In Honor of Stephen's 10th Anniversary as Assoc. Pastor of Worship and Music, PCBC
Let Us Stand By Faith
by Benjamin Harlan
It Was God's Divine Providence that Brought Stephen to Us Ten Years Ago
Be Thankful, Rejoice and Be Exceedingly Glad
Home Rehearsal Assistance
Audio Recording made at the end of the April 30 Rehearsal
Audio Recording made during Stephen's tenth anniversary reception, May 14.
The goal of music notations is 3 fold. Learn note pitches, rhythms and lyrics. Learning these 3 aspects of the anthem will enable us to watch the director more and respond to musical interpretation gestures by the director.
Due to the very limited group rehearsal(s) for this anthem, the notations above contain some additional details not normally included in notations. These details include: 1) A few rehearsal notes discussed during the April 30 group rehearsal and 2) Ron Bowles' phrasing for this anthem (where to take a breath). The phrase breath mark (comma like symbol above the staff) in notation software is typically only documentation. It does not actually alter the sound in playback. In this notation, actual 1/8 rests have been inserted in the music score under the breath marks and the preceding note value has been shorten by an 1/8 note value. This allows you to see the phrase mark and to hear the short break in sound at the breath mark during notation playback. Hopefully this will help you know where to breathe and where not to breathe.
The musical text instructions written above the various sections of the composition, like "Majestic Cathedral March "above M1, "Joyfully" above M54 and "Heroic" above M69, etc. are my own and not Ron's so if something looks a bit off blame me and not Ron.
To enable Stephen to go from elation with our efforts to honor him on the occasion of his 10th anniversary at PCBC to absolutely overjoyed is how we sing/present this anthem at the reception. How can this be accomplished? Sing lyrics in the "sung" dialect and not some version of "Texana". Sing with tall vowels and articulated beginning and ending consonants. In particular C and G sounds at beginning of words and T, D, C sounds at the end of words, I'm sure there are others but you get the idea. And above all else, certainly no diphthongs or "-errr" sounds. Sing this anthem in the manner Stephen constantly reminds us of the techniques he wants us to sing/present all anthems.
Thank You! This has been a "friendly" public service announcement
P.S. Don't forget to SMILE!!!
Virtual Piano
Need a little more help with interval jumps or a note pitch, try the keyboard below
(you may have to ignore the first note tone)
