Old World Carolers, a nondenominational a cappella choir, has begun its practice season and is calling for more sopranos to audition. The group’s unusual repertoire is midwinter holiday music of Europe from the 12th to 19th centuries, often sung in the original languages, for benefits, parties, and educational events. Rehearsals are weekly, Thursday evenings in downtown Sebastopol from 7:00–8:30, from late August through early December. For information on auditions or engagements, please call Rebecca Dwan, 823-5736 or email rrebecca at sonic dot net.

The group specializes in old European traditional midwinter music. Pieces slated for this year include Once in Royal David’s City (British), Ven a Belén (Spanish), Psallite (Latin), Nesem Vám Noviny (Czech), The Carol of the Nuns at Chester (British) and La Marche Des Rois (French). Others include German, Latin, and macaronic (mixed English and Latin), as well as a few holiday standards in English. Other years we have included Serbo-Croatian, Basque, Danish, Swedish, Greek, and Italian, as well as more common Old English, French, Spanish, and German carols. An ear for music often goes with an ear for languages, we find!

Founded in 1985 by Rebecca Dwan, The Old World Carolers' repertoire ranges in difficulty from simple to complex, and the group is organized so that singers may perform the level of music with which they are most comfortable. Practice tapes are available. Singers come from all over Sonoma County.

Concert quartets form out of the larger choir to sing for special events with themes such as Renaissance, Victorian, or Italian, Scandinavian, German, French, Spanish, Eastern European, etc. Singers are matched to events by availability and musical blend. Members of the group lead rounds at solstice or equinox parties, or musical toasts at banquets. A special effort is made by Dwan, who sings tenor through soprano, to arrange songs with dominant roles for all voices. “Most carols come arranged for sopranos to sing the melody and solos, but we like to offer all singers the chance to stand out now and then,” she explains.

Guaranteed no medleys, corn, cheese, overdeveloped arrangements, or anything 20th century! Just fun, warm-spirited practice sessions with great music and harmonies, interesting history, and some optional paying gigs at holiday time.