9th RIVA DEL GARDA INTERNATIONAL CHOIR COMPETITION;
Critical Appraisals of 3 Choir Performances That I Observed*Disclaimer: The comments made in this section are based on my opinions. They do not represent the opinions of any organisation and are not meant to insult, attack or degrade any choir.In this section, I shall be reviewing the performances of 2 choirs during 3 performances:
The
Kvindelige Studenters Sangforening from Norway during the concert and the Grand Finals
The
Victoria Junior College Choir from Singapore during the competition for Category G3, Mixed Voices Youth Choir and the Grand Finals
Choir Concert in the the church Chiesa Santa Maria Assunta - Kvindelige Studenters SangforeningThis choir had me literally struck dumb.
In my 9 years of being a chorister, never have I heard such a pure-sounding choir, nor have I seen any choir with their discipline and passion for singing.
Perhaps their talent at singing Latin songs like Ave Maria (which they performed) blew me away. Their high notes and pitching were absolutely perfect! The sopranos breathed at the correct places and used the correct techniques to hit the perfect note and sound as one. The altos were not too harsh, but still came across as the right balance to such a perfect-sounding song. I was astounded with their performance and absolutely enthralled. Their performance literally left me wanting for more!
The thing that I admire most about this choir is their discipline. Even though I have only watched them twice, one can almost immediately tell that they hit greater heights with every practice. Each and every practice is satisfactory and their choristers put in 100%, if not more, for the choir. Their expression shows their love and passion for what they are doing, and what they do best - singing! It is every quality that I, as a quality, would strive for. When they walked off the stage in the church, I felt disappointed as I wanted more out of them.
Competition for Category G3, Mixed Youth ChoirsIn this category, the Victoria Junior College Choir presented 4 songs - Factum, The Shower, Zhu Li Guan (In The Bamboo Forest) and Pamugun.
While most VJ choristers felt that Factum and The Shower were extremely impressive, I beg to differ. The Shower is supposed to be a sad song, but I didn't feel sad at all. On the contrary, I felt that the song was extremely tensed up and the choir wasn't showing their full potential. Zhu Li Guan, on the other hand, was full of energy and rather well presented, with the exception of some parts which were rather rushed. The presentation of dynamics was very nice and I felt as if I was transported to some part of China (hence the name of the song - "In the Bamboo Forest"). The choir's blend was perfect, although I felt that the soloist could have stood out more. In retrospect, this could have been because of the acoustics in the competition venue, but no matter. They put up a good show anyway. Pamugun talks of a bird trying to escape a hunter, and again, the Victoria Junior College Choir did not disappoint. Even though this rendition of Pamugun is significantly different from the last time I heard it last year, it still remains the best song among the 4 songs they performed. However, I feel that the first note for the basses wasn't precise enough and the girls' entry in the beginning of the song wasn't very coordinated and that they kept speeding up throughout the song. These mistakes might be overlooked as this is a competition and they are bound to make minor mistakes along the way.
Grand Final Competition - The Victoria Junior College Choir and Kvindelige Studenters SangforeningFor this competition, the Victoria Junior College Choir presented 2 songs in the genre which they do best: Asian pieces.
The first song, a Japanese song called Ashita, was very nicely presented as the beginning of their performance. It was sweet-sounding, soothing, soft and emotional with wonderful blending techniques. Even though one knows that there are 4 sections, they sounded perfectly in harmony as one voice. I especially admire their sopranos as they hit their high notes perfectly! I shrink in comparison to them. The second song, Bin-a-ma, was definitely a hit with the audience. The song talks about a river in a village, where everyone lives in harmony with the river, hence the happy and cheerful beginning of the song. However, the river turns sinister with time, causing much heartache to the villagers as they lose their loved ones in the floods. I must say that the Victoria Junior College Choir version of Bin-na-ma is better than any version I've heard! Even though some people did the actions wrongly, it is still one of the best performances I've seen in my life as a chorister. (: Congratulations to the Victoria Junior College Choir on winning the Audience Prize and Grand Prize! :D
I must say that the Kvindelige Studenters Sangforening disappointed me greatly with their performance at the Grand Finals. Perhaps I was disillusioned by the perfect-sounding choir back in the church where the acoustics were better. Perhaps I was expecting too much out of them. Or perhaps, fear and nervousness overwhelmed them at the Grand Finals. Nonetheless, they still put up a good performance with minor pitching problems and incorrect breathing which did not surface during the concert.
