Sing St John welcomes you to our Senior Singalong, Episode, 19.

My name is Winnie and I'm here today with Michael.

Hi.

Lucia.

Hi.

Gwen.

Hi.

And Bodicea.

Hi.

Today, we're going to sing three spirituals all at once.

“When the Saints Go Marching In” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

And, “I Want to Sing, Sing, Sing A Quodlibet is a song that harmonically combines several different melodies.

But the rhythms and melodies remain independent.

Today, we will sing a Quodlibet of three songs.

When the Saints Go Marching In Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

And I Want to Sing, Sing, Sing.

These three songs simultaneously allow for both sorrow and rejoicing.

I Want to Sing and When the Saints are commonly played together by Dixieland jazz funeral bands, transforming grief into what is truly a celebration of life.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was conceived in a moment of deep despair, which eventually led to glory.

According to John W Work Jr. of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Sara Hannah Shepard, a slave, gave birth to Ella Shepard.

When Mrs. Shepard learned that her master had intended to sell her and separate her from her family, she ran to the Cumberland River.

Before she reached the water, an old enslaved woman stopped her, saying, Wait!

Let the chariot of the Lord swing low.

God's got a great work for this baby to do.

She's going to stand before kings and queens.

Don't you do it, honey.

Years later, the adult Ella entered Fisk University and was a member of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, who did indeed stand before Kings and Queens.

It's important before singing to prepare our bodies, our minds and our hearts to do so.

So lets warm up together.

Let's start with posture.

Our backs are tall and ready for action.

If you're sitting, sit as tall as you can and place both feet flat on the floor.

Make sure your shoulders are relaxed and sitting right on top of that spine.

To do so, let's inhale and raise our shoulders up (inhale) and drop them.

If it's comfortable for you, raise one arm up and reach with that hand just a little towards the opposite side.

Nice, slow, deep breaths.

And then back to center and down.

Now raise the other arm up and lean with that hand just a little towards the opposite side.

Nice, slow, deep breaths.

Back to center and down.

Now will administer some self-love and massage the muscles of our jaw.

Circular motions.

Mm hmm.

And then bring the fingers down your throat from your jaw to your collarbone.

And gently massage the neck muscles.

All right.

Now that we're all stretched, we can shift our focus to breathing.

When you breathe in, you allow your belly and lower back to fill first.

Filling your lungs from the bottom to the top.

And then we'll empty our lungs from the bottom to the top as well.

This way your chest is proud and your back stays erect.

Ok.

Here we go.

Full breath in.

(inhale) Let's do it again.

Another deep breath.

(inhale) Very good.

Now it's time to vocalize.

(piano) Okay.

Are you ready?

Yes.

(piano) Breathe.

Keep your stomach tight.

Keep your back straight.

Just one more time.

Very good.

I hope I'm not giving you too many orders, but you were awesome.

(laughter) Now we'll sing this ending the word low.

(piano) Okay.

Your lips are round and your throat is open.

Let's go.

(piano) Breathe.

Abdomen tight.

Spine Erect.

One more time.

Very good.

Okay.

One last exercise for today.

(piano) Okay.

Let's try it together.

(piano) One more time.

Very good control of your breath your breathing, your posture.

Whew, A-pluses is all around.

Thank you.

(shaker sound) Two, three, four.

One, two.

Oh, oh, oh!

(laughter) Yes!

Today we're dividing us up into groups, altos, tenors and basses and sopranos.

But really, anyone can sing any part.

You learn it all.

I think we know, When the Saints Go Marching In, but maybe it’s been a while and a few words have slipped away.

So, Lucia, Gwen and I will refresh your memories.

They'll sing a few lines and you will repeat.

They sing.

You repeat.

Let's go.

You remember that, I bet.

Now let's sing it together through a once.

All right.

Time to give it a little more pizzazz, because that was too easy.

We're adding movement now.

You can do this in your seat or standing.

Get marching, ladies.

Feel that blood pumping.

(laughter) I do.

Lets sing it while we're marching.

I'll count you in.

(shaker sound) Two, three, four.

One, two.

Whoo!

(laughter) I'm awake now.

How about you?

How you doing, Lucia?

How you doing, Gwen?

(laughter) When we sing and march this song through five times, that would be an entire workout for the day.

You'll make up for all your steps that you're counting.

