Day 3 of Sec Sch SYF (Live Thoughts) Part 2/4

Zhenghua Sec Sch

You raise me up
Gao Shan Qing

Prediction: S
Actual: S

Set piece was a tad slow, pitch problems esp in high notes. The dissonant section was off and there was a bass stickin out. The next piece (Chinese) however was better. It's accompanied by piano and the unison sounded good. Overall it was ok (pitch problems and all), and they captured the spirit of the music. Last piece was again ok, i like the song but the phrasing could be more delicate. It's pretty simple and a tad boring but a good job. There were a few pitch problems though. Pitch problems were the crux of their mistakes.

Bedok South Sec Sch

Blue bird
The cooling shadow

Prediction: L B
Actual: CoP

The girls look like they've got ruffles on their sleeves. Not my cup of tea. Anw, it's a huge choir. They started the set piece flat, and was very airy. The men's "gallop" was pretty consistently out of tune. The a cappella section was also quite out of tune. The next piece is a cappella, but their male voices are again out of tune. Split notes were frequently detected. The last piece was also a cappella, and once again airy sops and the male voices were out. It was difficult to grasp the key but they managed to the end of the piece despite the many pitch errors.

Chung Cheng High Sch (Main)

催咚崔
Kasar Mie La Gaji

Prediction: GwH
Actual: G

First thing I noticed was that they've got a substansive male section. They were rushing a little in the set piece, but the tone was quite good and full. Pretty good start. Their Chinese piece had good phrasing and inflections. It was refreshing to listen to. The final piece started a little rocky but they quickly recovered to deliver a brilliant performance. Sure there were pitch problems here and there, but the tone was suitable for the piece, and the sound was solid and stable. Probably GwH.

Riverside Sec Sch

Oyasumi
Muie Rendera

Prediction: L S
Actual: S

Yellow, black and red don't really work together. Anw they have quite a number of guys. Set piece was messy, their voices are raw and the sops tend to go flat, not quite a good start. First piece's a cappella, but it felt kinda weird throughout the entire piece. There were some stray voices and the men's pitching was off. The 2nd piece was much better though the basses were flat. The piece was simple and rather repetitive. The men have to work more on their pitching.

Long wait in between...

Junyuan Sec Sch

Three Hungarian Folk-Songs
Geylang Sipaku Geylang, Ikan Kekek, Chan Mali Chan

Prediction: H B / L S
Actual: B

There's a kid with ridiculously long sleeves for his blazer and looks rather disinterested in singing. Anw the set piece started flat. Pitch problems esp in sops. The altos and sops were rather airy. The first set piece is a cappella but there were split notes, pitch problems and thr key changes were awkward. The last piece had piano accompaniment, and they were rushing. It was relatively in tune despite there being dome pitch errors. Didn't really care for the piece though.

Holy Innocents' High Sch

O Lux
Diu diu dang 丢丢铜

Prediction: G
Actual: S (shock)

The white and light purple drapery looks like an apron. Anw, the set piece was alright. It was clean with relatively ok pitching, but lacked depth (esp T). In the first piece, there's a bass sticking out but it was a good start. Pitching was a problem at parts but they had moments of brilliance. The final piece, a cappella, had surprisingly accurate pitching, though I felt the tenors were a little shallow in their tone. Good but not spectacular

Bukit Panjang Govt. High Sch

Bartok
Suriram

Prediction: L G
Actual: S

Last group before lunch, and it almost looks like nonyas walked out (the tops of the ladies were rather peranakan), also they have a lot of guys and it's a gigantic choir. The first phrase of the set piece was slightly flat, but they recovered. I felt there could have been more phrasing to bring out the nuances, and the tenors a little shallow. Overall, decent with some pitch errors. The next piece was better, they captured re mood of the piece though with a few pitch problems. However I didn't really get it. The final piece made me feel like the tenors were too shallow in tone. There were pitch problems but there was some nice phrasing and dynamics.