Hard Work for a Monday Night

We started on our new pieces in earnest this week. I mean I started on our new pieces this week. Everyone else has been at then for some time now. I find they grow on you. I learnt a lot this week. We tried to make some sense of the words and Declan was very illuminating in teasing out meanings, double meanings, allusions, word play. I think he must be a very good teacher. He, like me, is a 1st Bass so we are finding the Bass parts a bit too low for comfort.

So there endeth the first lesson.

We then moved on to discuss with the Donagh the rapidly changing time signatures ( at least I think that's what he called them) and for the first time it made sense. He demonstrated 7/8 time and then 4/4, 3/8, 5/4 and made it all crystal clear although a lot of it looked like the SP from the Greyhound Track after a bad night for the Bookies. Another gifted teacher.

And there endeth the second lesson.

We were all getting a bit tired at this stage so we werent a bit pleased to be called out for a class with Dierdre Masterson. The last thing we wanted was to be dragged from the other Basses (and Tenors) to have to listen to a stunningly beautifull, amazingly talented vivacious soprano giving us the benefit of her experience with verve and humour and enthusiasm. But for the sake of peace and quiet we put up with it.

This picture gives you some idea of how put out we were. If the one on the left smiled any more his brain would fall out.

Three brilliant teachers in one night and insights galore. This thing just gets better and better.

BY the way

I have a few pics from the AGM when we brought home the bacon from Sligo as it were and filled it up (if that isn't too mixed a metaphor)

Just about to fill up

As can be seen we are a VERY formal outfit. We all dress for dinner and we all just rushed out to get to the very efficiently run AGM

This is a nice shot of the Altos just before they started to fight over the drink

Choir comes first in S and M Competition

I have just realised that I haven't written anything since the middle of last month. The reason was that we were so busy getting ready for our assault on the Sligo International Choral festival. The Boss decided that we would enter into four Competitions, that is eight pieces, amidst a certain amount of cribbing. I, of course, not knowing what I was talking about, was quite happy to face 4 competitions. . We had a good team of 26 players and assorted groupies all hot to trot. Percy made his welcome reappearence as Sgt Major and had us all lined up as required. As Sligo is so far we might as well get as much value out of it as we can

And it is a long way, especially on a Friday afternoon wiith 6 k tail backs in Moate. But was it worth it when we all finally got there ?

We had a not very satisfying rehearsal as people continued to arrive all through it. After dinner a couple of scoops before an early bed because we had a very early start next morning ( well it was an early start for me). We were due to sing in the first two competitions of the day both starting at the same time and at either ends of the SIT campus. We sang our Light Music, (T fr 2 and Why do fools) and then rushed off to sing in the Sacred Music ( Cantate and the de Regge). As we came off the Stage we were met by Paul who had collected our First Prize in the other Competition. Here he said casually you won. Oh Thanks. We WHAT? WE WON!!!!!!!!!! Great.

We took it in our stride almost as if we expected it (which we didnt) The rest of the day had to be an anticlimax. The fabulous Norwegian Choir won the Sacred Music amidst scenes of great joy and celebration.

And we set off for lunch and a gig in the entrance to the shopping centre. All excited but tired and the prospect of two more efforts in the PM. We'll just sing for 10 minutes said the Boss. 30 minutes later we decided to call a halt in front of a highly appreciative crowd.

Back for the Madrigals and boys to be put through a long rehearsal of Weep Oh Mine eyes and Joly Jeu. Some good singing in the entrance hall of the SIT and an opertunity for me to take some arty pics of the Choir.

Then back to the Competition. The Norske Ladies sang beautifully but unfortunately they werent singing madrigals and so lost out. However they did a display of marching off the stage in their National Costumes and lining up in front of their chairs before sitting on the word of command that was awe inspiring. They are all fine healthy examples of the benefits of good food and fresh air and their national costume is not, how can I put it, the most slimming of outfits so the resemblence to a platoon of Grenadier Guards in drag was compelling.

What's Happened?

Giving it stick in the Madrigals and even the sopranos are

smiling

We were delighted to come second in the Madrigal Competition. Now we had won a cup AND 600 euro. And there was still the S and M Cup to fight for. We like Gospel Music and we did it well. But the big difference was the solo by Robert Rowe in "Im gonna sing" which was totally superb. It made the difference between winning and losing. So lo and behold we added another Cup presented by S and M Sligo and another few euros.

Here are our favourite adjudicators

We were delighted and Im going to draw a veil over the rest of the evening as we celebrated well but not too wisely.

A few past and present Chairmen with the Boss

Well done to everyone involved( and that does mean ALL the Choir)

Excitement

Two reasons for excitement

I have just made my way here from a link on our new web-site (http://www.enniscorthychoralsociety.com/) which has recently made it's appearance. It is absolutely wonderful and is all due to Bernie and Elaine's persistance and effort .



