In The Morning, Joy

Cory has asked us to look over the words to "In The Morning, Joy." He especially wants us to connect with the message of this song. I am putting the words here for your convenience.

There is a conference talk by President Monson in 2009 that I feel speaks to the topic of this song. If you have time, I'd recommend you listen to or read it. Here's the link: Conference Talk

IN THE MORNING, JOY

Blue mist rising, rising from the hollows to the hills.

Morning comes, and with it all the joy that morning brings.

Gone the weeping, weeping of the long night slowly stills.

Morning comes, and with the morning joy, joy!

Pale sun glowing, glowing, drives the darkness from the night.

Morning comes, horizons gleam with promise for the day.

Shadows dancing, dancing freely in the breaking light.

Morning comes, and with the morning, joy, joy!

Anxious mother, wayward child, lost, alone.

Grieving father, lonesome soldier far from home.

Heartsick family, weeping through the long dark night,

Wait for morning, for it comes, and with it joy, and with it joy!

Bright sun shining, shining burns the rising mist away, burns the rising mist away.

Morning comes, the morning full of promise and delight, and delight.

No more waiting, waiting for the light and warmth of day.

Morning comes and with the morning joy.

And with the morning, joy.

Stunning Section Award Goes to the Sopranos!!

Sometimes We're Serious

Sometimes We're Silly

Music Learning Schedule

Cory told us the schedule for learning the rest of our music.

On March 28, we will learn:

• I Once Had a Dream
• Bound for the Promised Land
• Danny Boy

On April 4, we will learn:

• Cindy
• Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home (A' Capella)

If you can go over Bill Bailey on your own ahead of time (or any of the rest, for that matter), please do because it is a'capella and we'll need to work really hard on it.

Down By the Riverside

"Down By the Riverside" is a gospel song. It is not known when it was first written, but it first shows up as a published song in 1918, in a collection of southern plantation melodies. There are more verses in the original version than in the one that we sing.

The song is based upon Isaiah 2:2-4, which is a prophesy about how in the last days the "...mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it." Verse 4 says, "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

Down by the riverside is where the followers of Jesus gather to be baptized and thus change their lives; committing to becoming the peaceable followers of Christ.

Louie Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Peter, Paul & Mary and Nat King Cole all recorded versions of this song. The tune has been widely used and parodied and was even used by McDonalds in the 1960's jingle, "McDonalds is my kind of place."

Stunning Section Award Activities

Our Stunning Section Award was granted to the Altos--who actually earned it last week. Altos, we need a new picture!
Rain took it home and it had a very busy weekend with the Jeppsons. Here are pictures of some of its activities:

The SS Award generously offered to fill the gas tank.

Safety First.

Hanging out, waiting for school to let out.

Speaking to the student body. I think it sang a little, too.

After its energetic turn on stage, the award took a little rest in the audience.

Going for a train ride at South Town mall.

Riding a unicycle!!

The Nightingale

"The Nightingale" is the title of several songs. Our version began life as a Celtic folk song.

An alternate version of the lyrics speaks of the young couple kissing sweetly and walking arm in arm like brother and sister. Then it talks about the maid asking the soldier about marriage and he replies that he has a sweet wife back at home, but that if he sees the maid again, it will be in the spring. Hmm. I like our lyrics better.

One phrase in the song is a little archaic. The soldier says it's time to "give o'er." To give over means to stop; to call it a day.

The nightingale itself is a rather plain looking brown bird with a reddish tail. It can be found in Europe and southwest Asia. It is not naturally found in the Americas. Although its name means "night songstress," it is the unpaired male nightingale who does the singing at night, presumably to find a mate. Nightingales also sing during the day.

Nightingales have enchanted poets and other writers for centuries. The bird became symbolic of love, and its song has long been interpreted as a lament. The poets Shakespeare, Milton, Keats and Shelley all wrote about nightingales. Nightingales were often seen as poets themselves, or muses to poets.

Shelley wrote, in his “A Defense of Poetry": "A poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds; his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why.”

There is a website where you can type any word and have it "translated" into "Nightingale." Try it! http://www.nightingale-song.com/

Rehearsal Notes

These are notes from two rehearsals; February 21 and 28. They are things Cory talked about and wants us to keep in mind as we sing our songs.

• Please pull "Deep River" from your binder. We will not be singing that piece.
• Pay attention to how you pronounce your words. Make sure you put the ending consonants, such as 'T's' and 'P's' on words. Also, be careful how you pronounce your vowels. Don't hang on an Eee sound. Make it more like "Eh." In singing, the British pronunciation of words usually sounds better than the American pronunciation. Dropping your jaw will help you to pronounce words correctly. Remember: "Floor to ceiling, not wall to wall."
• Tone: Make your part a melody. Don't just push out the notes; make them musical and melodic, even if it isn't the melody. Don't sound nasal. Open the back of your throat, lift up the soft palate, try to lower your Adams apple. Relax your neck and shoulders. Men and sometimes Altos, take care that your notes don't sound dark and plodding.
• Vibrato: Sopranos, make sure your vibrato is under control and does not fluctuate between too large a span. It shouldn't sound like two different notes.
• Sing from your heart. Remember that you are expressing an idea and emotion through your singing. Take ownership of the message of each song so that you can express it through your singing.Your best singing will always come from your heart.
• When holding a vowel that changes notes, make sure you don't sing an "H."
• If you need someone to play the piano so you can go over parts, contact Karen (801)850-7495 for phone numbers of those chorus members who can play the piano.
• In order for our chorus to be successful, you must practice the music between rehearsals at home.