Old Irish Blessing
by Angela Lee
1. Text
1.1. Sacred text--Must be careful of student's religion/school policy.
1.2. "May The Road Rise Up to Meet You"-Traditional Gaelic Blessing
1.2.1. Ancient Celtic Prayer
1.2.2. Alludes to wind, sun, and rain.
1.2.2.1. "Wind"-Spirit of God who came as "mighty wind" at Pentecost
1.2.2.2. "Sun"- Warmth of prayer reminds us of tender mercies of God
1.2.2.3. "Rain"-Soft falling rain speaks of God's provision and sustenance.
1.2.3. About God's blessing for your journey
1.2.4. May your walk be an easy one with no huge mountains to climb or obstacles to overcome
2. Proper Humming
2.1. Have the same "ah" space with just closed lips around
2.2. Keep same resonance/support as if singing normally
2.3. Try to keep tongue flat
2.4. Resonance Trick: Have students hum, then have them touch upper and lower teeth together while humming. If they feel a "tingling" sensation, then they are properly resonating their hum.
3. Rhythmn
3.1. Many instances where all voices have same rhythmn.
3.2. Rhythmn is not complex, but can sound muddy/sloppy if students are not subdividing on their own.
3.3. Have students sing on "doo" together, to ensure their rhythmn is still accurate and together throughout piece.
4. Form
4.1. A Section: Women have melody, Men hum.
4.2. B section: SATB --refrain
4.3. C section: SATB-- bridge
4.4. D section: Men have melody. Women hum.
4.5. E section: SATB--ending
5. Composer: Denes Agay
5.1. 1917-2007
5.2. Piano Prodigy
5.3. Moved from Hungary to America
5.4. Known for teaching collections, anthologies, and texts for piano study
5.5. Wrote this piece for daughter Susan on her 17th birthday
5.5.1. Have students think of someone they would sing this to. What does this piece mean for them?
5.5.2. Share my experiences with this piece--Graduation, funerals, etc.
6. Diction
6.1. Bring final consonants to the beginning of following words to create smooth line
6.2. Final "hand"--close off n or hum n followed by a shadow vowel for the "d"
6.3. Sing pure vowel as long as possible. Do not gravitate to consonant to early. (Words like palm, warm, fields, Lord, and until)
6.4. Avoid singing dipthongs!
7. Tone
7.1. Warm color
7.1.1. Tall, vertical vowels
7.1.2. "Domey" sound
7.2. Aim for as "heady" of a sound as possible
7.2.1. Avoid using too much mixed/chest.
7.2.2. The more space, the better.
8. Blend
8.1. LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN
8.1.1. Listen for who has melody and when.