They have done a superb job in producing a very professional and good looking site, packed with information and with some really great pictures from the archives. I didn't realise we had archives ! What else is lurking in them ? In fact Liam O'Leary had pictures from way back to the inaugural meeting and I hope will release them gradually.



Elaine and Bernie have also covered our repetoire and the events we have attended. I thought this was really interesting. I didn't realise we were so experienced and so accomplished. And its all true. Unlike the blog.

This a picture from our last rehearsal. Have you ever seen such a contented bunch of choiristers? Everybody ready to sing their hearts out. And not only their hearts. We have discovered a whole lot of new body parts we never realised we had which are VERY important in voice production. Our diaphragms, our soft palates, our masks, all sorts of muscles.

The reason for all this anatomical revelation is pictured below. We are having some voice coaching from the renowned soprano Deirdre Masterson who is introducing us to the world of operatic singing and the techniques used.

Deirdre is amazing. Think of the great Soprano Battleships, of La Tebaldi, Dame Joan Sutherland Montserrat Caballo (that can't be right. She wasn't called Horse ,was she?). Think of them and then think again. Our teacher is something else entirely. How such a slight girl can produce the volume she does without straining, okay, without visibly straining, and still maintain such a beautiful musical sound is beyond me. We have had a couple of classes with her and she really has impressed everyone with her energy, charm, knowledge and commitment. In fact I can use a word which I have never felt justified in using before but which fits exactly. Feisty. Yes, that's the word to describe her when she tells the tenors to stop being so NICE. Or when she grabs Brian's hand and shouts " Feel my diaphragm working ". Or when she says to the Basses after an unimpressive effort "No, I won't accept that. Do it again." She really is shaking up the lot of us.

The terrible thing, of course, is that Donagh has told us about all these things many times before. Except that he is coming from a different direction and in a different way. But it is working. The sound is improving and long may that continue too.

Enniscorthy Choral Society website now live!

The choir’s official website is now live.
To visit it just type in:
www.enniscorthychoralsociety.com

Happy browsing.

Back again

What I mean is that I'm back again.
The Choir, of course, have been hard at work since early in September preparing for the big Competition in Sligo in November. I, on the other hand, have been on holiday down Montenegro way. Great fun. I recommend it to anyone who likes a laugh. See it before it loses it's unique character. And I'll let you find out for yourself what that is.
Anyway.
Back to the usual routine. A few new faces. Welcome , Patricia and Olwen. I knew after Vienna you would not be able to resist joining us again.
The Maestro is looking well and rested after the break and rarin' to go.
And so we set off again on the next stage of our musical adventure, not knowing what the year will bring but hoping that it will as good as ever.

Sorry, i meant fourth from the right. Traumatised after Cork i dont know my ahem from my elbow!

Sorry, i meant fourth from the right. Traumatised after Cork i dont know my ahem from my elbow!

Our Fuhrer meets their Fuhrer

Donagh went to Budapest to revisit the scene of his previous triumphs at the Kodaly Institute last year. He met his old Boss there who, by coincidence, happened to be the International Adjudicator in Cork this year. Here is a picture of Prof. Peter Erdie , Der (I mean Their) Fuhrer, giving a talk and Don, far right, trying to hypnotise him into giving us good marks if ever he met us in the future.

And to show he is not just a pretty face, here is a pic of the Alumni Choir singing with our lad giving it yards on the left.

Cease not in Cork

DISAPPOINTED

We shouldnt be but we are . After coming to Cork with hopes high and hard work we were disapponted to be placed only 4th out of 16 choirs in the National Open Competition. The fact that only 1.2 marks seperated the first four was an indication of just how close the competition was with the order being 87.2, 86.50, 86.25 and us at 86. I have never seen so close a call and we should be proud that we got so close. I know, I know, but it would have been nicer to be placed 3rd. The winners, by the way, were from Killeagh in Co. Cork. I'm told a good time was had by all who stayed over the week end. They didn't look too shattered on the Sunday morning when the rest arrived so the Chairman's words of warning ( about getting fluttered) had been heeded.

We live to fight another day.

At least I hope we live to fight another day. Below is a series of pics taken during a rehearsal where Donagh threw everything ( including himself ) into it

Centenary Celebration Concert

Some tension before the Off

This is the 100th Anniversary of the foundation of Enniscorthy Golf Club, an organisation with which we share many members. So when Anne Hennessy, the Lady Captain, invited us to organise a Celebration Concert to mark their Centenary we were delighted to oblige. There in front of one of the biggest crowds ever seen in the Club House we put on a display of "a Cappella" singing which amazed and entertained everyone there, particularly ourselves. Donagh led us as usual in his own inimitable style and apart from a slight memory problem with the names of the songs we were singing, all went off beautifully. I suppose age (and drink ) eventually will take their toll and it is the memory that always goes first. Luckily there were plenty of members who had the running order written out for them so they were able to help out. Not, I think, that the audience would haved noticed.

