December 10, 2011

A Bach Christmas

A recording of A Bach Christmas was sent to you on saturday morning. This recording was made on Wednesday and then overdubbed on Thursday. Please make a comment on this performance:

What is positive about the performance?

What could be improved? Please remember that this is an overdub, so levels may be a little off.

Respond by Monday, Decmeber 12.

31 comments:

Emily G said...

I think that all of the different parts work together very well. Our rhythm and unity is good. I think that something that needs to be worked on is dynamics. It is basically all one dynamic level with some small inflections but otherwise very constant.

Emily Armstrong said...

The intro right before the orchestra comes in is a little weak--the band needs to show off more! As a whole we should remember to look up constantly and follow Miss Minnis. We also need to remember to make more of a contrast with the dynamics. Overall it sounds really nice and I think we'll have a wonderful concert!

Arthur Cassidy said...

I thought overall it sounded pretty good. We all seemed to be together for the majority of the peace, and nobody was noticeably off beat. However the beginning was very weak before the orchestra came in, because everyone was playing at different paces. Also, like emily said we need to focus more on dynamics to make the song sound more interesting to the audience.

Chris Janson said...

The melodies are all recognizable, which the audience should like. The beginning with strings is supposed to be piano, but comes in pretty forte. Among the dynamics errors, this to me is the most egregious. The part in 4:4 feels like it really drags. A little later on, in the "oompa" part, 3 measures into joy to the world, violas have a b-flat but play a B and it sounds clearly off.

Alice Wang said...

Having the drums near the whole "Up on the Housetop" sequence is helping us a lot - we sound a lot more steady there now. Around 1:17 in the recording, the first violins had a little intonation issue probably because of accidentals and if we attack the notes in the last measure, it will sound like a much better ending. I agree with Emily A. - overall it sounds pretty solid.

Hanna Vossler said...

I thought we sounded good, but the beginning felt a little uncomfortable. We're very good at being forte throughout the piece, but not excellent at playing softly. I agree with Chris about the beginning- that was also something I noticed when we played during class. But overall, I thought we sounded great and I can't wait for the concert!

Victoria Eng said...

The strings come in a little too strongly and therefore, a little surprisingly. We also drown out the band, so I think the strings should tone it down a bit in the beginning.

However, on a more positive note, all of out parts fit together for the most part and we sounded like we were listening to each other.

Taylor Hart said...

I think that everyone was playing together well and that the parts nicely complement each other. The band really does enhance the performance, but they seem unsure so I think that it would be good if they were more confident. There was a huge jump in the amount of sound you could here in the very beginning between the parts where the band was playing alone and when the orchestra joined in. Another thing that would be good to work on is dynamics. The whole piece seemed to be forte and I think that some variation of dynamics would be good.

Ryoyoyoyoyoyoyoooo said...

I think individually, most of us know the parts pretty well. However, we still need to work on dynamics, and the cresc/decresc. With more of these, we will have a direction, and make the piece more interesting. I personally think the "O Christmas Tree" section is dragging, the cello/viola/bass entrance to "First Noel" is weak (can only hear tuba), and I think we can play the "Up on the House Top/Joy to the World" could be a little faster. Overall, with few more days to practice, and a full dress rehersal on Monday should prepare us well for an exciting concert! Though, for a great performance, we all have to enjoy the music!!

Haley Miller said...

It's so great to finally hear all the parts together. Some minor correction are that the first violins slide up to the a the A the second time we play the main we three kings phrase, which sounds kind of icky. Also the cellos were a little out of tune around 50 seconds in. Throughout the piece I feel like only the violins and the lower instruments can be heard, the 2nd violins and violas get lost. I know that sometimes the 2nd violins have the same part as the first violins, but when ever there is a difference, those harmonies should be played out a little more to provide complexity to the melodies that everyone knows. Over all it sounds like everyone knows the notes and rhymes so we have a solid base on which to perfect details this week.

Victoria Chao said...

The violins' intonation can be improved during the first few measures. Whenever we play notes on the E string, it sounds very harsh. During "We Three Kings", we played uniformly loud without any dynamics. The dynamics and intonation during "Noel" were almost perfect. The band and orchestra were completely in sync during the whole piece.

Rebecca L said...

I agree with Emily, the band's intro was a bit weak. Something else the orchestra should work on in is emphasizing the dynamics. It was pretty much the same dynamic the entire time. However, we were together the entire time and I can tell that everyone knows most of their notes!

Alex O said...

Overall, I think we played the piece very nicely. I think one way to enhance the piece would be to add more dynamics. I felt as though the orchestra was a little overpowering at some points, so if we could emphasize the dynamics it will sound more well-rounded. I'll also have to agree with Victoria--I think the best part of the piece was definitely "Noel" because it sounded very clean and everyone seemed to be hitting their notes properly.

Christine Inzer said...

I thought that overall we sounded nice but I agree that in the beginning we came in too loud. It's like the beginning of the song is so soft and peaceful and then we charged in. I couldn't hear the band very well when we started playing.

