Singing with the RPO

Preparation

Concentus Women's Chorus, one of the groups I sing with, had the privilege of being invited to perform Holst’s The Planets with the RPO for their season finale. Our conductor, Gwen Gassler, made sure that we practiced the piece at every rehearsal this year, so we would almost have it memorized.  It took time to become comfortable with the quintuple meter, and I was glad not to be a soprano - they have seemingly endless measures where they must float on a G!  Because there are no lyrics (we vocalize on ‘ah’s), it is extremely important to limit vibrato.  And because we are a relatively small group, mastering the dynamics was also a challenge (we must go from pianissimo to even quieter, as we fade out at the end!). 

The Planets has seven movements (Earth didn’t get one, and Pluto hadn’t yet been discovered in Holst’s time, let alone discredited as a planet).  The choral section is the last few minutes of “Neptune, The Mystic,” which is also the final movement. “Holst stipulates that the women’s choruses are ‘to be placed in an adjoining room, the door of which is to be left open until the last bar of the piece, when it is to be slowly and silently closed’, and that the final bar (scored for choruses alone) is ‘to be repeated until the sound is lost in the distance’.” ¹

Gwen and Michael Francis conferring

At our first rehearsal with guest conductor Michael Francis (chief conductor of Sweden’s Norrköping Symphony Orchestra), before the orchestra arrived, we were a bit tentative, and he advised us to “be unhuman and pure,” to feel as if were in space, “looking down on the notes, and pulling them up from above.”  The goal was to make our sound ethereal, celestial,…mystical.  He also encouraged us to sway in time (since we wouldn’t be seen) to feel the 5/4 “maternal rhythm.”  More than once he urged us to sing with a lilt, to achieve an “interstellar” sound.  His insights were instrumental in helping us visualize the music. As we moved to join the full orchestra rehearsal, he quipped, “I will start with Neptune because I’m very nice.”  We were thankful!

Pianissimo is how soft?

Gwen with Richard Decker,
VP of Artistic Administration

Once we were off-stage with the full orchestra, it was clear that our pianissimo couldn’t be heard in the hall (the maestro stopped the music, with a hand to his ear, asking “the ladies” if we were in fact singing), so we were moved closer to the door (where he could keep an eye on us and monitor our swaying, as well!) and directed to sing louder, but still liltingly.  After some fits and starts, we finally got it right enough to be dismissed, leaving till the subsequent rehearsal to determine how to effect the fade out – turn and walk further offstage?  Have someone close the doors (which squeaked)?  Stay put but slowly raise our scores in front of our mouths? Luckily, by the next evening, the door noise was silenced – problem solved.

Performance

The Grants:  Kenny (Principal
clarinet) and Kathy (singer)

Months of anticipation culminated Thursday night, as we gathered for a final rehearsal in a nearby classroom, and then, nervous and excited, assembled off-stage after “Saturn” to await our cue.  It was a treat to watch the conductor’s wonderful facial expressions on the monitor, his eyes wide as he danced during the raucous passages. Our roughly four minutes, which we had spent countless hours rehearsing, flew fast, as we swayed under his (and Gwen’s) watchful eyes.  Our adrenaline running high, we strove to give maestro Francis the best lilt and the clearest tone, to honor his vision of this wondrous piece.  It was exhilarating, and we were touched when, after the music stopped, he blew a kiss to us and the orchestra. 

I was excited, as we joined the orchestra for a bow, to see such a full audience, all on their feet, whistling and whooping. And I am grateful to Gwen, who put so much effort into making this happen, and to Richard Decker, for believing in the group enough to hire us. Concentus will be performing the piece with the RPO again on Saturday night, and if you’re in town, you can probably still get tickets to experience this heavenly concert.  And I hope we will see Michael Francis back in Rochester again very soon...

¹ Wikipedia, Holst, The Planets, which itself quotes "The Planets" (full orchestral score): Goodwin & Tabb, Ltd., London, 1921