I died listening to this

A good friend of mine forced this upon me. I died laughing.



P.S. I mean no offense to elderly folk but "it is getting hot in here", "i wanna take my robes off" is.. hilarious..

Sing-ing Sunday: Army Cool

Nothing very fantastic here, but I guess it's different when you're wearing No. 3 while beatboxing haha.


The clip unfortunately lops off a bit of the song. Oh well.

The above are some of the very few clips I could find by the SAF MDC (Music and Drama Company). I am just curious to know what are the results of two years of National Service at MDC.

I believe the MDC Choir holds an annual public concert every year, and its a cappella groups, or Vocal Ensemble as I gather from its official website, apparently do mini performances on demand, as illustrated by the clips above, taken at Pioneer Junior College.

For a group that is supposed to practise every weekday (albeit in camp), they have astonishingly few public appearances, if its official website's calendar of events is fully accurate. I wonder why...

Listening Recommendations: Miserere by Zoltan Kodaly

This week's recommendation's Miserere by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly. I just love the sound of the double-chorus, the depth of sound it produces is awe-inspiring. As for the piece, the neo-renaissance-lilt, build-up and harmony is just breath-taking. I would be so gratified if i could hear it 'live' haha.

Enjoy this performance by 2008 Grand Prix finalist, Cantemus!

Nintendo A Cappella

Hey all,

Here's another interesting clip!

The title says it all:

SYF Sec Sch Performance Schedule

Hey all,

The syf performance schedule's out, so for pp who are planning to go down and listen, here's the schedule! (linked to the choral director's association website)

Day 1 - 15th April (Wed) Report Performance
1 JUYING SECONDARY SCHOOL 1400 1445
2 NORTH VISTA SECONDARY SCHOOL 1415 1500
3 DEYI SECONDARY SCHOOL 1430 1515
4 WOODGROVE SECONDARY SCHOOL 1445 1530
5 XINMIN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1500 1545

6 TEMASEK SECONDARY SCHOOL 1545 1630
7 PEIRCE SECONDARY SCHOOL 1600 1645
8 QUEENSTOWN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1615 1700
9 RIVER VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL 1630 1715
10 COMMONWEALTH SECONDARY SCHOOL 1645 1730
11 BOON LAY SECONDARY SCHOOL 1700 1745

Day 2 - 16th April (Thurs)
12 FUHUA SECONDARY SCHOOL 0815 0900
13 NORTH VIEW SECONDARY SCHOOL 0830 0915
14 ANG MO KIO SECONDARY SCHOOL 0845 0930
15 BUKIT BATOK SECONDARY SCHOOL 0900 0945
16 KENT RIDGE SECONDARY SCHOOL 0915 1000
17 MAYFLOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL 0930 1015

18 CHUA CHU KANG SECONDARY SCHOOL 1015 1100
19 ORCHID PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL 1030 1115
20 ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL (INDEPENDENT) 1045 1130
21 VICTORIA SCHOOL 1100 1145
22 NORTHLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL 1115 1200
23 ANDERSON SECONDARY SCHOOL 1130 1215
24 GREENVIEW SECONDARY SCHOOL 1145 1230

25 ANGLICAN HIGH SCHOOL 1315 1400
26 FIRST TOA PAYOH SECONDARY SCHOOL 1330 1415
27 QUEENSWAY SECONDARY SCHOOL 1345 1430
28 JURONG WEST SECONDARY SCHOOL 1400 1445
29 RAFFLES INSTITUTION 1415 1500
30 CHUNG CHENG HIGH SCHOOL (YISHUN) 1430 1515

31 TANJONG KATONG SECONDARY SCHOOL 1515 1600
32 ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL (BARKER ROAD) 1530 1615
33 KRANJI SECONDARY SCHOOL 1545 1630
34 HILLGROVE SECONDARY SCHOOL 1600 1645
35 MACPHERSON SECONDARY SCHOOL 1615 1700
36 DUNMAN HIGH SCHOOL 1630 1715

Day 3 - 17th April (Fri)
37 DUNMAN SECONDARY SCHOOL 0815 0900
38 JURONGVILLE SECONDARY SCHOOL 0830 0915
39 HENDERSON SECONDARY SCHOOL 0845 0930
40 EAST SPRING SECONDARY SCHOOL 0900 0945
41 ZHONGHUA SECONDARY SCHOOL 0915 1000
42 NGEE ANN SECONDARY SCHOOL 0930 1015

43 ZHENGHUA SECONDARY SCHOOL 1015 1100
44 BEDOK SOUTH SECONDARY SCHOOL 1030 1115
45 CHUNG CHENG HIGH SCHOOL (MAIN) 1045 1130
46 RIVERSIDE SECONDARY SCHOOL 1100 1145
47 JUNYUAN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1115 1200
48 HOLY INNOCENTS' HIGH SCHOOL 1130 1215
49 BUKIT PANJANG GOVT. HIGH SCHOOL 1145 1230

