Chris Rowbury's monthly music round-up (January 2025) issue #114
Happy New Year and welcome to the January edition of my monthly music round-up.
Thanks for signing up and I do hope you enjoy these little snippets.
If a friend has passed this onto you, you can sign up to get your own copy in future by subscribing with your email address.
If you come across something that you think I should be sharing, then just drop me a line: chris@chrisrowbury.com
The ice-breaker effect: singing mediates fast social bonding
“We argue that singing may have evolved to quickly bond large human groups of relative strangers, potentially through encouraging willingness to coordinate by enhancing positive affect.” Basically, singing can bond a group of strangers quickly without the need to know anything about the other singers. Magic!
Intervals and solfege hand signals
This is a useful video to practice your ascending major intervals and to learn Curwen hand signs.
Once you've mastered that you can move onto the descending major scale:
You can find much more on Dot's Singing YouTube channel.
Compelling new podcast delves into intriguing stories of Gaelic song
"Deirdre Graham, best known for her contemporary take on traditional Gaelic songs, is expanding on her passion of the melding of old and new with a compelling new podcast series, Gaelic Song Stories. The six-part series will delve into the rich history of Gaelic song and feature interviews with a range of Gàidheals, who will enlighten listeners with their extensive cultural knowledge."
Here you can find all episodes of the podcast …
Everybody ought to treat a stranger right
This song, Everybody ought to treat a stranger right, by Blind Willie Johnson dates back to 1930. The chorus is: "Everybody should treat a stranger right, a long way from home." Apparently "the verses comment on that idea, notably with reference to the Three Wise Men offering gifts to the Christ-child in the manger." Especially relevant in these days of awful anti-immigrant rhetoric.
You can hear a recent version by Moira Smiley here:
When the song dies
The 15-minute film When the song dies "explores the elemental link between folk songs and local culture for the Gaelic-speaking inhabitants of the Machars, a Scottish peninsula in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Galloway."
Read more and watch the film …
A choir at the crossroads of boyhood and manhood
This article and documentary in the New Yorker is a lovely, beautiful testament to adolescent singing and boys at this age. If you haven't seen it, take 28 mins. to watch.
17 (last-minute) things to avoid – to ensure a smooth concert!
If you've got a concert coming up next season, these might help.
This church is paying ‘royalties’ when it sings spirituals composed by enslaved Africans
“As a national reckoning with racism has grown over the last year or so, members of the United Parish began asking whether it was appropriate for the predominantly white church to sing these songs. To address those concerns, the church introduced a unique program to help carry on the legacy of this music in Roxbury, and they're hoping to be a model for others.”
A blog post you might have missed
Trying to please all the people all the time
When planning a singing workshop, I try to take account of who might be coming and try to choose songs so that the participants will always be learning something new.
Similarly with concerts. I don’t want the occasional concert-goer to think that we sing the exact same songs at every concert. And I don’t want the regular concert-goer to hear exactly the same songs as the last time they came.
No, you can’t please all the people all the time, but that doesn’t mean that you should stop trying.
By bearing in mind your audience, your choir members, and your own tastes (and sanity), you will inevitably come out with a healthy balance which will please most of the people pretty much all of the time. Good luck!
Song of the month
Что так тяжко, что так важко (“It’s hard for me”) is a song from the Belgorod region, Russia.
It's hard and sad for me to live without my darling
Go and bring him to me, I love him dearly
I fell in love with Vanyusha
Vanyusha has a curly head
He's curly
His curls curl beautifully in rows
Found this newsletter helpful?
I provide this content free of charge, because I like to be helpful.
If you have found it useful, you may like to buy me a coffee to say thank you.
www | blog | facebook | twitter | youtube | pinterest | email