Here's this week's listening recommendation (no YouTube video haha):
'The Choir' is a BBC-produced programme which focuses on choral music, a cappella or otherwise, in both the United Kingdoms and the rest of the world.
Hosted by Alec Jones, a renowned former boy-soprano, the programme allows listeners to be amongst the first to appreciate newly composed choral pieces.
World-renown groups, conductors and composers such as the King Singers, Polyphony, Paul Hilier, Morten Lauridsen and the Latvian Radio Choir have, at one point, been interviewed/features during the show.
In addition, 'The Choir' has a segment which showcases clips of music sent by amateur choirs in the UK. The programme will definitely broaden, and increase the depth your knowledge!
The BBC website allows u to listen to past programmes, provided it does not exceed 7 days. The link is as follows: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/
Date/Time: 25 and 26 Feb 09, Wed and Thurs, at 07.15pm and 08.15pm on both days
Venue: Esplanade Concourse
Ticket Price: Free!! :)
---Start of Extract----
Kent Ridge A Cappella [KRA] performing on the 25th and 26th of February at the Esplanade Concourse (7.15pm & 8.15pm on both days), where they’ll be bringing to you some jazz and blues pieces !
We actually attended the NUS choir concert yesterday night. We'll post about it pretty soon :)
Anyway, here's today's feature!
Here's the a cappella group, Equinox, singing a Hokkien piece, Jit Lang Jit Pua, inspired by the popular Singaporean movie, 881. It's not pitch perfect, but the arrangement and style's pretty interesting to listen to! My only qualm is the balance, but enjoy! :)
Just last year, BBC One organised "Last Choir Standing", a competition that showcased Britain's snazziest (entertainment) choirs.
No, not your classical variety. Think mainstream hits rearranged for chorus, replete with choreography.
Enjoy the following:
Many local girls' choirs must be familiar with this song.
I'm not really a fan of the runner-up's sound. Girls slightly shrill, and male voices are no good. Too raw and they go flat.
So this is what O Fortuna from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana sounds like. Finally, we learn the name of one of the most recognisable tunes in modern times. The feel from the singing is there, but tone-wise rather weak, especially the male voices.
This one, by the winner of the competition, is aurally very good, although choreography is unpolished.
There's no way such a programme will land up on local shores, although I'm sure the viewership will be of a critical amount (to justify broadcasting) if every single chorister, from school choirs (CCA) or church choirs, in singapore watched it. Sad.
((EDIT1: Bumped up and uploaded poster. Add this event to your facebook acct! Tickets are selling fast so get yours today!))
((EDIT2: Edited synopsis as requested by Rachel from NUS choir.))
Date: Saturday, 21 Feb 2009 Time: 7.30-9.30pm Venue: NUS University Cultural Centre Hall
---Start of quote---
Featuring works of renowned composer of modern choral works, Eric Whitacre, as well as other contemporary takes on sacred music, NUS Choir invites you to embark on this journey with us as we unlock a treasure trove of meanings behind these gems. Allow us to show you brilliantly woven tapestries of love, spirituality and nature that were created during this age. So embrace the experience and allow the music to inspire you with fresh perspectives of life.
---End of quote---
How and Where to get tickets:
1. Concert tickets are priced at $15 (excluding $1 SISTIC booking fee).
2. School offer - For every purchase of 10 regularly priced tickets, get a complimentary ticket free! This order has to be placed with the Choir and not through SISTIC.
For enquiries, please email VarsityVoices2009@gmail.com or visit their blog for Varsity Voices 2009 for the inside scoop in the NUS Choir.
Ok, with the NUS choir having their concert next week, here's a good time to feature them!
They did really well at the Grand Prix in St Petersburg last year, and here's a recording of Eric Whitacre's "With a Lily in your Hand" performed at the said competition.
It may be a little too much of Mr Whitacre, but the concert on 21 Feb will primarily feature his works! Most of us will be going so... See you there!
A while ago I was doing a web-trawl, searching for nice a cappella songs to listen to.
