Nottingham City Centre Church Group

What?

Basically, getting as many people together as possible in the centre of Nottingham to perform the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from GF Handel’s Messiah (2009 is the 250th anniversary year of Handel’s death)!

See the BBC Radio Nottingham website for more - click here.

Where?

All rehearsals, as well as the performance, will take place at St Peter’s Church (for directions click here).

When?

Thursday 15th October, 7pm - Initial meeting and rehearsal
Saturday 14th November, 5pm - Rehearsal
Saturday 28th November, 11am - Performance (recorded for BBC Radio Nottingham), preceded by 10am rehearsal

Score (for printing) - [PDF]

MIDI files - [Soprano] [Alto] [Tenor] [Bass] [All four parts together]

Full performance [video]

• Learn the music with the score in front of you.  Even if you don’t read music, you will at least be able to see the shape of the melody (if the notes go up, you go up!) which will serve as a useful reminder should you lose your place.
• Start by listening to the complete performance video - it is useful to know how it all fits together while you are learning your individual part.
• Then listen to the MIDI file of your individual part (soprano, alto, tenor or bass), following along in the score.
• Listen to the MIDI track several times, and once you feel familiar, try to sing along (with or without words).  If you keep making a particular mistake, draw a ring around it in the score, and practice that part in isolation until you are confident.
• As well as singing the right notes with the right words, make sure you sing each note for its correct length, and no longer.
• Once you are secure singing your own part, with the words, all the way through, try singing along with the MIDI file of all four parts - try not to get put off by the other parts!  Keep focussed on singing your own part, but make sure you keep together with the other parts (i.e., not getting quicker or slower than anyone else).
• Finally, try singing along to the complete performance video.  Pay particular attention to how you can find your starting note from the orchestral introduction.
• If you’ve made it through each of these steps, you are ready for rehearsals!

Peter Siepmann

• You have three bars at the beginning in which to breathe.  Make use of them - don’t leave it until the last second to breathe!
• Come in confidently with your first ‘Ha-’ syllable, but take care not to make too harsh an attack on the ‘H’ sound. Sustain the sound all the way through the one and a half beats of the first note.
• Pronunciation: Hahh (with a soft, ’southern style(!)’ ‘ah’ sound) - Lehh (as in left not as in delay) - Loo (as in loo!) - yaH (not too harsh an ‘Y’ sound).
• Shade off on the ‘lu-jah’ figure - softer on the ‘jah’ than on the ‘lu’.
• Make sure you hold the ‘jah’ for exactly the right length - do not stray into the rests!
• Breathe only at puncuation (i.e. “for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” all in one breath)
• Bars 20 - 32 - be particularly careful not to rush if you have the ‘hallelujah’ figure.
• Bar 32 - hold “-jah” for its full two beats.
• Bar 33 - softer, gentler.  Hold “world” for its full four beats, placing a definite ‘d’ at the end.
• Bar 37 - do not breathe between “-come” and “the”!!  Big crescendo (get louder) during “-come”.  Try not to ’swoop’ between the two notes.  This is hard and will take practice!
• Bar 39 - put the ‘d’ of ‘Lord’ on the second beat of the bar.
• Ditto for the ‘t’ of ‘Christ’ in bar 40 and bar 41.
• Bars 43-49 - make sure you take a big enough breath to get up to those high notes!
• Bars 51-66 - if you are singing the short notes, take care not to rush.
• Bar 68 - put a short, precise ’s’ on the end of ‘Kings’ exactly on the second beat of the bar.
• Ditto for ‘Lords’ in bar 69.
• Sustain the sound during the last three bars.

Peter Siepmann

Peter Siepmann is Director of Music at St Peter’s & All Saints’, Nottingham.  He has experience in training and directing groups of all sizes, orchestral and choral. During his time at the University of Nottingham, he spent time as director of the university’s symphony orchestra, chamber choir and chorus, and has appeared several times as guest conductor with the Nottingham Bach Choir. Alongside his church work, he is chorus master to Oakham Choral Society, and he is on the academic music staff at Uppingham School. http://www.petersiepmann.net