Mountaineer Choir

January 6, 2012

Bell assignment- get the bell assignment and complete it for Mrs. Moore before the end of class, or in the break.

Sight Reading-Pages 43-50 in the yellow sight reading book

Erlaube mir-
Sophomores are studying time periods in social studies this year, the information about the romantic time period will help you in this class.

Romantic era- was a time of Nationalism, and a time where people expressed themselves more openly than was generally seen in society before. The arts became part of the identity of a nation. Composers used folks songs from their country as the basis for compositions for choir and orchestra. People were proud of the art and music of their nation, it was a way to identify themselves as “German” or “French” or “Russian” for example.

Also characteristic of the music of this era is that songs did not always have a set steady tempo. The tempo may change if the performer feels that would help to express the mood or text of the song. Also dynamics had a greater range between loud and soft, again as a way to be more expressive.

These characteristics are common in all music from this era, and you should know this as part of the content for this class. If you were given another piece from the Romantic era, you should know that the tempo does not need to be strict, and that there is greater opportunity to be expressive with dynamics.

We listened to recordings of this song as a solo art song, and we listened to a choir sing the arrangement we have. From the recordings we discovered ideas for balance, blend, and expression.

4 basses have to be as loud as 12 altos
5 tenors need to be as loud as 13 sopranos

We read the rest of Erlaube mir, you need to spend time learning the notes on your own before next class.