Dancing Day: Extended Remix Edition

Gardner's Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day was not the total massacre I thought it would be on Sunday. It actually sounded like it was coming together, despite it being the first time we had properly rehearsed it, and in the absence of any rehearsal tracks. I'm still finding it difficult, particularly getting the rhythms of the second lines of each of the verses. And when it has been sped up to 180 beats per minute (as is annotated) then really, I have no hope in hell.

Anyway, in an attempt to try to learn the lyrics I searched and discovered that the carol actually goes on for several verses beyond what we have in our sheet music.

This is where it stands at present.

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;
I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play,
To call my true love to my dance;

Chorus
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love.

Then was I born of a virgin pure,
Of her I took fleshly substance
Thus was I knit to man's nature
To call my true love to my dance.

In a manger laid, and wrapped I was
So very poor, this was my chance
Betwixt an ox and a silly poor ass
To call my true love to my dance.

Then afterwards baptized I was;
The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
My Father’s voice heard from above,
To call my true love to my dance.

That's where it ends in our music, but the song actually goes on!

Into the desert I was led,
Where I fasted without substance;
The Devil bade me make stones my bread,
To have me break my true love's dance.

The Jews on me they made great suit,
And with me made great variance,
Because they loved darkness rather than light,
To call my true love to my dance.

For thirty pence Judas me sold,
His covetousness for to advance:
Mark whom I kiss, the same do hold!
The same is he shall lead the dance.

Before Pilate the Jews me brought,
Where Barabbas had deliverance;
They scourged me and set me at nought,
Judged me to die to lead the dance.

Then on the cross hanged I was,
Where a spear my heart did glance;
There issued forth both water and blood,
To call my true love to my dance.

Then down to hell I took my way
For my true love's deliverance,
And rose again on the third day,
Up to my true love and the dance.

Then up to heaven I did ascend,
Where now I dwell in sure substance
On the right hand of God, that man
May come unto the general dance.

I guess you can see why the subsequent verses are generally left out of the canon, much like the extra verses of God Save The Queen which could be quite offensive to the rebellious Scots.

And what does any of this have to do with Alesha Dixon? Nothing really, apart from the fact that (a) she is so pretty, (b) the picture is from the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special last year, so it is vaguely seasonal and (c) Strictly has started again. Yay!

Beautiful Girls

If you did end up watching The Choir: Boys Don't Sing and were wondering what song Imran sang juxtaposed with Stand By Me, I've tracked it down! It is Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston in the YouTube video above. Hey, I know I'm behind the times but I don't listen to pop music much okay?

You're way too beautiful girl,
That's why it'll never work,
You'll have me suicidal, suicidal,
When you say it's over.

Damn all these beautiful girls,
They only wanna do your dirt,
They'll have you suicidal, suicidal,
When they say it's over.

See it started at the park,
Used to chill at the dark,
Oh when you took my heart,
That's when we fell apart,
Coz we both thought,
That love lasts forever (lasts forever).

They say we're too young,
To get ourselves sprung,
Oh we didn't care,
We made it very clear,
And they also said,
That we couldn't last together (last together).

See it's very define, girl,
One of a kind,
But you mush up my mind,
You walk to get declined,
Oh Lord...
My baby is driving me crazy.

You're way too beautiful girl,
That's why it'll never work,
You'll have me suicidal, suicidal,
When you say it's over.

Damn all these beautiful girls,
They only wanna do your dirt,
They'll have you suicidal, suicidal,
When they say it's over.

It was back in '99,
Watchin' movies all the time,
Oh when I went away,
For doin' my first crime,
And I never thought,
That we was gonna see each other (see each other).

And then I came out,
Mami moved me down South,
Oh I'm with my girl,
Who I thought was my world,
It came out to be,
That she wasn't the girl for me (girl for me).

See it's very define, girl,
One of a kind,
But you mush up my mind,
You walk to get declined,
Oh Lord...
My baby is driving me crazy.

