CC Podcast S. 2 #2 - By Heart

Choral Cacophony Podcast

This weeks Choral Cacophony Podcast is a wee lecture from our director Pierre on "getting away from the book". Besides the fact that The Stairwell Carollers are known for connecting with the audience in a way that many choirs don't - we sing to the audience, rather than at them, knowing your music by heart is a great strategy to improve performance and musicality in general. Here is the first page of the sheet music for El Grillo - a fun 15th century Italian madrigal which celebrates the Cricket. This song was Pierre's jumping off point for the discussion. Speaking personally, I memorize my parts as best I can. My performance is always better when I am most familiar with the music. Please DONATE to support our 40th year events ! All Donations receive a charitable receipt. About The Stairwell Carollers: Pierre Massie started our a cappella choir in 1977 while a music student at Ottawa University. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked with the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales.

Chapters

1. Chapter 1 - The Stairwell Carollers practice El Grillo - an Italian Renaissance Madrigal all about a frog (00:00:00)

2. Chapter 2 - Pierre encourages the choir to work on memorizing the music - Why? He explains... (00:00:45)

3. Chapter 3 - Another try -- much better just with the encouragement to look up from the book! Pierre suggests you compare the two performances. (00:04:05)