There have been a few changes of personnel in The Newstead Abbey Singers recently, which has prompted me to rethink the seating positions of the choir. I discovered some years ago that this choir sounds best when the voice parts are mixed up and operated to a system that meant that everyone had someone from a different part next to them. The sopranos and altos stand on the front row in pairs as a rule and the men alternate tenor and bass on the back. I stuck to that for quite a while but as new people have come in the sound has become messy.
It is remarkable how the sound changes by moving just one person. Last week I changed the alto pairs and began the rehearsal with all the sopranos together. Later I moved one of the alto pairs to split the sopranos which instantly blended the two lines. I also swapped two of the basses and that also improved the bass sound. We rehearse in different venues from week to week. The available space dictates how we form up so it will give me a chance to try out something else this week.
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