I think if we all work on our dynamics some more the piece is going to sound better but I think overall it sounds good.

Dylan Gilhooly said...

The songs sound well played through-out, except for a few dynamic problems. The biggest problem is that the violins need to play softer at the beginning because it covers the sounds from the other instruments. Other wise is sounded nice

Colin Flynn said...

The intro for the band seemed to be a little weak. The rhythm was good and the pace was steady. If we tone down a bit we will be able to hear the band more clearly. On the positive side we sounded good overall

Nick Vilter said...

Near the beginning of the song, the drums slowed us down a bit in the piece. General tempo preciseness could be better. When everyone has the same part at one point later in the song and then again at the end, it is important to stay together, listen, and keep our notes staccato because it got a bit messy. For basses and other lows during the later part where we have quarter notes, we need to get quieter and less harsh...that gave the song a bad feel to it.

Sean Lee said...

I thought it was an ok intro for the orchestra...but we need to find a better balance with the brass and strings. I like the tempo, but contrasting dynamics could make it even better. Some string entrances seemed to sudden, need to enter with a smooth transition. We could also work on melody lines, distinguishing who has melody. Also, phrasing with legatos and not making some sounds choppy would be nice. Can't wait to hear and play it at the concert!!

Connor Nackley said...

The song sounds fine but it needs some dynamic work in the sense that it really doesnt have a lot of dynamic effect to its overall feel

Matt R said...

Overall, I think we sound pretty good. At the beginning, however, I think we need to smooth the transition from band to strings. Also, the lower strings entrance at The First Noel could be a bit louder, because only the band could be heard. We do sound good together, and it should make for an exciting concert on Wednesday.

Nicolai O. said...

Like everyones been saying, I think that it was pretty good. We are all playing at a relatively steady beat, especially with the drums to helps us out. Our intonation also sounds pretty good but I do think the violins were a little out of tune when playing "noel." Also, I think that we need to make sure we watch our dynamics to make it more interesting for the audience to listen to.

Anne J said...

I think it sound really good. At first i didn't even realize it was the recording f us. I love the triangle in the beginning and all together our rhythm and dynamics were good, we got quite and loud as a a whole and nothing seemed to stand out. I think all we have to do to improve is play all the notes in tune and get the rhythms as close to perfect as we can now that we can clearly play the piece! Also the entrance is to sudden at around measure 6.

Owen B said...

I felt like the entrance of the rest of the orchestra, was very muddy and simply did not sound good. We need to be more precise on our notes and our rhythms at the beginning and when certain sections (basses, cellos, brass) who do not usually have the melody, have it. Our notes from the violins and violas sound good, but the bass's could use some work. The ending sounded very well articulated and we'll be great Wednesday night.

Daniel Traver said...

I think that all the parts fit together nicely and the timing seems pretty well structured. Although the orchestra comes in strong at the very beginning of We Three Kings. I think that if we are able to be soft, then we can come strong at the crescendo.

Alison Lui said...

The parts seemed to fit together and for the most part, we stayed together. The band in the first 7 measures before the orchestra came in seemed kind of weak and not together, and the orchestra came in too loudly. Also, like everyone else mentioned, the dynamics could definitely use some work. The intonation could too, but overall, it sounded pretty solid.

Kristina L said...

Ooh, at the beginning when the strings came in... I cringed. It sounded like we either weren't ready or weren't confident. Or both. Yuck. We played it well in a sense that you can tell what we're playing, but things like togetherness and dynamics would help SO much. I note some change in dynamics, but we can do a lot better. I'd specifically say that the band could use a little practice, but that doesn't mean we all can!

Emily Milukas said...

I think overall we did well. I agree with most other people that we came in weakly. However, I think we did a good job because it gave the allusion as Ms. Minnie said of the three kings comin from afar. I agree with the part that he band needs to be louder or that we need to be quieter. I am not sure which one but all and all I think we were great!

Graham Skeats said...

I think that the first couple of measures when only the brass was playing was a little weak and out of tune but that may have just been the recording. Overall I think sounded pretty good. The dynamics could be exagerrated more to produce a more interesting sound though.

lexi dodge said...

I think that the intro needs improvement. We could work on being a little softer and not so intense in the beginning. The dynamics throughout the piece could also use some work. However, I think that the notes and rhythms sounded pretty accurate and we sounded good overall.

Adrienne said...

The orchestra needs to work on overall intonation. This hasn't really changed and I think a little individual practicing could easily do the trick. The band should work on being in tune as well, sometimes they're not playing exactly with the orchestra and if a note is out of tune it sticks out. We also need to work on the rhythms because we aren't listening to eachother and it makes is sound like....we aren't listening to eachother. So we should listen to our neighbors and focus on rhythms! We'll be awesome at the concert!

Taylor Lindsey said...

we have the rhythm and notes down but it isn't musical enough. The dynamics are flat and there a little bits out of tune.