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Thirty-three Opinionated Ideas About
How to Choose Repertoire for Musical Success
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Dr. Betsy Cook Weber University of Houston Moores School of Music
Houston Symphony Chorus California Choral Directors Association
July 2018
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First, I believe that selecting the right repertoire is the, or at least one of the
most important decisions we make.
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With that in mind, I think most of us don’t spend enough time selecting repertoire.
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• Kent Hatteberg (U.Louisville) says that he spends more time selecting the repertoire than he does rehearsing it.
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• So, now that we agree that it’s important, let’s get down to how to make the right choices!
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I.
We are not trying to please ourselves.
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What about Beethoven Missa Solemnis? I LOVED singing that in college!
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We need to choose repertoire designed for singers’ success.
Period.
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II. Fach
What is your choir’s Fach? 10
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It helps to consider What is your personal Fach?
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III. Plan ahead
Choose repertoire for the entire semester or church year or season before that semester/church year/season begins.
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This will take a LOT of time.
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IV.
• If you conduct five different choirs, plan on devoting an afternoon to each ensemble.
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Do The Math!
5 choirs x 1 afternoon = 5 afternoons = A LOT OF TIME!!!
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The Magic of Binders
• Don’t put all your music in a single binder. • Keep a separate binder for each choir. • This will help you “see” that choir’s entire
semester.
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• Let the binders marinate for a few days. • Then go back and look at them again.
GUESS WHAT???
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You’re going to hate a lot of that repertoire, so…
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You go back and look at repertoire again.
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Remember when I said…
THIS IS GOING TO TAKE A
LOT OF TIME?
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AND YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS A NUMBER OF TIMES…
• NICE VARIETY OF STYLISTIC PERIODS
• SOME EASY PIECES
• SOME CHALLENGING PIECES
• SOME INSTANTLY ACCESSIBLE PIECES
• SOME HARDER-TO-SELL PIECES
• SOME ENGLISH
• SOME FOREIGN LANGUAGE
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BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHER THINGS ONE SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR…
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V.
Look at the text first. If the text is insipid or meaningless,
pass on that piece.
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• Danger Indicator #1 is “Words and Music by by…”
Generally, folks are good composers or good lyricists, but not both.
NB. There are important exceptions to this rule.
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VI.
Before going to the music store or sitting down at your computer, make a chart with the realistic tessituras that are available to you.
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• Danger Indicator #2, therefore, is a part with lots of notes on ledger lines.
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• Notice that this does not require an atomic scientist.
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VII.
Look at the tenor line first. Be very careful when the tenor part uses bass clef, which usually happens when tenor and bass parts share a staff.
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VIII.
Remember that middle school tenors, and many high school tenors, are really altos with or without the top range.
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IX.
Look at the alto line next.
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X.
Remember that virtually all girls and women, too, for that matter, are really sopranos.
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With this in mind, if the alto part sits below the staff (E), it is not good for girls.
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This will eliminate a LOT of repertoire, sadly.
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XI.
Look at the bass part next.
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XII.
Remember that middle school and many high school “basses” have the same lower range as adult tenors.
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If you keep your middle and high school basses singing inside the staff, we will ALL be happy campers.
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In my opinionated view, there is no uglier sound than a high school bass section singing a D above middle C.
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Notice that this pitch is on a ledger line, isn’t it? (See Danger Indicator #2.)
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XIII.
Look at soprano tessitura next.
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We don’t want girls singing in the stratosphere, but an occasional really high pitch is not a problem.
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XIV.
Black is beautiful!
Beware White Notes
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Music that consists primarily of white notes almost always indicates music that moves slowly and smoothly (legato).
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Slow, legato singing is the most difficult kind of singing there is.
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And composers often “hear” this slow, legato music in a very live acoustic, so…
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Don’t select music that requires resonance unless you HAVE resonance in your concert
hall.
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XV.
Beware ALTERED PITCHES!
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When you see a bunch of sharps and flats in the score (and we’re not talking about the key signature, nor are we talking about a move to the dominant key)…
BEWARE!!!
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Altered pitches increase the music’s difficulty a lot.
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This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do the piece. It just means that you should consider its tonal and harmonic difficulty very carefully before programming it.
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XVI.
Choose “good” repertoire (as opposed to trash.)
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XVII.
Easier is better.
If you are using a state list to select repertoire, begin the year with repertoire that is at an easier level than that indicated for your particular choir.
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Choosing Repertoire for Convention Performances/Festivals/Contests
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XVIII.
If you are going to play the honor choir/festival choir/contest game, play to win.
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What does “win” mean?
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Winning means giving your singers a wonderful educational and musical
experience.
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XIX.
Don’t trust the difficulty-level indicated in contest lists.
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XX.
Foreign language is only difficult for the director.
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XXI.
Rhythmic complexity is usually only difficult for the director.
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Slow, sustained pieces are usually difficulty for
EVERYONE!
(Remember, Black is Beautiful!)
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XXII
Choose pieces with beautiful, singing melodies
in ALL parts!
(Singing “ooh” for an entire piece is really not fun.)
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XXIII
Always take advantage of the “off-the-list” choice.
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IMO, judges and audiences are more critical when listening to a piece they know well.
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XXIV
Do NOT use “pop” music unless it is a pop music contest.
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XXV.
Do NOT use a piece that you taught at the beginning of the year.
(This one is always controversial.☺ )
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Ignore Rule XXV if you LIKE the way your choir sang at the beginning of the year!
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XXVISelect possible festival/contest repertoire
during the summer, but do not purchase it. Let it “marinate” in your mind as the year
progresses.
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If you are preparing for a convention performance, however, the students should have numerous performances
of that repertoire prior to the convention, so begin teaching that
program in the fall.
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XXVII.
See Rule XV
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XV is about Altered Pitches!
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XXVIII.
No matter what the organizers say, there has never been, and there will never be, a
convention/festival/contest site with resonance. Therefore, see Rule XIII.
Beware pieces that require resonance.
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XXIX.
Do NOT wait until after Winter Break to begin looking for spring festival/contest repertoire.
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XXX.
When selecting repertoire, be realistic about how many students you will lose to eligibility,
Little League, family weddings, etc.
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XXXI.
Contests usually require that you perform three pieces. Begin by working on five pieces.
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XXXII.
In the beginning stages of your career, or in the beginning stages of a new position, play it safe. After
you have a few years of success under your belt, make a personal commitment to push the envelope.
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XXXIII.
The only thing one really needs to know about musical contests is that
Mozart never won one!
(lifted off the Web.)
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THE END!
Questions?
Comments?