Anne Hennessy
Gracious Lady Captain of Enniscorthy

Golf Club

The second part of the show was supplies by Dial M for Mon.. I mean Music. A beautifull performance by Naomi O'Connell and the 19 year old Baritone Gavin Ring of some well known favourites, sensitively accompanied by Cyril Murphy on piano, was greeted with rapturous applause from a delighted audience.

Naoni and Gavin relaxing

after their triumph

After the Art came the eating and drinking. As one of the punters said "Food, drink AND music, and all for a tenner. You couldnt beat it" Another success with ample supplies for all.

All the proceeds went to the HOPE Hospice Care in Enniscorthy, a very worthy cause.

A really enjoyable evening and great to see such a turnout of ex members and old friends from the past.

Ex Secretary Helen Cosgrave and her lovely daughter enjoying the evening

There are not too many pics this week because I was so busy either singing or opening bottles of wine that I didnt have time to snap. I know some of them look like I was more interested in drinking the contents then opening the bottles but that just is'ent true.

John Burke-O'Leary, Annette McCarthy, Bernie Flanagan and all the Committee and Choir can give themselves a pat on the back for a job well done.

The BIG TIME

After the trip to Arklow it emerged that someone had tried to buy our CD after the Concert and was surprised to find that we didn't have one. It seems every dog and devil has a CD to flog after an appearance and we are the exception. So this must be addressed.
Last Monday we met in the hallowed shrine of St Mary's and started recording for a CD to be produced sometime in the future. St Mary's was picked for it's special acoustic and because it is so cold that we had no difficullty in staying awake during the process. This was important because we didn't realise that a recording took so many repeated attempts to get right. I think that the County Emergency Plan was having a trial run in Church St. from the number of Ambulances that went NEENAHing by.
We finally finished ("for now" as Donagh ominously said) and packed up. Very interesting and tiring as it is very intense and concentrated.
And that was only four or even three and a bit pieces done and ( this is added 3 weeks later) none of them were suiteable. Back to the drawing board

Super Sunday in Arklow

What a day we had in Arklow. After years of trying and achieving a measure of success we finally hit the big time with two major wins, two cups, two gold medals, a brace of highly commended certificates and enough complimentary remarks from the adjudicators to turn the heads of even the most sober of us. It was one of those days when we got it right at the right time. We also find that the harder we work the luckier we get in these competitions. And we worked as hard as ever we worked at pieces for this competition.

Things started with the Madrigal Competition for the Sean Bonner Cup which was won in great style by the Madrigal Group singing "Now is the Month of Maying" and the hilarious "Weep O mine eyes". Ninety two marks, more then we ever scored and a vindication of all Donagh's work going back years.

We then took on seven other Choirs in the Open Mixed and again managed to come out winners with "Deep River" and " Why do fools fall in love?". This time we scored 91 marks and were delighted by the adjudicator's remark. Which was quite interesting because he wasn't too keen on our performance last year. What a difference a year makes !

We celebrated back home in the Enoteca and had a very enjoyable night of eating drinking and more singing

This is dynamic Chairman John Burke-O'Leary debriefing the troops and giving us our marching orders for the next event which is the Centenary Celebration Concert in the Enniscorthy Golf Club on the 21st April.

Centenary Celebration Concert

Enniscorthy Golf Club

21st April at 8.00

Tickets available from all members . Price 10 Euro

Proceeds to the Hospice Care Centre.

Countdown to Arklow

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A NICELY PHOTOMERGED PICTURE OF CONCENTRATION AND DEDICATION.

AND IT WAS TOO.

BUT IT WAS 27 MEGS ( much too big) AND BLOGGER JIBBED AT TAKING IT.

So what we have are two pictures of concentration and dedication. The Choir , without Donagh but with John stepping onto the breach, getting an extra bit of practise in before the big day.

The best moment of all is when you sing the piece and, for the first time as a choir , get it right . It may not be completely right but you know that you have made it. From now on the worry is about perfection. It is truly satisfying and I suppose what keep's choiristers at it. All the grinding and repetition can be forgotten . That transcendant moment when you start hearing the other sections and how they relate to your section, when you feel part of something greater then the sum of it's parts, when you all really make music, that's it.
I think I reached that moment last Friday although the rest may ahve done it on the previous Monday as I missed that rehearsal.
Anyway, we are coming to hand just at the right time with the Music Festival in Arklow on next week. We had a good do there last year winning the Clandillon Cup so we back as defending Champions. That should give us an edge.

