1: (Easy) No divisi in voice parts, accompaniment doubles or supports vocal parts, diatonic, symmetrical phrases, textures mostly homophonic, simple rhythms, stepwise voice leading (conjunct), moderate ranges, no extended techniques, and limited sustained singing.
2: (Medium Easy) Limited divisi, voices somewhat independent from accompaniment, some chromatics, phrases may be longer or more fragmented, mostly homophonic, moderate rhythmic complexity, some difficult intervals (disjunct motion), moderate ranges, extended techniques are simple, limited sustained singing.
3. (Medium) Limited divisi, unaccompanied, or with independent accompaniment (voice parts not doubled), many chromatics, phrases of varying lengths, more contrapuntal textures, moderately complex rhythms, some difficult intervals (disjunct motion), moderately difficult/challenging ranges, extended techniques are potentially challenging, and some sustained singing.
4. (Medium Difficult) Abundant divisi, unaccompanied, or accompanying instruments are fully independent from voice parts, many chromatics and/or key changes, long and/or broken phrases, potentially little homophony, complex rhythms, many difficult intervals (disjunct motion), difficult/challenging ranges, potentially difficult extended techniques, and a demand for sustained singing.
5. (Difficult) Adundant divis, unaccompanied, or accompanying instruments are fully independent from voice parts, many chromatics and/or key changes, long and/or broken phrases, potentially little homophony, complex rhythms, extreme ranges, use of challenging or unusual extended vocal techniques, abundant sustained singing.
2 reviews for How to Survive Winter (Choral/Reduction Score)
Christine Howlett –
I am always looking for more substantial pieces for Women’s Chorus, and this challenging four-movement work fits the bill. The combination of SSAA and string quartet is terrific – I wish we had more pieces like this in the literature. With gorgeous poetry by Julia Klatt Singer, each movement is unique in its ideas, character, dynamics, and articulation. The last movement is on the more contemporary side, and very memorable. I will be programming it again in the near future.
Hilary Apfelstadt –
Women’s Chamber Choir at the University of Toronto just sang the Canadian premiere of this on December 3, 2017. The singers were really taken with the texts and came to understand how much the music reflected the poems’ various meanings. It was a challenging set of pieces to learn but very satisfying in performance, and sung with a professional string quartet, made for a compelling presentation. Strong poetry and strong music are an ideal combination. The singers recognized how much they grew in their musical and expressive skills by learning this music.