You're way too beautiful girl,
That's why it'll never work,
You'll have me suicidal, suicidal,
When you say it's over.

Damn all these beautiful girls,
They only wanna do your dirt,
They'll have you suicidal, suicidal,
When they say it's over.

Now we're fussin',
And now we're fightin',
Please tell me why,
I'm feelin' slightin',
And I don't know,
How to make it better (make it better).

You're datin' other guys,
You're tellin' me lies,
Oh I can't believe,
What I'm seein' with my eyes,
I'm losin' my mind,
And I don't think it's clever (think it's clever).

You're way too beautiful girl,
That's why it'll never work,
You'll have me suicidal, suicidal, suicidal...

Also, if you thought the remix of Stand By Me and Beautiful Girls in the TV show was inspired or original, you will find that it has all been done before with varying levels of proficiency.

Merry Christmas One And All!

A Christmas wish from the Pink Insider to all Pink Singers, new and old, active and dormant, and to all readers of In The Pink(ies): may happiness, love and peace be with you and your loved ones this season and in the year to come. I thought I'd share with you two of my favourite carols, both by John Rutter. I know Paul G likes them too; we've both been pushing for their entry into the winter 2008 repertoire. They are religious in tone, but Rutter himself is not a religious man. Instead he is inspired by spirituality - and thank goodness he is, for he produces some great choral music!

The video below is of Angels' Carol - my current favourite. It is a very popular choral work, at least judging by YouTube standards. I've selected what I think is the best of the bunch, but there are multiple different versions, mainly performed by church choirs, including an SATB version valiantly sung by a Korean group with only three tenors and four basses and one by a quartet from Rio de Janeiro, and an SSA arrangement performed by boys and girls (weird pronunciation and all - Gloria in excelsis Deeeooo?) in Hong Kong, and two mixed children's choirs in America. The lyrics follow, if you'd like to sing along:

Have you heard the sound of the angel voices,
Ringing out so sweetly, ringing out so clear?
Have you seen the star shining out so brightly,
As a sign from God that Christ the Lord is here!

Have you heard the news that they bring from heaven,
To the humble shepherds who have waited long?
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Hear the angels sing their joyful song.

He is come in peace in the winter's stillness,
Like a gentle snowfall in the gentle night.
He is come in joy, like the sun at morning,
Filling all the world with radiance and with light.

He is come in love as the child of Mary,
In a simple stable we have seen his birth.
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Hear the angels singing 'Peace on earth'.

He will bring new light to a world in darkness,
Like a bright star shining in the skies above.
He will bring new hope to the waiting nations,
When he comes to reign in purity and love.

Let the earth rejoice at the Saviour's coming,
Let the heavens answer with the joyful morn:
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Hear the angels singing, 'Christ is born',
Hear the angels singing, 'Christ is born'.

This second carol is What Sweeter Music, whose lyrics are based on a poem by Robert Herrick. I have to say that the version below is not sung quite so well as the version I have on CD, but it sure beats the other video I tracked down on YouTube performed by what I presume is a Vietamese choir since the girls are wearing the áo dài. Their harsh but oh-so-sadly deserved feedback on YouTube includes "Wow tenors, learn how to sing please. This was so out of tune." and "It made me tear up... and not in a good way."

What sweeter music can we bring,
Than a carol, for to sing,
The birth of this our heavenly King?
Awake the voice! Awake the string!

Dark and dull night, fly hence away,
And give the honour to this day,
That sees December turn'd to May,
That sees December turn'd to May.

Why does the chilling winter's morn,
Smile, like a field beset with corn?
Or smell, like a meadow newly shorn,
Thus, on the sudden? Come and see,
The cause, why things thus fragrant be:

'Tis He is born, whose quick'ning birth,
Gives life and luster, public mirth,
To heaven and the under-earth.

We see Him come, and know Him ours,
Who, with His sunshine, and His show'rs,
Turns all the patient ground to flow'rs,
Turns all the patient ground to flow'rs.