The vast majority of uploaded clips - low-quality recordings of live performances by school or college a cappella groups - are rather out of tune or have imbalanced parts. Although it was refreshing to hear today's chart-topping songs such as Timbaland/One Republic's "Apologize" and other familiar recent songs such as Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" re-arranged for a cappella, I wanted to hear a live a cappella performance without, well, cringing.
The answer is obvious. Type "barbershop" into the search bar! Barbershop music, if sung well, is very lovely for its smooth chords and the way all the tones blend perfectly to sound as if each of the singers has the same voice. The singers are perfectly co-ordinated: their pronounciation, duration of each note and even their style, such as the way they lilt the notes, are by today's standards astounding. Think "Hide and Seek" without the computerised sound.
Two of my favourite quartets are the Chordettes and the McGuire Sisters.
Okay, I veer slightly off topic now. They aren't classified as a cappella groups (their chart toppers were not a cappella songs), but were two famous music acts way back in the past. When co-ordinated harmonious singing was popular with mainstream audiences.
The following is the Chordettes' hit song which most should already know:
This is the McGuire Sisters with another barbershop quartet. Try searching for "Sincerely" or "Sugartime", two of their popular hits.
Well, the following isn't barbershop per se. But it did include a short barbershop quartet prelude. Enjoy.
The Methodist Girls’ School Choir has been sharing the joy of music and singing through performances and competitions since their formation. One of 30 school choirs on Singapore’s Ministry of Education’s Choral Excellence Programme, the choir received the Gold award for the 4th Ambassador of the Arts Awards (2004) and has consistently achieved Gold awards in the biennial Singapore Youth Festival Choir Competition. Representing Singapore in international festival-competitions, choir has toured San Francisco (1999), Athens (2004), Bratislava (2007) and Prague (2007) and returned with excellent results.
Coached by Ms Jennifer Tham since 1998 and Albert Tay since 2005, the choir’s wide-ranging repertoire embraces the work of living composers, contemporary sacred and art music as well as spiritual and gospel.
---End of Extract---
The MGS Choir will be performing a variety of pieces, including "De vitae vanitate" by György Orban, "Mihara yassa bushi" by Ko Matsushita and "Swing Songs" by Veljo Tormis. Given the proximity of SYF (the earliest being 15 Apr 09), they will definitely be performing the pieces which they will choose for adjudication.
Ticket sales have already started, and they are going for $20 per ticket. For more info, do click here to be redirected to the SISTIC website.
We're starting this new section of our blog called 'Sing'-ing Sunday, showing you guys clips of our 'Sing'-apore a cappella groups or choirs doing what they do best - singing!
This week we've got 3 vids, all of them choirs haha, we'll try to add some a cappella groups next week (hint to cheej to send me some links)
First off, admittedly one of the best choirs in Singapore and internationally acclaimed at various competitions, including the prestigious Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod - the Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) Choir. Here, they sing one of their hallmarks in the local choral scene, Soleram arr. by Fabian Obispo. A slow Malay folk-song, simple but rife of emotion. They sang this piece in the Cathedral of Bratislava at far-away Slovakia. The recording isn't very clear so I can't really comment on the singing.. =S
Next up, is a piece i truly enjoy. Most choristers in Singapore would have had the chance to at least sing one of American composer, Eric Whitacre's pieces. Be it the wintry "Sleep" or the crazy "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine", Mr Whitacre's works are vastly popular amongst Singapore's conductors. Here, Raffles Chorale (Raffles Institution Junior College/RIJC), which has been very successful in overseas competitions, most recently, the Festival of Songs in Olomouc 2008, perform Lux Aurumque, a latin translation of a poem by Edward Esch at the said Festival:
Light, warm and heavy as pure gold, and the angels sing softly to the newborn babe.
- Edward Esch
They started off a little flat, and the basses were a little flat (and too loud imo). They recovered and the chords glistened. Towards the end, the upper voices were gradually getting flatter @ the final section (slow & soft). Chords didn't quite lock in there too, but overall, very beautiful interpretation with glittering sounds.
