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when is a trio not a trio?
Apr. 28th, 2008 10:52 pmWhen it's a triple solo, of course.
Chorus Master T uses the phrase "double quartet" a lot. He had eight of us singing for the donors last Thanksgiving, and that was a double quartet -- and the thing is, that made sense to me, because two of the three pieces we sang were in four parts, and there were two of us on each part. The third was in eight parts, one on a part, which in my lexicon? is an octet. But calling the group a double quartet, no problem, I can allow it.
The semichoir, on the other hand ... I mean, I get it, I think. There are two semichoirs, actually: one for "angels", which is 30+ of us in eight parts, and one for "holy", which is four singers in four parts. They are clearly a quartet. But by what rationale are we anything other than a semichoir? I could make an exception for calling it an octet, since there are eight lines -- it's not an octet, but he could be referring to voices instead of singers. But thirty-three people singing an eight-part harmony are not, I'm sorry, a "double quartet".
He does get points, though, for -- after beginning three times in a row on a spot where the first sopranos come in all alone on a high G -- saying "Sorry about that, sopranos. But you're really good at it."
In other news, I have birthday presents. My birthday is two and a half weeks off, so I am resolutely not opening the box. But, eep! [is resolute]
Chorus Master T uses the phrase "double quartet" a lot. He had eight of us singing for the donors last Thanksgiving, and that was a double quartet -- and the thing is, that made sense to me, because two of the three pieces we sang were in four parts, and there were two of us on each part. The third was in eight parts, one on a part, which in my lexicon? is an octet. But calling the group a double quartet, no problem, I can allow it.
The semichoir, on the other hand ... I mean, I get it, I think. There are two semichoirs, actually: one for "angels", which is 30+ of us in eight parts, and one for "holy", which is four singers in four parts. They are clearly a quartet. But by what rationale are we anything other than a semichoir? I could make an exception for calling it an octet, since there are eight lines -- it's not an octet, but he could be referring to voices instead of singers. But thirty-three people singing an eight-part harmony are not, I'm sorry, a "double quartet".
He does get points, though, for -- after beginning three times in a row on a spot where the first sopranos come in all alone on a high G -- saying "Sorry about that, sopranos. But you're really good at it."
In other news, I have birthday presents. My birthday is two and a half weeks off, so I am resolutely not opening the box. But, eep! [is resolute]
