Text 1: The first rehearsal, by Imogen Price

An original contemporary magazine article.

The youth brass band meets on Wednesday evenings in a room above the town hall. I arrived with a borrowed cornet and the uneasy feeling that everyone else knew what they were doing. Our conductor, Mr Lewis, began by asking us to sit upright, breathe slowly and play long, steady notes. He walked between the chairs, listening for wobbles and showing us how to hold the instrument.

We then practised scales together, first quietly and then more loudly. The older players tapped the beat with their feet while the beginners counted four rests before joining in. Nobody rushed ahead: Mr Lewis stopped us whenever the rhythm broke apart and took the difficult passage in smaller sections.

At the end we attempted the march that the band will play at the summer fête. My first entrance was late, and my cheeks felt hot, but the second attempt held together. The room was still untidy with music stands and pencil-marked scores, yet the final chord made everyone look up and smile.

Text 2: The singers at St Matthew’s, by Eleanor Shaw

An original diary extract written in a nineteenth-century voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.

This diary extract was written in 1879 by a young woman who sang in her parish church choir.

On Thursday the choir assembled in the vestry after supper, each of us bringing the small book of hymns issued by the vicar. Before we sang, Miss Hart made us loosen our collars and stand in a half-circle so that she could see every face. She gave the lower voices their notes on the piano, and we repeated them until our parts were secure.

We worked first without words, humming the tune, and afterwards sang the verses. Miss Hart raised one hand for silence and the other to bring in the altos, who had entered too soon. We practised the final hymn several times, changing the speed until its meaning seemed plain rather than hurried.

On Sunday morning we stood in the stone church before the congregation. The room was cold, and my shoes pinched, but the sound rose steadily to the rafters. When we finished, Miss Hart nodded once. That small sign of approval mattered more to me than the warm supper waiting at home.

Using information from both texts, explain briefly how the performers prepared, practised and responded to their music.

You should make it clear which text you are referring to.