Thespis - Chorus Practice

Photo: Mark Welker

Thespis
or The Gods Grown Old

Words by W. S. Gilbert
Music by Alan Riley Jones
(and Arthur Sullivan where indicated)
Copyright © Alan Riley Jones, all rights reserved.

The Durham Savoyards, Ltd., presented Thespis in a double-bill with
Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury, October 12-15, 2017, East Chapel Hill H.S. Auditorium, Chapel Hill, NC.

Using the Chorus Practice Materials

For each chorus number in the show, begin in the table below with the demo recording corresponding to your choral part, which isolates your part against subdued principals and accompaniment. Listen and sing along with the highlighted part until you are confident. Then try the Tutti recording to see if you can hold to your part when all choral parts are sounding together. Work back and forth between part and Tutti as needed.

Change Tempo slider: You can slow the tempo of the playback by sliding the light blue knob on the above "Change tempo" slider to left and right along the track. Tempo begins at 100% at the right end and changes by 1% increments to a minimum of 50% at the left end. Note that slowing the tempo introduces distortion into the audio playback. (Supported in Firefox, Chrome, and Opera web browers.)

This page contains audio examples from chorus numbers only. You can hear the entire score in either of two versions:
or

Pg and Ms columns give the page and measure number where the selection begins (sometimes with a pickup note or notes from the preceding measure). Refer to the measure number given at the start of each system in the vocal score, and count forward to the measure containing the quoted lyrics. Page and movement numbering correspond to the 2018 publication version of the vocal/piano score. Contact the composer for more information.

Which chorus is which? There are several distinct choruses in this score. Be sure look in the Chorus column of the table below to differentiate which cues pertain to you, and not to some other portion of chorus.

Thespians (SATB with occasional divisi), portraying members of Thespis's acting troupe, appear in Nos. 7, 8, 10, 11, and 17. They sing where the score is labeled "Thespians," and join with the entire ensemble where marked "Tutti" or "All." Where not otherwise specified, "Chorus" refers to the Thespian Chorus.
Stars: (SSA) sing the opening chorus (No. 1, "Throughout the Night"), and may join the Thespian and/or Olympian Chorus after exiting the opening number.
Olympians (SATB with optional divisi), portraying additional gods, goddesses, and other denizens of Olympus, sing during Nos. 5, 10 and 17. They sing where the score is labeled "Olympians," and join with the entire ensemble where marked "Tutti" or "All."

To listen to a sound file, click one of the buttons found to the right of the selection you wish to hear. Playback can be controlled via the audio player located at the top of the page next to the menu. (Or click the down arrow ↓ beside the button to play the MP3 file in your browser's audio plug-in, assuming your browser is setup to play rather than download such a file.) Button colors indicate vs. vs. (by the Durham Savoyards, Ltd.) Hover on underlined "• (Live...)" text in Selection column to see a cast listing. (Due to copyright considerations, excerpts from the Durham Savoyards' live performance are not offered for download.)

Pg	Ms	Selection	Chorus	Time	Tutti	Soprano		Alto	Tenor	Bass
Act I
		1. Throughout the Night the Constellations	Stars
12	28	• "Throughout the night, the constellations"		1:49	↓	↓	↓	↓
11	1	• (Full Length)		3:10	↓
11	1	• (Live - Durham Savoyards, Ltd.)		3:16
		5. Oh, Incident Unprecedented	Olympians
30	75	• "They seem to be more like a 'Cook's Excursion.'" (1st chorus cue)		0:24	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
34	109	• "My lunar rays, unhappily, are mighty..." (2nd chorus cue)		0:44	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
23	1	• (Full Length)		2:36	↓
23	1	• (Live - Durham Savoyards, Ltd.)		2:51
		7. Climbing Over Rocky Mountain	Thespians
47	17	• "Climbing over rocky mountain" (opening choral section)		0:52	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
53	77	• "Hail it as a true ally" (1st reply to solos)		0:15	↓	↓
56	105	• "Greet them gaily as they fly" (2nd reply to solos)		0:13	↓	↓
59	141	• "We'll be gods and make decrees" (3rd reply to solos)		0:15	↓	↓
60	152	• "Fill the cup and tread the measure" (ending choral section)		1:03	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓	↓
47	1	• (Full Length)		4:05	↓
47	1	• (Live - Durham Savoyards, Ltd.)		3:45
		8. I Once Knew a Chap	Thespians
74	138	• "Or stopped all night in the middle of a tunnel"		1:18	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
81	222	• "He followed out his whim with vigor"		0:51	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
67	1	• (Full Length)		3:27	↓
67	1	• (Live - Durham Savoyards, Ltd.)		3:52
		10. Act I Finale
		For Thespian Chorus
95	63	• "To mother earth to make a track"	Thespians	0:36	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
100	105	• "'Tis mine the task" (1st stanza) / "By my fair rays" (2nd stanza)		0:26	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
104	136	• "When armies meet" (3rd stanza) / "From mere oblivion" (4th stanza)		0:26	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
107	159	• "Here's a pretty tale" (at Letter L)		0:32	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
110	183	• "We will go down below" (at Letter M)		0:27	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
114	207	• "Now to set the world in order" (at Letter O)		0:41	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
94	51	• (Thespians Section - Letter F to End)		4:50	↓
		For Olympian Chorus
108	167	• At Thespians' "Now to set the world in order"	Olympians	0:18	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
110	183	• "We will go down below"		0:32	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
114	211	• At Thespians' "Jupiter's perplexity"		0:34	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
107	159	• (Olympians Section - Letter L to End)		1:35	↓
		For Both Choruses (Thespians and Olympians)
88	1	• (Full Length)	Both	6:39	↓
88	1	• (Live - Durham Savoyards, Ltd.)		6:45
Act II
Pg	Ms	Selection	Chorus	Time	Tutti	Soprano		Alto	Tenor	Bass
		11. Of All Symposia	Thespians
118	5	• "Of all symposia, the best by half" (beginning)		0:58	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
123	38	• "Of all symposia, the best by half" (ending)		0:35	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
118	1	• (Full Length)		2:44	↓
118	1	• (Live - Durham Savoyards, Ltd.)		2:43
		17. Act II Finale
		For Thespian Chorus
172	34	• "I'm Jupiter!" / "I'm Mars!" / "I'm Apollo!"	Thespians	1:12	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓	↓
174	63	• "Let us remain"		0:50	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
		For Olympian Chorus
174	63	• At Thespians' "Let us remain"	Olympians	0:48	↓	↓		↓	↓	↓
		For Both Choruses (Thespians and Olympians)
180	95	• "You shall all be eminent tragedians"	Both	0:30	↓	↓
185	151	• "A highly complicated function"		0:26	↓	↓	↓	↓	↓	↓	↓
167	1	• (Full Length)		5:37	↓
167	1	• (Live - Durham Savoyards, Ltd.)		5:58
Lyrics by W. S. Gilbert, Music by Alan Riley Jones Except #7, "Climbing Over Rocky Mountain," Music by Arthur Sullivan, arr. by Alan Riley Jones Copyright © Alan Riley Jones, all rights reserved.