50 PRESBYTERIAN HIGH SCHOOL 1345 1430
51 YUSHOF ISHAK SECONDARY SCHOOL 1400 1445
52 BENDEMEER SECONDARY SCHOOL 1415 1500
53 CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 1430 1515
54 AHMAD IBRAHIM SECONDARY SCHOOL 1445 1530

55 YISHUN TOWN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1530 1615
56 LOYANG SECONDARY SCHOOL 1545 1630
57 WESTWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL 1600 1645
58 FAIRFIELD METHODIST SECONDARY SCHOOL 1615 1700
59 MANJUSRI SECONDARY SCHOOL 1630 1715

Day 4 - 20th April (Mon)
60 CHIJ ST. NICHOLAS GIRLS' SCHOOL 0815 0900
61 ST. MARGARET'S SECONDARY SCHOOL 0830 0915
62 PUNGGOL SECONDARY SCHOOL 0845 0930
63 PIONEER SECONDARY SCHOOL 0900 0945
64 YIO CHU KANG SECONDARY SCHOOL 0915 1000
65 GUANGYANG SECONDARY SCHOOL 0930 1015

66 DAMAI SECONDARY SCHOOL 1015 1100
67 BUKIT VIEW SECONDARY SCHOOL 1030 1115
68 SIGLAP SECONDARY SCHOOL 1045 1130
69 CLEMENTI WOODS SECONDARY SCHOOL 1100 1145
70 GREENDALE SECONDARY SCHOOL 1115 1200
71 CEDAR GIRLS' SECONDARY SCHOOL 1130 1215

72 DUNEARN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1315 1400
73 CHIJ ST. JOSEPH'S CONVENT 1330 1415
74 BEDOK TOWN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1345 1430
75 ST. ANTHONY'S CANOSSIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL1400 1445
76 RAFFLES GIRLS' SCHOOL (SECONDARY) 1415 1500
77 CRESCENT GIRLS' SCHOOL 1430 1515

78 CHIJ KATONG CONVENT 1515 1600
79 KUO CHUAN PRESBYTERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1530 1615
80 BEDOK NORTH SECONDARY SCHOOL 1545 1630
81 TANJONG KATONG GIRLS' SCHOOL 1600 1645
82 GAN ENG SENG SCHOOL 1615 1700
83 ST. HILDA'S SECONDARY SCHOOL 1630 1715

Day 5 - 21st April (Tues)
84 CHRIST CHURCH SECONDARY SCHOOL 0815 0900
85 NAN HUA HIGH SCHOOL 0830 0915
86 PEI HWA SECONDARY SCHOOL 0845 0930
87 CHAI CHEE SECONDARY SCHOOL 0900 0945
88 MARSILING SECONDARY SCHOOL 0915 1000
89 CHIJ SECONDARY (TOA PAYOH) 0930 1015

90 TAMPINES SECONDARY SCHOOL 1015 1100
91 NAN CHIAU HIGH SCHOOL 1030 1115
92 BROADRICK SECONDARY SCHOOL 1045 1130
93 YISHUN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1100 1145
94 WHITLEY SECONDARY SCHOOL 1115 1200
95 BISHAN PARK SECONDARY SCHOOL 1130 1215

96 FUCHUN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1315 1400
97 COMPASSVALE SECONDARY SCHOOL 1330 1415
98 NANYANG GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL 1345 1430
99 BEATTY SECONDARY SCHOOL 1400 1445
100 UNITY SECONDARY SCHOOL 1415 1500
101 CLEMENTI TOWN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1430 1515

102 HUA YI SECONDARY SCHOOL 1515 1600
103 CHANGKAT CHANGI SECONDARY SCHOOL 1530 1615
104 BALESTIER HILL SECONDARY SCHOOL 1545 1630
105 REGENT SECONDARY SCHOOL 1600 1645
106 SINGAPORE CHINESE GIRLS' SCHOOL 1615 1700

Day 6 - 22nd April (Wed)
107 CHIJ ST. THERESA'S CONVENT 1400 1445
108 BEDOK VIEW SECONDARY SCHOOL 1415 1500
109 METHODIST GIRLS' SCHOOL (SECONDARY) 1430 1515
110 WOODLANDS RING SECONDARY SCHOOL 1445 1530
111 HONG KAH SECONDARY SCHOOL 1500 1545

112 PEICAI SECONDARY SCHOOL 1545 1630
13 PAYA LEBAR METHODIST GIRLS" SCHOOL 1600 1645
114 BARTLEY SECONDARY SCHOOL 1615 1700
115 PASIR RIS CREST SECONDARY SCHOOL 1630 1715