Lastly, we have a piece called "Salve Regina" performed by Tampines Junior College (TPJC) choir. The blend is not too bad, they went slightly off-tune at some parts but not a bad attempt. The male voices aren't fully developed, which kinda let to the slightly flat start but they recovered. Enjoyed the fugal bit in the middle.
Do comment!
---UPDATE: Updated the name of the sch for Salve Regina as contributed by Anonymous, whom I assume knows Han Rui haha. Thanks again!
Ticket Price: $15 for students/ TAS members/ bookings of 10+ tickets $20 for all others
*Note: All bookings are to be made by cheque to: The A Cappella Society Ltd, attached with the application form. The deadline's 2 Mar 09.
Brief:
The A Cappella Society presents Vocal Mania 2009, a pre-SYF showcase concert featuring 8 school choirs and A Cappella groups, allowing them to rehearse and present their music to an audience at the Republic Cultural Centre Theatre. This concert is an a cappella presentation of music from all ages.
Under the scrutiny of Dr Gary Ekkel from Australia who specializes in choral and early music (baroque, renaissance and before), the choirs will receive valuable feedback on their competition pieces for the upcoming SYF.
The concert is held after a series of private workshops (11 -13 Mar 09) and an adjudicated performance (including the set-piece) with the Dr Ekkel. These are closed to the public, but we will get to hear the participating schools' other competition pieces during the concert in the evening.
We tried e-mailing them but they haven't replied us on who's actually gonna perform. We'll update this post should there be any info from the organizers :)
Vocal Mania Tickets are available from The A Cappella Society, for more info, you may e-mail contact@a-cappella.org.sg or call 94506872.
Heard from sources that this year's JC SYF Central Judging's on 5 May 09, while Secondary Schools will have theirs on 15-17 & 20-23 Apr 09.
Really excited to hear the standard of this year's cohort!
More on this at a later date! :)
---UPDATE (03/02/09): This year's SYF piece for JCs is called Songs of Joy by Dr Zechariah Goh. I assume he's gonna be one of the judges haha. The SYF piece for Secondary School's White Horses by Stephen Leek. Info taken from http://cdas.org.sg/featured-member/425.html
---UPDATE (05/02/09): Embded a midi track of how the syf piece for sec sch will sound. Found it on Michelle's blog (yes I've been googling lol). Thanks for helping us hear the track Michelle!
With a nearly 800 year-old history, the boys choir of the St Thomas Church in Leipzig is one of the oldest as well as leading ensembles in the German choral tradition.
The choir is one of the foremost interpreters of the legacy of its famed choirmaster, composer Johann Sebastian Bach – who during his 27 year tenure there composed his most important works – and who built it into an institution of artistic excellence.
In Singapore, the 55-member-strong choir accompanied by an organist will perform the works of Bach as well as Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, composer and conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in his time, on the occasion of the bicentennial of the latter’s birth.
---End of Extract---
Click here to view the programme and get redirected to the SISTIC website.
Here's a really cool piece arranged by John August Pamintuan, a Filipino composer with a flair for composing highly technical and perhaps virtuosic pieces. If you get the impression that it's your typical sacred work, think again.
The start of Crucifixus opens with a syncopated section between the altos and basses, with the sopranos and tenors taking the melody. This underlying syncopated figure ensues throughout the piece, with the harmonies gradually evolving and clashing, building the tension till the middle adagio where it climaxes. Its beauty lies in the anxiety and angst of the music, conveying the meaning behind the lyrics:
[He was] crucified also for us, under Pontius Pilate: [he] suffered and was buried.
The sopranos have got their work cut out for them in this piece, frequently reaching those high notes that so many fear haha. But anyway, here's the piece (embeded) performed by the University of East Chorale (UEC) in South Korea, but you can actually take a peek at the score here or download the recording sang by the UEC here :)
--links taken from John August Pamintuan's official website---
Sing 4 Harmony is run by a group of like-minded music aficionados who have been in Singapore's choral scene for over half a decade. With the lack of a centralised locality to obtain news regarding local choirs and a cappella groups, it was decided that a blog be set up to serve such a function.
Posts
