"It is with sadness, yet again, that I have to announce the suspension of rehearsals for Dorset for Singing. I will, of course, resume the live sessions through Facebook on Thursdays at 6pm and hope that we will be able to get together and sing before Christmas. Although the 2nd lockdown doesn’t become law until Thursday, 5th November, due to rising rates, there will be no rehearsal this Wednesday for Dorchester. I really don’t want to put anyone at risk so hope you understand. It has been so good to get back recently, and we WILL return! Much love to you all, Ed and family x."
15 October 2020
Well, well, well. We are back. Masked, Brave and ready to sing! Peter helped us to set up, and perhaps we may enjoy more space next week.
Ed removed his mask and welcomed us warmly, saddened us with the news of no Christmas medley, and the news that Jack has passed his driving test we cheered. We cheered at everything apart from the sad discovery that our DFS website had been taken away by the webbly hosts. But there will always be a blog. I’ll pop any updates Ed requires on here.
Ed announced a warm up then tried to hit us with an ABBA number, but Jack put him right. Thanks Jack. Singing seated so separately made some of us feel shy. I sang into a sock and Jenny had her head in a bucket. Can’t wait to look back on this in a few years time!
On to SOS and encouragements to sing louder! We even tried some harmony parts.
Born Free is a very good singing exercise. It starts relaxed but builds tension. It is a little low for the men but there was only one male member tonight. Of course Ed sang with him. Be careful how you sing grass, it can come out a bit too Dorset. Free fall harmonies in ‘Ahhhs’ seemed a little too daunting for our very spaced out reduced choir. There sure is safety in numbers. The word ‘free’ must be sang with a big cheesy grin.
Life On Mars started just as I hit a power surge. And a power surge is not the thing to have while singing into a hot, moist sock! Ed and Jack found the right key on the piano and there were just a few little bits of harmony to try.
Ed thumbed through the song book and plucked out Whistle Down The Wind. Next was homework being set - at home, Sing Very Loudly.
We revisited One Day Like This one that choir has done a lovely job of in the past. Cue hilarious run through and 4 times faster and in the style of George Formby. Nice. Now lead off from the back like at school. Chin wags in the car park only!
Wow. Well done all. Keep singing! And louder!
Love from Cat the rusty blogger x
In the light of current advice ....
Ed has just posted this in the choir Facebook group ...
“Hi everyone. I'm aware that not all of our members use Facebook, but I'm hoping that this can reach as many as possible. As I'm sure you all have heard, this Coronavirus isn't making life easy at the moment and predictions are that it will almost certainly get worse. The government has advised that we do not meet socially but this is not enforced at the moment. Could I please ask for your opinions on where we go from here in the short term? We have two pending concerts, although the 2nd April still has a venue to be confirmed. Could you please comment below if you feel that we should cancel end of term concerts and also consider future rehearsals until further notice? I'm very hopeful that this unprecedented outbreak will pass quickly but I am also realistic and want to make sure we are being responsible when it comes to everyone's welfare. Please let me know you thoughts as soon as possible.”
You can also leave comments on this blog post. Love you. Stay safe and well xxx
12 March 2020
In the twilight zone, the funny time, or perhaps almost the time of being careful. Boris our prime minister is adding to choir confusion as we decide whether to postpone our concerts or not. Some dear members of DFS have already elected to stay away from the potential viral soup that is us. Even if we are hardcore enough to turn out for a concert, will our audience show up too?
In good news though new fluffy DFS fleeces are available to order and Ed’s looked lovely. Thanks for modelling that so professionally.
Good feedback from the concert on Saturday, and a good amount of dosh raised for the charity. I was too scared to go.
Three songs have been added to our Easter concert repertoire, Let It Be Me, Nella Fantasia, and One Day Like This. Did you hear the joke about the Elbow tribute band? I hadn’t either until Ed told us.
We began with Let It Me and seem to remember it and it’s parts quite well. There was just a little sorting out to be done, at the old piano. Then the choir master conducted from beneath the big giant words, with the backing track.
Next One Day Like This, and we suddenly remembered all those overlapping parts, and we listened to a super condensed run-through and the microphone died. Again. Proper music will be available next week for those that read it, as it really helps with the overlaps. The last chorus has three harmonies and an overlap isn’t it fantastic!
And up popped Nella Fantasia into our lives again, with a choice between dummies guide and real Italian. Guess which won the vote? Right at the end Ed whipped out the harmony part we didn’t meet last time we sang this song.
Then we thought we ought to rub through the ALWM to look at not-coming-in-too-late!