Day 7 - 23rd April (Thurs)
116 BEDOK GREEN SECONDARY SCHOOL 0815 0900
117 CORAL SECONDARY SCHOOL 0830 0915
118 SWISS COTTAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL 0845 0930
119 PASIR RIS SECONDARY SCHOOL 0900 0945
120 GREENRIDGE SECONDARY SCHOOL 0915 1000
121 GEYLANG METHODIST SECONDARY SCHOOL 0930 1015

122 SENG KANG SECONDARY SCHOOL 1015 1100
123 BOWEN SECONDARY SCHOOL 1030 1115
124 HAI SING CATHOLIC SCHOOL 1045 1130
125 JURONG SECONDARY SCHOOL 1100 1145

126 ST. GABRIEL'S SECONDARY SCHOOL 1315 1400
127 ST. ANDREW'S SECONDARY SCHOOL 1330 1415
128 HWA CHONG INSTITUTION (SECONDARY) 1345 1430
129 MONTFORT SECONDARY SCHOOL 1400 1445

Sing-ing Sunday

Dunman Secondary School Choir Tour 2007

For a choir this young - members are only 13 to 16 years old - the sound is really solid and vibrant (although I suppose the acoustics of the room helped, too).

Of particular interest to some will probably be the final piece performed in this video: Sarba Dance On A Chair by Alexandru Pascanu. Many nice harmonic progressions there.

Listening Recommendations: O Fortuna by Carl Orff

[Backdated 'cause i forgot to publish it =S]

Perhaps one of the most familiar works known to us today, "O Fortuna" from "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff. It's been featured in way too many movie sequences than mentionable (usually at the dark/ dramatic portions).

The first vid shows the translation and everything, but the sound quality ain't that good =S

Enjoy!

Honda Advertisement

Hey guys,

Here's something to fill in the gap between Sing-ing Sunday and Listening Recommendations.

Honda (as in the car company), released an advertisement in 2006 for the UK and well us netizens. And.. the advertisement uses a 60-strong choir to mimic the sounds of a car!

Very interesting indeed:

Sing-ing Sunday: A Few Student A Cappella Groups

I suppose the group is from Sheares Hall, NUS? A lighthearted cover version of a popular song by The Corrs, if slightly pitchy.



Also from Sheares Hall.



Now, we have Kent Ridge Hall. "Hitori" was originally by The Gospellers, an a cappella pop group from Japan.

Extra:



By... some Temasek Secondary School students! Their energy and tight sound (coming from youths 13-17 years old) put many other a cappella groups to shame! :O



More from Temasek A Cappella Group (TAG). Visually simple yet good! The two tall chaps frame the three shorter girls in the background. I digress, but isn't visuals an essential part of live performances :)

TAG is an optional CCA in Temasek Secondary School. Cool...

Listening Recommendations: Complaints Choir

This week's listening recommendation isn't really a piece or work, but rather a type of choir.

This phenomenon came about on one cold wintry day in Helsinki, Finland. To the Finnish, the word, "Valituskuoro" is translated to "Complaints Choir", describing situations where a lot of people are complaining simultaneously. The founders of this movement, Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen had a brilliant idea, "Wouldn't it be fantastic to take this expression literally and organise a real Complaints Choir!"

The fundamentals were simple. Everyone knows how to complain, the question is can you sing while doing so :)

The first Complaints Choir was born in Birmingham, (known as "the arsehole of England" to some) with much support from the community who instinctively understood the idea (like many of us). It was a huge success, and the flare never died out. Kalleinen and Kochta-Kalleinen were invited to various parts of the globe to help initiate Complaints Choirs in places such as Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, while people in Budapest, Pittsburgh and even Jerusalem started their own versions of the Complaints Choir.

Our own adobe of Singapore has our own Singapore Complaints Choir which was supposed to perform at 2008's Fringe festival. What happened, however, quickly became public news, with much commentary from locals and foreigners alike. I won't dwell on it, but the Complaints Choir actually uploaded recordings onto Youtube, so lucky us haha.


Helsinki:



Budapest



Singapore:





You can view the lyrics here.

Concert Reviews

Hey guys,

Would really appreciate it if you guys could e-mail us your concert reviews (if you did go) for the recently concluded:

6 Mar 09, St. Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig Johann Sebastian Bach's legacy
8 Mar 09, 7.30 pm Spectrum: Birth and Death by SYC Ensemble Singers
9 Mar 09, Vocal Mania @ The Republic Cultural Centre Theatre

Do send us your reviews at either: singforharmony@gmail.com or myself at yeshamiel@gmail.com

Sing-ing Sunday: Studio Ghibli Magic

I am partial towards anything by Studio Ghibli, which produced much loved and acclaimed animation films such as Spirited Away (won Best Animation Film award at the Academy's), Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and very recently, Ponyo On the Cliff By The Sea (LOL). Hence, I immediately loved this song! This choral arrangement, sung by St. Nicks Choir, is very simple and stays true to the feel to the original song.