All in all, I am extremely proud that the Victoria Junior College Choir hailing from Singapore managed to garner a full standing ovation during the Grand Finals, sweeping the Category Winner, Audience Prize and Grand Prize titles during the competition! Congratulations to them once again, and may DHS choir work hard to be like them in future. (: Haha!
WRITE-UPS ;
In this section, you shall be exploring:
-my appraisal of the culture, food, architecture and art of Italy
-my impressions of Italy before & after the trip
-what the trip meant for me
-what were my personal objectives and whether I have met them
*
The culture, architecture, food and art of Italy.
People in Italy are generally friendly, but most of us are warned of pickpockets who pretend to be friendly with you in order to rob you of your valuables. Most of them are also rather considerate, as we don't find litter on the floor. Seldom do we find people spitting everywhere too.
Most of the people are kind and are willing to lend a helping hand whenever we need it. For example, I wanted to buy a shirt in Riva del Garda for a friend, but could not find a smaller size to fit him. As the shopkeeper could not speak English, she kept apologising profusely while
attempting to explain what she meant. Even though it took quite laborious efforts, I felt that she was sincere in helping me, and not merely trying to generate business from this customer of hers. As a result, I left the shop a happy customer with what I wanted, and most imporantly, with a happy shopping experience.
On the contrary, in Singapore, most customer service staff wouldn't bother going to such lengths to help a single customer get what they want, especially if they cannot communicate with him/her. This is one point I feel that the culture in Singapore is lacking in.
Singaporeans' impression of Italian food is quite different compared to the authentic version we tried in Italy. This is especially so on the first so when most of us tried squid ink pasta for the first time! Also, the pizza and pasta in Singapore is very different. Over in Italy, the pizza is wood-fired and has a very thin crust. They are also
very generous with their ingredients, unlike pizzas in Singapore with thick, bread-y crusts which really spoil the taste. In Singapore, the pasta used is "instant pasta" which is readily available in supermarkets. In Italy, however, the pasta is handmade! As a result, the pasta retains its original taste without compromising on texture. Many
are also mistaken about Italy food being all pasta and pizza. In actual fact, pastas are served as the appetiser dish! The main courses can be meat, fish and veal, among others. Italian food isn't monotonous at all and I think I don't mind eating Italian food for the rest of my life.
Oh, talking about food, did you know that ice-cream was invented in Italy? It is called gelato and originated from a city called Florence.
Contrary to my ignorance, the architecture and art in Italy is the most intricate I have ever seen. This can be seen through the unique blend of different cultures. A building which illustrates this point clearly is the St Mark's Church in Venice. The creative use of glass mosaics to decorate the church allows art to transcend through many generations, leaving a lasting impression
on everyone who visits it.
St Mark's Church in Venice
Another worthy point to note is that each city has their unique architectural traits. Venices' buildings are built about it's waterways, whereas the architecture in Rome has the city-dweller in mind. All in all, I feel that the art and architecture in Italy reflects the character of their people as arty citizens and will continue to bridge people all over the world in years to come.
My impression of Italy before and after the trip
Admittedly, before I went on this Italy trip, I thought that Italy would be a cosmopolitan city with many skyscrapers and cars emitting poisonous fumes, thus choking the entire country. To my pleasant surprise, not only was the air in Venice very clean, the whole country was infused with such rich culture that I felt immersed in an entire explosion of artistic values.
I also thought that I would be consuming pasta and pizza every single day, hence my decision to bring cup noodles. It didn't help very much that days before the Italy trip, I watched a video on how rude Italian people can be.
Contrary to all my presumptions, Italian food, as I mentioned earlier, is extremely diverse. I managed to savour different kinds of Italian food and thoroughly enjoyed doing so. I also had fun trying to take good shots out of the wonderful places we visited.
