Benedict's notes for Belshazzar concert

First Half: Choir Allocation and Seating


For the first half, we'd like to encourage a bit of good-natured competitiveness and choir pride by seating the choirs separately:

  • Bath Bach Choir will be seated on Stage Right
  • Bury Bach Choir will be seated on Stage Left


This arrangement applies for the duration of the first half only. The choirs will be fully mixed for Belshazzar's Feast in the second half.

 


Parry


The two Parry works are particularly demanding in terms of stamina, so we will split responsibilities between the choirs as outlined below.


I Was Glad

  • Bury Bach Choir will sing Choir 1
  • Bath Bach Choir will sing Choir 2

In addition:

  • Bury Bach Choir only will sing from letter E to letter F inclusive
  • At letter G, the Semi-Chorus will be sung by Bath Bach Choir only

All other passages follow the Choir 1 / Choir 2 allocation above.


Blest Pair of Sirens

  • Bath Bach Choir will sing Choir 1
  • Bury Bach Choir will sing Choir 2

 


Walton – Te Deum


A small warning before starting: there will be a few different editions of this work in circulation, for various reasons. A huge thank-you to the librarians from both choirs for their help in assembling these.
This means that some instructions here may occasionally seem difficult to translate across editions, but I will be on hand in rehearsal to clarify any queries.

As a rule of thumb, assume:

  • Bath Bach Choir = Choir 1
  • Bury Bach Choir = Choir 2

 

Specific Notes

Figure 4

  • Semi-Chorus = Bury Bach Choir
  • First bar of Figure 4:
  • Tenor and Bass 'Holy' for both Choir 1 and 2
  • Answered immediately by Sopranos and Altos 'Holy' for both Choirs
  • Second bar of Figure 4:
  • Bury Alto 1: sing 'Ho-' on C♭, then immediately jump to the 'Ho-' on A♭
  • Bury Alto 2: forte-(triple)piano 'Ho-' on A♭, then merge into the Semi-Chorus part
  • Seventh bar after Figure 4 (end of Semi-Chorus section):
  • Bath Bach Choir Altos: sing the second note for the single 'Holy' on D♭
  • Bury Bach Choir Altos: hold D♭ "-oth" and gradually turn into 'Holy' as all drop back to Choir 2 D♭ for this one word

Four bars before Figure 5

  • Semi-Chorus = Bath Bach Choir

Figure 6

  • Semi-Chorus II = Bury Bach Choir (written ATTBB; altos doubling tenor line may be optional – TBC in rehearsals)
  • Semi-Chorus I Decani = Bath Bach Choir
  • Semi-Chorus I Cantoris = Bury Bach Choir

Figure 16

  • Semi-Chorus = Bury Bach Choir
  • Semi-Chorus I Decani = Bath Bach Choir
  • Semi-Chorus I Cantoris = Bury Bach Choir

 


Second Half: Walton – Belshazzar's Feast


The second half of the concert will be Walton's Belshazzar's Feast.


Both choirs will be fully mixed together. Each singer should perform Choir 1 and Choir 2 exactly as if singing this work with their own choir alone, except where specifically noted below. There will be no division by original choir unless indicated.


Seating (second half)

Ideally, the seating plan for this second half will alternate two members of Bath Bach Choir followed by two members of Bury Bach Choir, so that everyone is sitting next to members of both choirs.
With many apologies — and huge thanks in advance — to both sets of fabulous concert managers for making this work.

The only specific musical points to note are as follows:

 

Specific Notes

Figure 8

  • The semi-chorus will be sung by Choir 2 for the first 9 bars.
  • After these 9 bars, the semi-chorus line will be taken by Choir 1 up to Figure 9.
  • At Figure 9, Choir 2 will enter together with the final note of the semi-chorus, exactly as written in the score.

Figure 43

  • In the fifth bar of Figure 43, the semi-chorus will be sung by Choir 2 up to the first comma, and then by Choir 1 for the remainder of the phrase.

Two bars before Figure 54

  • For balance reasons, we will try this passage with Bath Bach Choir singing and Bury Bach Choir shouting. (Bath – sorry for being a killjoy)

Figure 62

  • The semi-chorus will be sung by Bath Bach Choir, as they begin rehearsing the work two months earlier.
  • If rehearsals allow, Bury Bach Choir will be added to the semi-chorus

Figure 65

  • The semi-chorus will be sung tutti.

 


No other changes apply.

Please ensure these notes are clearly marked in your scores, and thank you in advance for your flexibility in making this combined performance work so smoothly.