Generous UDC

John Burke-O'Leary accepts the Amenity Grant from the Chairman of the UDC, Paddy Kavanagh and responds with a pretty speech of thanks.

I am having some difficulty with my machinery so I have no photograph to illustrate the story this week. I should have some in a day or two and will add them then. On Monday night, your Chairman John Burke-O'Leary, Treasurer Bernie Kennedy and yours truly as PRO attended the annual presentation of Community Group Grants to collect the generous grant made to the Choir for their work in the Community. Padraig O'Gorman, the Town Clerk, introduced Council Chairman Paddy Kavanagh who made the presentation in the '98 Centre. We took our place for the first time with many other worthy organisations such as Tidy Towns Committee, the Brownies, Hope, Cycling Club, to name just a few.. We are very gratefull to the UDC for this grant and, as our chairman made clear, we are always available for Civic events if a song is required. We also met Coun. Sean Og Doyle who has always supported the Choir thru' the County Community Grants and had the opportunity to thanks him personally for his interest. John, Hon Treasurer Bernie Flanagan ( I always think of you as Kennedy) ,Chairman Paddy Kavanagh, Town Clerk Padraig O'Gorman at the presentation in the "98 Centre

After the Presentation, like good hard working bureaucrats, we returned to the Choir and managed to take part in the second half of the practice.
Such dedication !

Slipping !

Apologies to my faithfull reader for the gap in posting. I just didn't have the energy after the last couple of sectional rehearsals. We are getting steamed up yet again for Arklow and the pressure is coming on. T 4 2 and Deeeep Reeever for the open competition and 2 Madrigals for the A team. There has been some comment about the Benet Madrigal "Weep O mine eyes". People wonder when or where such a song would have been sung, it being so dirge like. Research has shown that all madrigals are about sex. That, in fact, was their attraction and what made them so appealing to the popsters of the day. This is more easily understood when you realise that the only alternative to Madrigals was Sacred Music.
So I was somewhat surprised to find out that "Weep O" is one of the very few NOT about sex. Not even by the longest of allegorical longshots. I tried , dammit, but failed. It is, in fact, about an outbreak of Infectious Conjuctivitis which occurred about 1598 in London. Many of the composer's friends were affected and he wrote the piece to raise their spirits. And I hope this does the same for you.

Visitors

We had some pretty distinguished visitors at our rehearsal to night. Ian Wilson, the eminent composer, and the Wexford County Council Arts Officer, Rosaleen Molloy, came to check us out. That's them left and right of Donagh Wylde in the picture above. We are signed up to take part in what promises to be one of the most exciting Musical Events ever in the County. In celebration of ten years of support for Choral Music, the Council have commissioned a major work for massed choirs and orchesta composed by Ian to be performed in 2008. So Rosaleen and he came to hear us and get an idea of our capabilities. I hope they were happy with what they heard. We are all thrilled to be involved with this really significant major work and are looking forward to hearing it and singing it with other choirs in the County.

Back to work (again)

It was really back to the grind stone ( Weep, Oh mine eyes ) tonight with hardly an hour passing before we were reminded that there was only 6 weeks to Arklow. So start learning. Get off your boney asses ( or should that be bonny Lasses) and start shakin it. A huge turn out tonight with more new Members starting. Nicky Sheridan has returned to the fold and is very welcome back as is his wife Bernie who singing with us for the first time. That's them at the top of the page being genned up by Bernie Kennedy.

Our new Librarian

Patricia Shiel has taken over the onerous job of Music Librarian from Mary Nagle who has just been promoted to Head of Colaiste Bride. Congratulations Mary, I hope this will not interfere with your enjoyment of Choir Activities. Mary controlled our music for years and did a great job so Trish has a hard act to follow.

With over 120 pieces of music in our repertoire
and a growing membership of over 40 people it is quite a task to keep everyone supplied and ALSO to have copies for the adjudicators in the competitions.

Trish is well able for it and here is a picture of her on top of the job

Starting the New Year

We had a slightly anticlimactic start when we had a set of sectionals just to warm us up. The new program for the competition year is as follows:

1. Deep River--- a blast from the past. We did this in 1993. It will be interesting to see what has changed


2. Why DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE


3. Weep, Oh mine eyes -- this is a real laugh. Should bring tears to mine eyes


4. Now is the month of Maying


5. Dixit Maria


6. A Mhuire na nGras


7. Tea for Two

Keep the Faith

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

to

everyone,

members, friends, supporters, sponsors

Looking forward to new challenges and good times in 2007

I am slightly relieved that the Party season is almost over. I am not able to party for as long as I used to and it takes me longer to recover. I have heard other people saying the same thing. However, we have a full week to recover before we start bact to the serious business of preparing for our competition programme

We plan to go to Arklow, Cork and Sligo, all major choral events in Ireland and are looking forward to taking part.