I forgot about Mozart...

I forgot how difficult singing Mozart can be.

I say that because as a person who has been singing for years, has advanced training, and has been teaching for over ten years now, Mozart just makes sense.  I can't sight read Mozart perfectly, but when I'm singing any of his choral or choral/orchestral works, give me two run throughs and things will be pretty solid.

Then I stand in front of my choirs and teach the Mozart Vespers (K. 339).  And sight reading is a beast for them.  But how often have they sung Mozart?  The singers who have sung Mozart before have said to me," Mozart just makes sense when you sing his music enough."  And I agree.  But what about the singers who don't have strong sight reading skills and have never sung Mozart?

So, I start them under tempo, have them sing on a neutral syllable, then add some shaping to a phrase or two, combine it with another vocal line, etc.  And I hope they catch on.  If it's a theme or something that comes back in more than one line, everyone sings it.  I introduce articulation, but very few singers hold onto articulation as they are reading, which is fine, because I keep reminding them.

But still, after the past few days of rehearsal, I was reminded that Mozart can be difficult to read.  I'm glad we had our concert February 24 and were able to start on the Mozart sooner rather than later.