Page 24 - Voice for Life Songbook 1

5. King of kings
Information
This canon is an ancient Hebrew folk song.The text by Sophie Conty and Naomi Batya draws on names given to Jesus in the Bible. ‘King of kings’ and ‘Lord of lords’ are used in the book of Revelation when John sees Jesus appear as a rider on a white horse.‘Prince of Peace’ is the name used by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.
Teaching the song
This song can easily be taught by rote in two-bar phrases. Put in the claps as marked from the start to help your singers learn the rhythm. Once it is very familiar you can try it as a two-part round.
In order to be able to follow the tempo direction and get faster each time you sing it, you will need to take care that both parts speed up by the same amount.To do this, singers will need to watch the conductor and listen carefully to the other part.Young singers might be tempted to put their hands over their ears so they don’t get put off by people singing the other part; but if they can’t hear everyone else they are liable to sing out of time and the ensemble will be lost.
Be creative
You may like to teach your singers the ostinato parts to accompany the song. Be creative when you plan how to perform the song and ask your singers to suggest how you fit the parts together – you could, for example, build up the ostinato parts one at a time and then add the melody; alternatively, you could sing through the melody with the piano and then add the ostinato parts. If the melody and piano parts drop out towards the end you could try fading out as often happens at the end of pop songs, by getting quieter until the audience is straining to hear.
Using the voice well
Can the singers on the ostinato parts manage the whole phrase in a single breath? The last bar of each ostinato part needs to be sung very legato: make sure singers don’t aspirate between the notes, putting in a small ‘h’ sound as they change pitch.To iron this out ask them to practice sliding between the notes. Then speed up the slide so it is imperceptible to the listener but so that the notes stay connected. Singers should always aim to connect up the notes in this way when singing legato.
Musical skills and understanding
An ostinato is a short melody or pattern that is constantly repeated, usually in the same part at the same pitch. Can anyone think of any other pieces that use ostinatos?
Ask your singers if they think this song is written in a major or minor key. Discuss how they came to their decision. (Singers often describe major keys as sounding ‘happy’ and therefore may find it difficult to identify King of kings as minor because it builds up to a fast tempo and has positive lyrics such as ‘Glory, hallelujah’. If they have trouble understanding, why not sing this song in a major key so they can hear and experience the difference!)
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Track 5
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