O Fortuna

To be sung in collaboration with the Black Rock Philharmonic

Thanks to Brock for the killer practice tracks, MOST appreciated. The three verses will be sung in Latin (see below for pronunciation tips from Madi, and reference recordings.

O Fortuna – Reference Recordings

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As things stand July 2024

We MAY do the O Fortuna twice with the BRP, Wednesday and Thursday.  Therefore, we will not go over notes/words/rhythms on Playa. If you want to sing w/ the BRP, you will have to be prepared. NOT memorized, but able to sing your part. In order for us to make this happen beautifully,  I’ll be spot checking your preparation on Tuesday after rehearsal and Wednesday before rehearsal, calling quartets at random.  

Here’s the thing:
The notes are not difficult at all. It’s actually only 3 parts max, unison octaves and some 2 part.   What will be a challenge for us is the lyric. There are no repeated lyrics and it’s in Latin.

Latin Pronunciation

Of all the Romance languages, Latin is the easiest, you can live by the rule of basically 5 vowel sounds:

A as in Ave or o fortunA sounds:  Ah as in father
E as in Ave or Semper sounds: Eh as in bed, said, wet – the open E sound.
I as in ‘in cruce’ sounds: ee as in bean, queen, dream
O as in O Fortuna sounds: o as in boat, float, toast
U as in O Fortuna sounds: u as in hoot, boot, toot

Pretty simple actually. For those of you with trad choral experience, you were likely trained in this. 

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You’ll find 3 different scores above. Brock sent me scores with higher voices and lower voices. (THANK YOU…!) 
On the SATB, I’ve written in notes about the pronunciation (in orange) and also the literal translation above (in red) so you know what you are singing about, which is really important! 

The most critical thing I think, (having never conducted/rehearsed/performed this before) are two things I can see:

Diction. You’re gonna have to spit the shit out of these lyrics. 
Tone production. I want you to walk around your house pretending you are a big ol opera singer. Listen to this piece and try to emulate this sound. You’d be surprised how simply mimicking can get you a big ol sound. And we can work on a big, round choral sound on Playa, but we truly don’t have a ton of time. 

The Playa Choir will provide you with a Black Folder. Let’s dress as ‘formal’ as the weather of the day allows, light/creme/white colors will work and give us a nice sense of unison. 

OK friends. Looking forward…!

Love,
M