Well done DFS and keep singing even if we all have to take to our houses. The Cat xxx
27 February 2020
More changes reported following dialog re the Police Concert making us Headliners and them our support. This may not be exactly right even though we are taking the second half. We will no longer be singing an odd version of Do You Hear The People Sing for the song at the bottom of this revised running order -
Wild West hero
My Song is love unknown
Burning bridges
The Skye boat song/all around my hat
ALWM
The Impossible Dream
And Jack popped a map on the screen to show us the hall in Poundbury. And with an encouragement from our choir master off we went. ‘Ride the range’ still needed more confidence so it was time to break it down at the piano.
Ed ran through the harmony of Love Unknown and I have to admit it does not sound like the same song. M
Tapping feet from Ed reminded us of gaps and rhythms for Burning Bridges ... please make notes to help you remember what the choir master tells you. Otherwise he might have to go over it again. So he did. All Around My Hat may in-fact have cockney origins (how many choir members had a google?) but Ed felt that this song had both and Irish and West Country lily so marry those together in any way you can. Before slipping into a nice bit of Scots for The Skye Boat Song. Perhaps a few boxes of dressing up hats wouldn’t go amiss. I mean, won’t the police peoples be wearing nice police hats?
And the ALWM was upon us! After our run through we found we were making the same mistakes more than once. Again. Ed wanted more notes making so I blogged as hard as I can. Don’t you get me wrong sounded slovenly. Please come in at the right time. Everything’s alright. End of words or important in midnight. The men make it apparently. A little more harmony in unexpected song and the end of love changes everything always goes a big wrong because there’s a tempo change and some very different notes.
So we dug out The Impossible Dream which we remembered quite well.
Super well done DFS and fear not, we have another rehearsal before the concert, and several more opportunities to listen on line! Cat xxx
6 February 2020
We started with notices, when Ed announced his new singing workshop including members-only discount code. 10 til 4 on the 16th April this spring!
Ed has a huge problem finding a venue for our 2nd April concert *which must allow our customary raffle* as many places are booked or aren’t big enough. DFS members shouted out suggestions because we are helpful like that.
We discussed our dress code (very very smart) and the sort of structure for our police-shared concert and then we started with Wild West Hero ... the new backing track was considered too high but when Jack dug our the original one, we mostly felt it was too low!
So that went to one side, while we played with our ALW In Concert Medley. After a good set of reminders and working thru some sections in particular, choir gave it their best shot, in its entirety, and with the super sexy backing track.
All went really well apart from The Phantom which more than half of the choir sang in the wrong key. Spectacular rather. But wrong. Back to the piano to try and put us right! Well almost. People must really not peak too soon.
Burning Bridges and All Around My Hat have never been closely related in my time but it does work really rather well. But I did feel rather old. Some odd timings in the latter so Ed went over them for us to forget next week. Careful now.
And to finish we slipped into the The Skye Boat Song and it was all lovely and nice apart from no one does seagull impressions or wave a seagull on a stick. We could stand out if we did that at the nice police concert.
How hard you all worked tonight DFS, go home and have a nice ovalteen, I love you, Cat The Blogger x
23 January 2020
A very cold evening still resulted in a full hall of the lovely and not-so-lovely (Ed’s words), the anxious (waiting for DVDs) and the ones with smelly feet (also Ed’s words). Seriously. I don’t make this stuff up you know.
Then we whipped out our Andrew Lloyd Webber Medley which will be henceforth known as the ALW Medley because it’s not such a mouthful to type. This needs to be concert ready for March 7th guys!
We warmed up with Wild West Hero in order to make good use of our limited time together each week. We started when the choir master had retrieved his copy of the lyrics sheet from the person who stole them.
We worked on harmony parts, wished for coconuts, sang it through again trying to be ready for the bits that overlap. Perhaps the kazoos could come out of handbags again?
Jack popped the official choir website up on Facebook he screen to remind us of concert dates again it being only the second week back. We have been in the Echo this week advertising our good selves, and here is the cutting that got passed forward.
Then we whipped out our Andrew Lloyd Webber Medley which will be henceforth known as the ALW Medley because it’s not such a mouthful to type. This needs to be concert ready for March 7th guys!
We broke it down. And no one broke down. We worked on it a long time, sorting out parts, and erasing slides. And well. March is a long way away ... Ed has seen some improvement and kindly let us know.
Next Shine which was once performed on stage by a wee bunch of men-and-women-who-sing-like-men like 100 years ago.
Next either act like a fine Weymouth seagull or sing your way through Speed Bonny Boat our final song was the hymn My Song Is Love Unknown.
