Paulus

Next semester, the Capella Carolina will be singing Mendelssohn's Paulus, which is probably a nice piece, although I don't know it. Yesterday I got a first impression during rehearsal: it's not a capella, which means easier pitch-keeping and more pauses, it's not as extreme in dynamics and range as Rachmaninoff's liturgy, which means easier singing, and it's in German, which means easier text-learning for most. So, it's a lot easier, which will mean more attention for details, more perfectionism, and probably better performances. But still: I want to sing more Rachmaninoff! And then they tell me that on February 25, they're going to sing the old programme again, and I'll be in a car learning to drive :(.

Oh well, I'm sure I'll learn to appreciate Paulus. What we sang yesterday reminded me somewhat of the Christmas carols we've been singing, as far as melodies (typical basslines) and text are concerned. It is of course a lot more 'advanced', with more rhythmical interplay between voices, more variation, etc.. Most people I've asked about it who knew it were very enthousiastic, and the prospect of actually having time to work on singing technique a little bit is also nice. The conductor said that everybody who is going to participate in the performances will get some sort of 'audition', to see what could be improved in their singing. He added: "Es tut kein Weh, und es gibt sogar manche Leute, die 40 Euro dafür zahlen würden..." :p.