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I've been asked to start a thread to find out what we would like to play for a Christmas or Winter Holiday Group Project.
I KNOW we can find some music WE AGREE UPON - music we love & want to participate in for this upcoming Holiday!
Many of us want a Group Project, so PLEASE don't be concerned with any technical issues pertaining to any potential arrangement, we leave ALL that up to Fiddlerman - including trusting him to make it easy enough for us to play!
Once we have a small variety of suggestions please help by choosing from one of them. PLEASE DON'T add more (unless you absolutely hate all presented) - or we'll never come to agreement.
- Emily
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Here's a Christmas Medley suggestion to get us started!
SURPRISE - there's more to this medley than you might think (listen)! You can even slow the video to .75 and I think you'll see possibilities... It's pretty amazing!
Remember, there will ALWAYS be easy parts for members to play!
Anyone interested in something fun like this for our GP?
- Emily
Okay... I'm going to have to learn this one, even if it's just by myself!
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Corelli’s Pastorale from his Christmas Concerto (Concerto grosso in G minor, op. 6, no.8)
Since we’re talking Christmas music:
Hymns of the Nativity, volumes 1 & 2, arranged by Catherine McMichael, are a nice arrangement of traditional tunes. Sample audio of O Come, O Come Emmanuel is on the webpage (can be played without piano).
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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SharonC - SO Nice! Thank you!
The 2nd audio sample from your "Hymns of the Nativity" link is "Sing We Now of Christmas" also known as "Noël Novelet".
I'd forgotten how great this sounds! ...of course I like ALL things Christmas.
Ilona - did you check out this cello?
...this Carol might be wonderful played in a "Round".
- Emily
kathy mcconville - please check some of these out.
Anyone liking any of these? Jump on!
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There's always the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. Or, maybe easier to pull off, the Pastoral Symphony from the same oratorio.
I'm partial to the older Christmas songs: perhaps the famous ones by Praetorius? (I'm thinking of "Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen" and "In dulci jubilo.")
I also like the Gloucestershire Wassail. It's one of the first Christmas songs that come to mind for me because, when I was an undergrad, the Caltech Chamber Singers would always open their holiday concert with it, singing it while walking down the aisles to the stage.
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Thank you AndrewH - great suggestions!
Some members may not be familiar with some of those, so here you go.
Pastoral Symphony from Handel's Messiah
Gloucestershire Wassail
A little different version for strings.
Anyone want to talk about ANY of these suggestions so far?
- Emily
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ELCB said
The 2nd audio sample from your "Hymns of the Nativity" link is "Sing We Now of Christmas". I'd forgotten how much I like that! ...of course I like ALL things Christmas.
Emily,
I didn’t even know there was a second sample now. When I bought the volumes a couple of years ago, I’m pretty sure they only had the one sample. I like Sing We Now of Christmas, too.
I’m liking Andrew’s suggestions of Handel & Praetorius as well. Here are a couple of other arrangements of In Dulci Jubilo (violin & cello duet) and Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming)(quartet)
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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Thanks SharonC - those really help! I deleted the two I found - they weren't good examples.
I'm going to stir the pot a little with "What Christmas Means to Me" (Pentatonix).
Don't worry about all the flats - there's ALWAYS another key!
Another medley (there's 1 in my #2 post) "Traditions of Christmas" (Stephan Bulla).
- Emily
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Just my two-penny worth:
Presented here as a quartet arrangement.
Peter
"It is vain to do with more that which can be done with less" - William of Ockham
"A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in" - Frederick the Great
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Andrew
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@Emily A suggestion I made last year, albiet too late (little drummer boy had
already been chosen).
suggested WEXFORD CAROL, a very old carol from Wexford Ireland???
composer unknown,saw on internet beatifully done by Alison Kruse,
and Yo To Ma, Due to my own timing issues, I doubt I will I wiill try
JPRYAN
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ALL FM FORUM MEMBERS
Please take a look at the variety of Christmas GP suggestions we have.
Would you like to play a part in one of these?
PLEASE HELP NARROW the selection down - to get the process rolling.
We ALL want a Group Project - lets find solidarity in a selection!
If we can do this we'll be 99% on our way to a CHRISTMAS Group Project.
- Emily
btw... indifference = no GP
Also, new suggestions are not helpful at this point! ...unless you absolutely hate ALL that's been presented.
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Look, there are never more than a handful of people responding to these threads. There is still ALWAYS a Christmas project. Most people, including me, are in favor of "any of the above."
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Things change...
You saw what just happened to a Halloween GP.
Right now, Indifference = no GP.
Even getting a selection narrowed down is a HUGE help for now.
- Emily
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AndrewH said
Most people, including me, are in favor of "any of the above."
Or, to put it another way, I hate choice.
And this is one of what seems like at least 3 threads about group projects, listing many dozens of possibilities with far too much range - some people seem to have listed any and every song they vaguely like.
Tell me what to do and I'll do it, unless I hate it, which is quite possible.
Andrew
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My vote: 1-- Medieval/Renaissance. Specifically, I’ll vote for “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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My vote is for (2) - Baroque / classical. Specific piece: Handel, "Messiah" Christmas sections (narrowing it right down, "Unto Us a Child is Born").
The SATB parts can be played by the apprentice strings, the heavyweight string load carried by the more adept journeymen; just mark-up Handel's score appropriately.
Peter
"It is vain to do with more that which can be done with less" - William of Ockham
"A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in" - Frederick the Great
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Sorry, I will not vote. I am almost completely indifferent to what we play, as long as we play something. I do not even think it is appropriate for me to vote at all. (I do like Mele Kalikimaka, it might even be fun to dress the part if I can find a lei somewhere. I've played an orchestral arrangement before. That means there is something I like a lot in each category.)
Note that I will literally not object to anything, even if I hate it, unless it is truly offensive to a large group of people. My first participation was the Game of Thrones theme, which is one of the few TV themes I strongly dislike.
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Thanks for providing a start to this discussion, Emily. The suggestions thus far from forum members have included some enjoyable and exciting pieces, including various eras for consideration. There’s a lot of material to work with, and as others have shared, narrowing these choices down is no easy task. As in the past, though, the majority of players will “show up” once a tune has been chosen and the individual parts posted, even though they may not comment on the forum ahead of time. This could also depend on who’s actually arranging the parts for whatever piece is selected. It could be that Emily, as facilitator, sends @Fiddlerman a short list of 3-5 holiday tunes that have generated the most buzz from forum members by such-and-such a date in late-September, early-October, or whenever. Then, Fiddlerman can use his instincts to pick the one tune that might fit the group best, especially with regard to the level of arranging he would need to do on any given piece. (If Fiddlerman *isn’t* arranging this year’s holiday tune, then this process could be replicated with whomever *is* doing the arranging.) In any case, the holiday tune selection could be done in consultation with the arranger, since they’ll be the one doing the heavy lifting. This could alleviate any undue pressure on forum members’ end about picking “the right” piece. As others have said before, people would probably be happy with most anything that’s selected, as long as the arrangement allows them to participate successfully and contribute to the project. It could be that posting a deadline for gathering song suggestions from forum members, and then sending the top choices to Fiddlerman, might streamline the process while still being equitable to forum members’ opinions.
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by all means, put me down as a vote for cat #1
Be advised, I do not hate music or I would not be here
My rational for like or dislike of music, really depends on
what my ears hear, inthis case depends on.. do I
hear the musical celabration of the oldest of a birth event
in human history or not. What ever Fiddlerman choses
will be fine with me. I would be happy to particpate if
it comes out in time for me to put my nose to the grindstone
to practice and deal with my timing/tempo issues
JPRyan
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