Madrigal Mayhem for Women Only!

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A message from Conductor/Singer Ruth Kerr: Madrigal Mayhem and A Capella Camaraderie!   Hello! I invite you to take part in a morning workshop devoted to the discovery and enjoyment of unaccompanied choral part-singing – women only!  Some singing experience would be useful, but we will take our time learning the notes.  I intend to … Read more

Strike It Up, Tabor by Thomas Weelkes

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Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) was an English composer and organist at Chichester Cathedral. He wrote mostly vocal music, including many madrigals. The Oxford Book of English Madrigals has more songs by Weelkes than any other composer. For a church organist he appears to have been quite an unruly character. In spite of that, he remained in … Read more

Singing in the Rain!

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Hi Gang, We have here a fun arrangement of Singing in the Rain, written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed.  Remember when you’re learning this that the quavers are sung in a swing rhythm––not as straight quavers.  Listen to the audio and you’ll see what I mean.  We can talk about this more when … Read more

Name That Tune, Too!

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Here’s some more fun for those inclined towards musical puzzles.  Remember––––no cheating!  This is sight reading only. Have fun and don’t forget our next meeting is this Thursday night, the 26th! The PDF version to download and print out is here.

Soave sia il vento | A trio from Mozart’s opera, Cosí fan tutte

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Greetings, Voiceworkers! We’re tackling Wolfie Amadeus this week, so have a look and a listen and a sing through, if you have a few moments to spare.  It’s not long but it is in Italian and presents some challenges vocally.  I’ve put the Italian and its English translation at the bottom of this post. Note: … Read more

Name that Tune!

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For those of you who weren’t at our last meeting I’m posting your homework assignment. DO NOT use a keyboard to help you with these.  This is a sight reading exercise.  Have fun with it and good luck.  Directly below is a link for those of you who wish to download and print the page. … Read more

Wind and Unkind

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Hi All, Following our lovely little discussion last evening about Shakespeare’s use of rhyme in Blow, blow, though winter wind, I’ve done a little bit of Googling.  The bottom line seems to be that in Shakespeare’s time the word wind was still pronounced with a long ‘i’ vowel (probably spelled wynde) a hangover from Middle English. According to … Read more

Thomas Arne’s “Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind” — and how appropriate is that?

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Greeting music lovers, It’s time to shiver through a sweet and lively yet wintery new piece.  Aside from posting the graphics of the sheet music and the audio parts for you to listen to, I will also post PDFs of the sheet music (find links below parts) so you can download the lot and print … Read more

Local events of interest!

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Hi All, I thought I would repost the local musical events that we announced at last session. First the Hospice Hymnathon 2015.  It takes place Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 June 2015 at Lancing College Chapel.  It’s being produced by Friends of Sussex Hospices and is a very worthy cause.  Carol and I will not … Read more