. I provided translations,
IPA, and recordings to get them started on rehearsing the chansons this week,
and also gave them journals in which to document and reflect on their rehearsal
process. I plan to give them prompts each week and some direction on what and
how to rehearse, but want them to take ownership of this music and think
creatively about how to represent it. Although this is not a purist venture from a
performance practice or early music perspective, they have already
intuitively adopted the sound world appropriate for Josquin (natural, easy,
release without overproduction). These are super smart singers and I look forward to our next rehearsal!
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