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 This blog is for me to communicate with you, outside the haze of rehearsal, and convey some thoughts about our music making. I will try to post something monthly, more or less, pertaining to our current musical endeavors, our rehearsal strategies, our artistic philosophy, etc. I want this to be a dialogue, and a way to stir ourselves emotionally and intellectually when it comes to all things choral artistry.  - Andrew Burger

Fern Hill, Contemporary American Choral Music, and the Legacy of American Choral Tradition

10/9/2023

7 Comments

 
​This is long overdue, but then again, I do like to share this stuff in rehearsals when we aren’t so deep in the weeds of learning notes…

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Verdi’s Sacred Music: The Requiem and the Four Sacred Pieces

3/23/2023

0 Comments

 
​To anyone who has been paying attention in rehearsals during Verdi’s Stabat Mater, this piece has a lot in common with his Requiem, which also happens to have a lot in common with his operas in general...

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Brahms Requiem: Introduction to Musical Analysis

2/15/2023

2 Comments

 
​A thoughtful analysis of the form, orchestration, and choral arrangement. 

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Brahms Requiem: The Text

1/22/2023

3 Comments

 
​Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
 
From its very conception, this masterwork was meant to be fundamentally different from the traditional Requiem mass. [...]

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So You Want to Sing Messiah?

12/3/2022

3 Comments

 
On concert night there will be over 100 musicians on stage. When Handel premiered the work in 1742 he had 16 boys and 16 men (we assume that means boy sopranos, and something close to an even split of altos, tenors and basses) and an orchestra comparable to ours but of period instruments with gut strings, soft brass natural trumpets,

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A Few Introductory Thoughts

11/6/2022

2 Comments

 
​Let me start simply: I am truly grateful to be your new Artistic Director. I admire this choir, its history, its legacy, its community, and its musical contributions to our Capital Region. I have a vision for this choir, for its sound, for the kinds of choral singing I know we can produce together. Frankly, I have always had this vision of choral music, 

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​Octavo Singers of Schenectady
​P.O. Box 722
​Schenectady, NY  12301
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518-380-6938
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Artistic Director
    • Accompanist
  • Concerts & Events
    • Upcoming
    • Past
  • Media
    • Read
    • See
    • Listen
    • Watch
  • Donate
  • Support
    • Advertise
  • Join
    • Respiratory Illness Precautions
  • Scholarship
  • Contact
  • Members