The song's composed by Joe Hisaishi, by the way. He's a very good film score composer.



Itsumo Nando Demo. Composed and originally sung by Yumi Kimura. This is the end credits song to Spirited Away. I remember watching Victoria Junior College Choir perform this and a Final Fantasy X medley with very nice video footage to accompany each piece way back in 2004. Magical.

The above is by VS Choir. For their SYF Presentation in 2005.

Concert: Moscow State Chamber Choir and Moscow Soloists @ Esplanade

Date/Time: 11 Jun 09; 12 Jun 09; 13 Jun 09 respectively (see below) @ 7.30 PM

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall

Ticket Price: S$100, S$80, S$60, S$45, S$35, S$20

Additional Info: For the general public:-

Enjoy discounts of up to 25% off when you buy tickets to multiple shows.
Internet Booking starts on 9 Mar 2009, 12am.
Other Sales Channel sales starts on 9 Mar 2009, 10am.

11 Jun 09: Moscow State Chamber Choir (Russia)
12 Jun 09: Yuri Bashmet with the Moscow Soloists and State Chamber Choir (Russia)
13 Jun 09: Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists (Russia)

-----Start of Extract-----

This is basically a three-concert special by two of Russia’s most eminent ensembles [the Moscow State Chamber Choir and Moscow Soloists]!

Arguably the world’s greatest living violist, Yuri Bashmet leads the 30-member Moscow Soloists in two concerts, the second joined by the Moscow State Chamber Choir. Don’t miss the musical gems of Russian and European classicism and romanticism performed by two exquisite ensembles!

The Moscow State Chamber Choir led by the venerableVladimir Minin[sic] also enthralls with litugical[sic] music rarely heard in Singapore in a third concert that ends with stirring Russian songs.

-----End of Extract-----

Programme for 12 Jun 09:

Igor Stravinsky - Concerto in D for Strings
Johann Brahms - Adagio in B minor for viola and strings
Op. 115
Soloist – Yuri Bashmet (viola)
Toru Takemitsu - Three film scores for strings

Intermission

W.A. Mozart - Exultate Jubiliate, K165
Franz Schubert - Mass in G Major for Choir and strings, D. 167


Book your tickets through SISTIC now!

Listening Recommendations: Past Life Melodies by Sarah Hopkins

Hi all!

Sorry for the late post. "Listening Recommendations" usually comes out every Wed. Been a little 'tied up' haha.

This week's recommendation's Past Life Melodies by Australian Composer Sarah Hopkins, highly acclaimed for her visionary music and inspiring performances for cello, harmonic overtone singing, handbells, choir and the celestial Harmonic Whirlies of her own creation.

Anyway on to the piece. It is, imo, one which forces introspection, transporting you into another realm, and in the midst of doing so offers you fleeting glimpses of our world.

Within those few minutes, one can almost listen and see Aborigines playing the didgeridoo, singing and dancing around a bonfire; in another moment, in Medieval Europe whilst priests worship in Gregorian Chants, and suddenly standing on the mountain tops, peeking into the temples of the Himalayan monks, chanting away the troubles of the world.

The piece incorporates overtone singing and whistling. Due to the drone, it may be a little monotonous and thus not everyone's cup of tea. However, it is unique and showcases the cultures of the world. It's technically very difficult as you need to be really precise with your pitching in order to get the overtones going.

I have two videos below, one's by world-renown group Chanticleer, and the other's by a South African youth Choir, Pro Cantu. Personally I prefer the Chanticleer version, as i feel there's more depth to it.

Concert: Vocal Exploits XIX @ RIJC

Date/Time: 11 Mar 09, 7.30 pm

Venue: RIJC, Lecture Theatre 1

Ticket Price: $5

Raffles Chorale will be performing in their own school lecture theatre next Fri, 11 Mar 09. Their repertoire includes choral songs, and small group performances (including two new small groups that are just formed last year), as well as their iconic P.U.N.C.H and F.R.I.N.G.E.

Tickets are almost sold out, so anyone who's interested should email Linan (from RIJC) at linanqiu@gmail.com

Sing-ing Sunday 4

This week, we present Victoria Chorale, singing Stabat Mater by Alberto Grau.

I like the composition for it kept me interested all the way from the start to the end. A simple rhythmic motif heard at the beginning of the piece develops organically into what may sound like a succession of unrelated melodies and textures, but all of these are actually derived from the motif.

Dissonances, or clashing notes that don't sound 'in tune', so to speak, are reference to "sad and afflicted" Mary who watched Him be crucified.

The choreography is written out in the score. I suppose, correct me if I am wrong, it is a visually abstract reference to the crucification and to some extent Mary's emotions as well.

Interesting, how the meanings contained in the text are conveyed through sounds and visuals.