(laughter) So tell you what, I'm going to give the altos a little break while Michael and I work with tenor and basses on Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

You've earned it, ladies.

Thank you.

The tenors and basses sing, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, part of the Quodlibet.

This part is lower, and it's also less strenuous than the alto part.

So if you're having a low energy day or you need a gentler experience instead, try singing this part with us.

Really, anyone can sing any part they like.

Okay, Michael, you're ready?

Yeah.

(laughter) Michael and I will sing.

You repeat.

We sing.

You repeat.

Shouldn't be too hard to remember those words, right?

Let's sing it through together now.

Thank you, Michael.

Now don't go anywhere yet.

Us basses and tenors have a little movement to do also.

And it'll look like this with our hands while we're singing.

Okay.

Not too bad.

(laughter) I agree.

We have it pretty easy.

But don't tell the altos.

I won’t.

(laughter) You want to try that movement with us while we're singing?

Come on, give it a shot.

Okay, let's do one more thing.

Let's combine with the other voices and see how this fits together.

(other voices singing) When the saints go marching.

(laughter) Oh... Basses and tenors, that makes things a little more challenging doesn't it?

But I think you did a good job, so why don't we, you, have a glass of water, take a break and we'll come back and get you after Bodicea teaches the soprano part.

Well, Bodicea, this time the Sopranos have the lesser known part of the song.

So let's teach everyone I want to sing, sing, sing.

Line by line.

We sing, you repeat Oh, boy, this song is going to be so much fun to sing.

Let's sing it through together.

Great.

Now we add movement to the soprano part two (laughter) These movements will actually help you to remember the words.

So we have sing, we have dance and hallelu.

You know it's so good for our brains to sing and move at the same time like this just keeps the blood flowing and helps to oxygenate everything.

So let's sing the entire part together.

Yes.

And now go to the next part and it goes like this.

So we just added gates and standing.

So let's put those last parts together.

Now from beginning to end.

If you forget, it's okay.

Just try.

Great job, Bodicea.

Sopranos, it's going to be a work in progress, but keep practicing, you'll get it.

So now let's put our singing and movement together with the recording so that you can see how it fits in.

(other voices singing) Boy, I don't want that to stop Bodicea, what about you?

Feels good.

Get some dancing in there.

I know.

Okay everyone, we're almost there.

It's time to call everyone back into place.

So that we can sing the entire Quodlibet.

We start with the altos singing When the Saints Go Marching In.

Then we add the tenor and basses on Swing Low and finally The Sopranos on I Want to sing, Sing, Sing, with movement.

Okay, here we go.

Two three, four.

One, two.

(shaker sound) Two, three, four.

One, two.

Yes!

Woohoo!

We got it!

We got it!

Thank you for joining our Senior Singalong.

One day perhaps we'll sing together at a cricket pitch or at a football game or sitting in the park.

But until then, keep singing!

(piano introduction) Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night Good night to you all and sweet be thy sleep May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night May angels around you their silent watch keep Good night, good night, good night, good night.

Here I come to save the day.

I have been in places like Cost-U-Less or on the barge and someone said I know your voice, You're that lady who sings on TV.

I'm wearing a mask because of COVID.

I'm like, Yeah.

She's like, No, I know your voice.

I didn't count.

That’s okay.

And the blood is roaring in my eardrums.

Sing St. John, Senior Singalong I mean, it's amazing how many people my age loves it and they say, We love you all do that.

And I could tell you, Sing St. John, Senior Singalong What a challenge.

It sounds easy.

It looks easy when we do it on camera, huh?

Well, you need to be here.

Maybe we'll share some of the bloopers with you all this year so you can see what hard work is behind the scenes.

I look at everybody smiling when they are singing and I say how do they get to do that?

But Kristen has shown me how to do it.

And so now I'm more comfortable smiling when I sing.

I've learned a lot with the Senior Singalong.

You know that the part of intonation and opening your eyes wide in order to get the sound out a little better, & you realize that your facial reactions & your body movements had so much to do with getting the tones out properly.

I saw Annie and Bodicea and Gwen and Lucia, I saw them singing and I said, wait, what group is that?

And they sounded good.

I said, you know, I wouldn't mind being a part of that group.

And now here I am, part of the Sing St. John.

Thank you much Michael.

You're welcome.

Exit, stage right.

(laughter) (sigh)