The darling of the world is come,
And fit it is, we find a room,
To welcome Him, to welcome Him.

The nobler part of all the house here,
Is the heart,
Which we will give Him; and bequeath,
This holly and this ivy wreath,
To do Him honour; who's our King,
And Lord of all this revelling.

What sweeter music can we bring,
Than a carol, for to sing,
The birth of this our heavenly King?
The birth of this our heavenly King?

Both this video and the one I've not embedded are salutory lessions in how difficult it can be to develop a mature choral sound. One breath, cover those vowels and keep them round and long, dipthongs to the very end of the note please! All choirs need the same reminders: take a look at these rehearsal videos captured from the viewpoint of an alto of a very generously proportioned man conducting an Australian choir. Musically it is better, but the visuals leave something to be desired!

Jenkins' Dies Irae: A Translation

We've sung Mozart's Dies Irae before, but we sang an edited version. If you know the Latin Mass you will be aware that it is actually much longer than that. According to Wikipedia, the Dies Irae is a poem describing "the day of judgment, the last trumpet summoning souls before the throne of God, where the saved will be delivered and the unsaved cast into eternal flames. The hymn was used as a sequence in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass until the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal."

In Latin:

1
Dies iræ! dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla
Teste David cum Sibylla!

2
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

3
Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulchra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

4
Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

5
Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

6
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit:
nil inultum remanebit.

7
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

In English:

1
Day of wrath! O day of mourning!
See fulfilled the prophets' warning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning!

2
Oh what fear man's bosom rendeth,
when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
on whose sentence all dependeth.

3
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
through earth's sepulchers it ringeth;
all before the throne it bringeth.

4
Death is struck, and nature quaking,
all creation is awaking,
to its Judge an answer making.

5
Lo! the book, exactly worded,
wherein all hath been recorded:
thence shall judgment be awarded.

6
When the Judge his seat attaineth,
and each hidden deed arraigneth,
nothing unavenged remaineth.

7
What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceding,
when the just are mercy needing?

In total there are actually 19 verses, thanking the stars we only have to sing seven of them!

P.S. For the translation of In Paradisum check out this post. Picture of The Last Judgement by Hans Memling.

The Requiem: An English Translation

I am so happy that we are tackling Jenkins' requiem this season. It is a beautiful, modern take on the requiem mass which so many composers have put their personal stamp on before. The Pink Singers sang Mozart's version not that long ago, so these lyrics are not really new to us. That said I thought it might be nice to have a loose English translation as a gentle reminder, especially for those of us whose Latin is non-existant!

I have only included the words to the Introit, Dies Irae, Lacrimosa and In Paradisum because those are the parts we will be performing for summer 2007, but here is hoping that we get to do the whole work, perhaps with the LGSO. That would be a dream come true for me!

Introit: Requiem Aeternam and Kyrie Eleison

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam,
ad te omnis care veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison.

Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
You are praised, God, in Zion,
and homage will be paid to You in Jerusalem.
Hear my prayer,
to You all flesh will come.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Dies Irae

Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

Day of wrath, day of anger
will dissolve the world in ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sibyl.
Great trembling there will be
when the Judge descends from heaven
to examine all things closely.

Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus,
pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem. Amen.

That day of tears and mourning,
when from the ashes shall arise,
all humanity to be judged.
Spare us by your mercy, Lord,
gentle Lord Jesus,
grant them eternal rest. Amen.

In Paradisum

In paradisum deducant te angeli,
in tuo adventu
suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te
in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
aeternam habeas requiem.

May the angels lead you into paradise,
may the martyrs receive you
in your coming,
and may they guide you
into the holy city, Jerusalem.
May the chorus of angels receive you
and with Lazarus once poor
may you have eternal rest.

The only choral parts remaining are the Rex Tremendae, Confutatis, Pie Jesu and Lux Aeterna!