CRITICAL PEDAGOGY REHEARSAL PLAN

Conductors Name: E. Johnston

Ensemble Name: GRHS Madrigal Singers
Title of Piece: Ubi Caritas
Composer/Arranger: Ola Gjeilo
Voicing: SATB
Learning Goals (Objectives):
Behavioral: Students will be able to perform the notes, rhythms, text, and style of Ubi Caritas
accurately and with appropriate nuance and emotion.
Cognitive: Students will understand and apply the principles of Gregorian chant to their interpretation
of this piece.
Experiential: Students will encounter connection between ensemble members whilst singing this piece.
Constructivist: Throughout the process of learning and performing this piece, students will develop an
appreciation of chant and chant-based music, and have the tools to discover the inuence of chant in other
music in their own libraries.
Choral Concepts (Tone, Diction, Intonation, Posture, Breath, Phonation, Balance and Blend)
Because this piece is based on chant, it requires a free, open, resonant tone that is not forced or
manipulated, as well as a mastery of breath support to carry singers through the long lines. The unison
chant lines require excellent blend. The balance must be handled delicately so that one part does not
overpowerthis is especially important because of the close harmonies which will go out of tune if any
part is too strong or weak. Unied vowel sounds are important for tuning this piece, and consonants
must be timed together and propel the line forward.
Musical Concepts (Melody, Rhythm, Harmony, Form, Timbre, Texture)
This piece opens with unison sopranos, then altos, then women, then all parts in unison, breaking
into harmony and coming back to unison and breaking again. This texture may be difcult for high
schoolers who do not yet have full mastery of their own instruments. The tenors may have a harder time
with their harmonies as they do not always start on the same chord member, while most of the other parts
do.
Empowering Musicianship (Historical Perspective, Stylistic Integrity, Choral Artistry)
Ubi Caritas is a valuable tool for teaching plainchant in a modern context. It directly quotes the
original chant, which means that it can be pulled out as a stepping stone to teaching other chant. Teacher
and students could do a side by side comparison of the original notation and the chant notation as a
lesson on the history and development of modern notation. Throughout work on this piece, students and
teacher will discuss and apply the principles of chant singing to bring authenticity to their performance.
Process
Partner: (Differentiate instruction by collaborating with singers predicting the performance challenges.
Pose problems and brainstorm solutions together.)
What will be our challenges with this piece? Have students identify what may be difcult to learn, and
pose solutions as to how we may tackle the challenges.
Present: (Sequence of the rehearsal steps. Present the steps to scaffold and allow time for students to
practice independently on their own. Differentiate instruction through questioning, clarifying,
summarizing, connecting.)
Day 1 (H. Stanley teaches): Play recording, briey sight read
Day 2: Brief re-introduction/review of rst page. This is based on chant. Ask students to sing what they
recall from sight-reading briey at the last rehearsal. Brief discussion of chant: no bar lines, no
measures, free and easy sound, open, bright. I will sing as written on the page but without any style, then
with style, and ask students to compare the two performances. They will then try singing in the correct
style.
Day 3: Focused vocalizations (warm ups) on legato sound and tuning.
Ask students to summarize the characteristics of chant that we briey discussed last week write them on
the board and use them as a peer assessment for students. (Forward motion, tuning, light sound,
momentum, deemphasizing ends of phrases, clear diction, bright vowels)
One group sings the opening chant, the other listens, and discuss if they met the expectations they
discussed, then switch (SA then TB, or ST then AB, they will have the choice).
All students will sing m. 9-16. Did they meet expectations as a group? What could they do to improve?
Turn to pg. 7, m. 33-42: same or different? (almost same) Lets apply our improvements to this section
and solidify differences between sections.
New section: Et ex corde m. 28-32
What is special about this section?
Why might there be a unison in measure 29? What is special here?
Denition of text (sinceresinceruspure, whole, clean, genuine, sincere, uninjured)
What can we as musicians do to make this successful? Support, unied vowel
Day 4: Review of chant principles, sing rst section
-Go to the beginning of each section and identify solfege syllables. This will help the tenors especially, who
do not always start on the same part.
-Continually assess application of chant principles to singing and insist on excellent musicianship.
-Try the rst part from memory to get used to looking up and being with the conductor.
Personalize: (Make the learning personal to the singer. Provide opportunities for singers and their
conductor to collaborate as musicians and add value to their lives.)
Students will compare and contrast different Ubi Caritas settings and explore why they worked or didnt
work, what musical elements contributed to their success, and what elements they will select to bring to
their own performance.
Perform: (Demonstrate teaching music through performance.)
Students will perform this piece at the ACDA competition at Rutgers University on May 22, 2014, and
again at their concert on May 29, 2014 at Gateway Regional High School. We will record the rst
performance and watch and evaluate it before rehearsing for the nal performance so that we may make
improvements for the nal performance.
Assessment and additional notes:
Assessment will be informal, based on participation in discussion and rehearsal, change over time, and
performance. Students will self- and peer-assess through watching video footage of their performance and
applying changes to the nal performance. Students do not receive a grade for singing in Madrigal
Singers; it is for intrinsic benet.