Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Mary, Joe, and that Fella from the Sky

Welcome back! Just for the record, the key players in our musical are the Angel Gabe + Mary and Joe, the young couple who are unexpectedly about to have a baby; the Shepherds, who are watching their flocks by night and are dying for something to bring them out of the drudgery of herding sheep; the Wise Men, three best friends who have lived a difficult life and who are seeking the fame, fortune and glory that they believe they finally deserve; and the Angels, who help to connect these ragtag characters together. Yay!

So last night we had our first singing rehearsal with Gabe + Mary + Joe. It went really well! First off there was a song involving all three characters. Just as with the Shepherds the night before, there was some work to be done as the song involves some intricate overlapping of voices, as well as a pretty wide range that had to be covered by all three performers. We ended up having to lower the overall key a notch, if only to allow our Joe to hit the high notes in this little moment of song. Here's a rehearsal clip of Joe, with Gabe performing the background melody, in a lower key from what I had originally written (sneak preview alert!!!):



It's always a thrill when you put performers together and hear them attempt a song in their own voices, putting their own touches to it. Certainly this was the case when Mary and Joe tried out one of their duets from the show. As a special bonus, here's another sneak preview, this time a snippet of their first rehearsal session together performing a love song. (That white blob on the left is yours truly at the piano. Arf.) Enjoy!!

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