Thank you for this opportunity to share with the orchestra some notes from last night's rehearsal. If anyone has any questions, everyone is welcome to reach out to me directly via email or call/text/WhatsApp: 919-744-4234.
As I shared in my message last month, please remember that with so much mixed-meter, the eighth note is always constant. Keep that eighth-note pulse running through your counting the entire time, and be aware of the various "macrobeat" groupings.
I got a chance to talk with a few of you last night, and almost everyone commented that the MIDI mp3 files made all the difference in counting and internalizing these rhythms. So if you've not yet used these, please please listen to them and practice with them this week. Everything will make sense, I promise! Individual parts don't look too tricky, but with so much imitation, it's easy to second-guess yourself.
Here are my thoughts from last night, both general and specific. I appreciate this chance to share; since this is a world-premiere performance, I'd love to be able to have a great recording that I can share with other orchestras who are considering programming the work — so again, no pressure, but...there's a lot riding on this, and I am grateful to each of you for "doing your part" in making it something we're all proud of and enjoy watching afterwards!
GENERAL
Tempi tend to drag, especially in the second movement. I'd suggest playing more "on top of the beat."
There are lots of staggered/imitative entrances that sound timid, as though players are second-guessing themselves. When everyone plays together — like in the "Royal Processional" (mov 3, mm ~152-164), it's glorious. But when you have different material from one another, the vertical alignment starts to pull apart.
MOVEMENT 1
Violas: you are ROCKING m. 49! Can the start of movement 3 be this tight and in-tune?
MM 88-108: please listen, count...and use those MIDI files up there; I swear, they'll unlock the magic!
Bassoon (and all): it may be helpful to note that mm. 97-98 (7/8 meter) are both a 3+2+2 subdivision.
Strings: please double-check pitches and techniques for mm. 169-179; there's some really creative improvisation going on.
Strings: the chord in mm. 252-254 is C Major with an added "D." Shoulder-held instruments are C-D-E, so violin 2s are the "color tone." Don't shy away from tight harmonies; they sound like mistakes if you do. Embrace and lean into them.
M 269: keep the tempo moving along here; it tends to drag (better last night than last week, though!)
Bassoon: moving along with more speed and agility in the passage starting at m. 342; let it be buoyant and dance-like, so it doesn't sound sluggish (which also makes it sound comical).
M. 352: Strings and winds, you have staggered entrances. Don't wait on one another, just play where you're supposed to play — it'll work out!
M. 434: Celli and basses, this was better last night...but don't be afraid! Trombones,you come in only one bar after the low strings, and the tempo is fast — so don't worry about it, just come in on Andrew's downbeats!
MOVEMENT 2
GENERAL: again, the tempo starts getting inconsistent throughout, especially whenever the bottom number of the time signature changes. It's like everyone's waiting on one another. Never stop counting that constant eighth note, because while it had some ups and downs, the tempo generally just got steadily slower last night: from m. 82 to mm. 163, we went from quarter = 82 to quarter = 74 (and its marked tempi are at quarter = 96 and 108!)
Horns: please really listen to one another and tighten the intonation at the opening, and around m. 66, etc. Last night, mm. 151-152 were STUNNING! Whatever you're doing there, do everywhere else!
Violins/Violas: please check intonation at m. 99, and lock into the pitches faster.
MM 142-148: for anyone absent last night, this is my fault — the engraving is bad, and I apologize. The rhythms are correct, but written very poorly. Brass (and strings, in a few bars): the second note is on the "and" of 2, but last week, you were generally playing it on the beat. (Note that it IS on beat 2 in the passage from mm. 156-168, but this time it's syncopated.)
M 182: this is getting better, but please, please keep counting eighth notes.
Brass: come in with conviction and accuracy at m. 204; this spot is scary. All brass players come in together with the same two sixteenth-note pickups, so have confidence in knowing that you're playingtutti.
MOVEMENT 3
Violas: c'mon, my friends! Please rock this opening. The tuning/intonation is really scary, and sounds timid and heavy. Think about playing the line, not note-note-note-note-note. It's missing an intensity and uniformity in the section. You guys rarely "get the good stuff," and for 40 bars, it's all yours! But this isn't a spot to "fake it till you make it."
Violins and violas: m. 103 has been rushing for weeks now, and last night I Realized what's happening. Make a BIG NOTE to yourselves that this is a 9/8 bar, so each note is a dotted-quarter. Elsewhere,this figure is a 3/4 bar, with each note a quarter. I realized that you're not rushing per se, you're just on "auto-pilot" and playing the 9/8 like it's the 3/4.
MM 140-152: Everyone (especially bassoon/celli/bass), please hone in on the recording (note that the timestamps for m. 141 is 3m28s, if it helps you get to the spot you're looking for) to understand how you fit in with the solo. Bassoon, note that bar 140 (the 10/8) is 2+2+3+3 (most every other 10/8 bar is 3+3+2+2).
Horn 1: Please check pitches in your solo at m. 193.
MM 207-210: Good news: last night, this transition went from "terrifying" to "scary." Bad news: it's still scary.
Brass (and everyone): drive through m. 209 to the end. It needs more energy. Last Monday, Andrew counted off a prep to begin at m. 233 ("one, two!") and both times he did so, the actual tempo when the orchestra entered was immediately slower than he had counted off. It just needs to be relentless from 209 to the very end, and then a gigantic final swell (strings can "brush off" with an upbow).
When everyone plays together, it's really fantastic. It's all of the in-and-out-of-the-texture stuff that gets disjointed and scary. (I'll mention on Friday about the concept behind the opening of the work...but meanwhile, just count and trust yourselves and each other.)
Thanks so much!
Michael
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