Well done DFS, not only are you on a par with tea and coffee but you are a proper lovely choir too. Now put this blog down and practice ALW ..... love you x
16 January 2020
So the year started with Ed as a piece of pop art and an argument about how old choir is, which I will always win by just asking you to scroll back and read the first blog post. This blog is 11 years old this month folks. Because I didn’t take over the blog until our second term.
Ed and jack showed all the concert dates for this year on the big screen, and all scribbled to write them down except me who was busy waffling on about something or other.
Some people want a trip but a chin wag is needed to decide what might me fun, and then we headed to warm up with a Dum Dum Diddley Dum! And other exercises some of which were not taken seriously at all.
We had 11 brand new songs to learn, including a hot new medley and it’s an epic. We began though with a hymn, My Song Is Love Unknown with the words writ large on the screen ... it was also rather sweet as another warm up before we looked at our medley. We had a little run through with YouTube. I wonder if Alexa has this in her armoury?
After listening to another choir try their best, and attempting to sing along we were pleased to start braking down songs with Ed and the piano and a slightly lower key. Phew. We have until the seventh of March to perfect that baby.
And for a change of pace we dug The Skye Boat Song out of the pile. It might be time for the return of Seagull-on-a-stick, perhaps?
Our last song to send us off nicely was Wild West Hero after Ed retrieved his dongle, and we checked how we should leave the chairs in our wake.
Wow well done DFS a good start to the new year, and the best is yet to come. Love you, Cat xxx
14 December 2019
For the Shire Fun of it!
And Ed looked fabulous, quite perfect as he stood in the dock, to conduct his marvellous choir.
I hope you enjoyed seeing all these jolly pictures, a reminder of the day we had the most fun you can have in a court room. Next time perhaps we can follow Ed’s lead and wear all the fancy hats too!
So two days after our concert at St Aldhelms the two choirs joined forces again, this time at Shire Hall in Dorchester. I was pleased to see we were singing in the court room and not the cells. That would have been a bit squishy but as you can see from these lovely photos we would have added a fine splash of colour to the dungeons down below!
And Ed looked fabulous, quite perfect as he stood in the dock, to conduct his marvellous choir.
This was our longest concert ever with only a short break, we even took requests as we had sang all our songs before our slot was filled. Everyone loves Jingle Bells.
I hope you enjoyed seeing all these jolly pictures, a reminder of the day we had the most fun you can have in a court room. Next time perhaps we can follow Ed’s lead and wear all the fancy hats too!
Thank you Michael Greenaway for the photography shared in these last two blog posts.
12 December 2019
The 12th Concert Of Christmas....
As we practice at St Aldhelms anyway, it was lovely to move up from the Church Centre to the Church itself and there was plenty of room for us and no one knocked over the advent candles at all. Well ok maybe someone did, as we shuffled about.
And didn’t we look lovely all next to the tree and the stained glass window. Jack and Jenny served mince pies and hot drinks to help boost our charity funds out in the lounge at half time, and a few of DFS best soloists sang after the intermission. Of course some other of our best soloists didn’t perform this year but we hope they will be back. We are sure their efforts help fill the buckets too.
We raised £370 for The Veterans Hub and the next day Ed said, “Yet again, massive thanks and appreciation to the wonderful people in Dorset for Singing and their supporters. What a belter of a concert last night, the moment that you started I was presented with a wall of strong, passionate singing. Even the kazoos stayed in tune! I'll let you know the total raised as soon as I know. Thank you again, hope to see as many of you as possible [at] Shire Hall, Dorchester. Much love, Ed x”
Have you had a lovely break Weymouth and Portland branch? For 11 years this branch of choir has been having their annual festive sing along in the familiar setting of all saints school. But for its 12th year we were looking for a new space to raise funds and raise the roof.
As we practice at St Aldhelms anyway, it was lovely to move up from the Church Centre to the Church itself and there was plenty of room for us and no one knocked over the advent candles at all. Well ok maybe someone did, as we shuffled about.
And didn’t we look lovely all next to the tree and the stained glass window. Jack and Jenny served mince pies and hot drinks to help boost our charity funds out in the lounge at half time, and a few of DFS best soloists sang after the intermission. Of course some other of our best soloists didn’t perform this year but we hope they will be back. We are sure their efforts help fill the buckets too.
We raised £370 for The Veterans Hub and the next day Ed said, “Yet again, massive thanks and appreciation to the wonderful people in Dorset for Singing and their supporters. What a belter of a concert last night, the moment that you started I was presented with a wall of strong, passionate singing. Even the kazoos stayed in tune! I'll let you know the total raised as soon as I know. Thank you again, hope to see as many of you as possible [at] Shire Hall, Dorchester. Much love, Ed x”
And I love you too. Well done DFS, both branches x
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