You should have been assigned to the first of the three male choirs and downloaded the MIDI files of the 3 choruses: Gegrüßt o König, Der Hahn erhebt, Seht die Sonne. (Alternatively you may have received an audio CD containing all of the MIDI files for the Bass section, in which case these are tracks 8, 9, and 14.) The MIDI files match directly to the score, starting from Page 2 at bar 144; refer to the bar-by-bar notes below.
The MIDI files contain the individual vocal part in Trombone voice in the left stereo channel, with the piano accompaniment and full chorus sounding as Acoustic Grand Piano in the right channel. This allows you to control the "mix" of vocal part and accompaniment by using the balance control on a stereo system. A click track is not provided as this is often inimical to the complex rhythms; in the actual concert you will still have to count, and without a click track for a crutch!
The choice of trombone voicing is because the "Vox humana" MIDI sounds can vary largely from system to system; the tone of the Trombone voice is usually strong and clear throughout its tessitura ranging from high tenor to low bass notes; and the Trombone sustains unlike the sound envelope of the Acoustic Grand Piano, which decays immediately after the initial attack.
Note that the first choral entry is actually in the middle of the bass soloist's lied (the soloist's part is marked Bauer, or "peasant"). Four bars of the bass soloist's line is given from bar 108, then at bar 112 there is a subito pianissimo and a quick crescendo. At bar 114 the full orchestra explodes triple forte, and the male chorus shouts "holla!" in the rhythm indicated; the diamond-shaped note indicates only approximate pitch, so pitch the shout roughly at the top of your chest range.
This section from bar 108 to bar 123 is not provided as a MIDI file, since the vocal line is shouted, not sung. The context given in the score, showing the six bars before the choir entry, should be sufficient in rehearsal.
After 20 more bars sung by the bass soloist, at bar 144 there is the start of an enormous orchestral crescendo into the first chorus. The marking at bar 149 Nach und nach rascher indicates a gradual accelerando to the Allegro at bar 157. At bar 168 poco pesante you will just have to count as there is a loud, dissonant series of trills before the key of G minor is established at bar 170; the notes D - G are a semitone down from the E flat - A flat in the chord of A flat major at bar 166.
For the time being, choir I 2nd basses should learn the upper note in the divisi (F sharp). This may be changed later on.
The Choir I basses are in exact canon with the tenors at a minim's distance and an octave lower. But the tenors are in synchrony with the chord changes whereas the basses are a minim behind, so at the end of Page 5, at bar 184, the basses are still singing slightly dissonant notes against the D major of the accompaniment - until the third beat and the sudden D major notes.
Do not labour the triplets. Make sure you sing these lightly and in time, in order to be halfway through bar 191 and on the beat.
All basses are together in unison (German, zusammen) from here until the last two quavers of bar 213. Note the first section to bar 205 is in B major, and then turns to B minor on the last quaver of bar 205. B minor is then gradually abandoned after bar 210.
Sing the lower notes where the last two quavers are divisi (or in German, geteilt).
2nd basses should sing the low E flat in bars 230 and 231. Note in bar 232 the triplet rhythm begins in the accompaniment in the previous bar.
A hairpin crescendo should be added for the full duration of bar 242 (as for choirs 2 and 3). Note the A flat in bars 243 - 244 is not quite the same as before.
The regular one-in-a-bar disappears from the accompaniment, so you must count.
The new Collected Edition of Schönberg’s works published in 2002 has correctly numbered bars from figure 39 onward; at some point after 1911 Schönberg compressed two bars in the original version into one bar (the current bar 389 with 3/4 time signature) with the result that only 9 bars separate figures 39 and 40, and figure 40 is really bar 399 rather than bar 400. All of the subsequent bar numbers given in this edition are one greater than the numberings in the Collected Edition.
Both the orchestral and vocal score fail to repeat the natural sign (on A) after the bar line, when this accidental is clearly implied by the tied notes in instruments doubling the 2nd bass part.
Choir I should learn the upper stave of the Bass 2 divisi. The sequence of chords in bars 672 - 674 is both chromatic and weird, so the phrases will have to be carefully memorised. The chord sequence keeps moving from the minor key to the major key a semitone higher, and lowering a semitone at each repetition. Starting halfway through bar 672: E flat minor, E major, D minor, E flat major, D flat minor, D major, and so on until B flat minor is reached at bar 674.
For these 2 bars only, learn the lower stave of the Bass 2 divisi, but the upper line (B natural - upper D flat - B natural) on that stave.
Choir I should learn the top line of the Bass 2 divisi.
These two pages may be sung by a semi-chorus.
The final word, Pracht, may be expected to last a very long time (up to 20 seconds, with a crescendo, in one popular recording). Stagger breathing.