Besides, the trip was made even better by all the Italians whom we encountered. They were friendly to us and I don't think any of us had a bad experience with people in Italy. This is probably what makes Italy such a beautiful country and makes people want to visit it again and again.
What the trip meant for me
As a Year 4 student, the trip was indeed a privilege for me. The trip, in many ways, marks the end of 4 years in Dunman High School as a chorister. While I am sad to leave, I am glad to have seen the choir grow and mature during the Italy trip, and I will wish DHS choir all the best.
This trip also helped me remember the times which DHS choir struggled: after a bad fall during SYF'o3 and yet another experience in Genting, with us attaining a Silver C award, Musical Promenade when everything seemed so uncertain, SYF'o5 when all of us, including our conductor then, Miss Michelle Poh, thought that we were resigned to a Silver, and so many more. It made me look back
and realize we've actually come this far, to a foreign land shaped like a boot, and perform. How lucky my juniors were! But all my past experiences kept me grounded as I went in search of what the choir could do and will do on stage. As such, this trip holds alot of meaning to me.
Also, I'm very sure this Italy trip will bring back fond memories of the fun times (and not so fun times?) I had with DHS choir when I further my studies in Australia next year. As much as I hate to admit it, this trip has indeed made me love DHS choir even more and it has left an indelible scar in my memory.
My personal objectives and whether they have been met
My personal objectives for this Italy trip were:
-to tour a part of Europe
-to compete on a true international stage
-to bring glory to the school and the country
-to learn from top European choirs
-to improve my choral singing
-to bond with the choir
-to have fun and enjoy myself!
*
I am very glad to have been given this opportunity to tour a part of Europe with my friends and do what I do best at the same time - sing!
Indeed, I think I have managed to fulfil most, if not all, of my personal objectives for the Italy trip. To be given the chance to perform and compete on a true international stage is something that every chorister would ask for, and I managed to do it, garnering a Silver 5 award for Dunman High School Choir, hailing from a tiny island thousands of miles away called Singapore.
I feel immensely proud to achieve something note-worthy in the choral world! In many ways, the Silver doesn't matter anymore. The choir has won by improving and doing well enough for that mere 15 minutes on stage. The choir now knows that they have to fight and work hard for whatever they want, instead of going on and on about wanting it and yet no action is carried out.
We have learnt to have to live up to our maximum potential for each practice and in this way, we have brought glory to the school. This shows the resilience of Singapore citizens and our never-say-die spirit!
From this trip, I have been given the chance to observe many top choirs from Europe, which would not have been the case had I chosen to stay in Singapore instead. They have given me an insight on what being a top chorister, not just singer, should be like, and I feel every chorister should learn from them. This is vital in choral singing as we can never be satisfied with what we have and rest on our laurels, or we will slip back into uncertainty once again, as we did 3 years ago.
By learning the 4 songs we performed on stage, my voice has improved, albeit not tremendously. Previously, I could only produce the "round tone" that was very nice to blend with, but wasn't suitable for every song. Now, I can change the tone of my voice to suit the song. My high notes also sound better, thanks to the techniques Miss Tham taught us during the course of the preparation for the competition.
Of course, the choir has bonded in many ways. How else could a group of 30 people laugh, joke, each, drink and crap 24/7 for 10 days? Inevitably, new friendships were forged, old friendships rekindled, and many new memories were written during the 10 days in Italy. I can never forget the times when I crapped with Weirui until 2 in the morning, when all of us clambered into a paddleboat in Riva del Garda, when DHS choir, unsure of what was going to happen, suddenly started belting out Mamayog Akun and Iddem-dem Mallida in the middle of Riva del Garda, the whole choir singing "Happy Birthday" in harmony for Jonathan's sweet sixteenth...
and so many more that is impossible to list down. As the choir bonds, I certainly hope that they will take each other through times, both good and bad, leaving their mark on DHS choir as our seniors did.
Last but not least, I feel that I have enjoyed myself and had lots of fun during the Italy trip! My faith in God has strengthened as He proved to me time and again that His presence is real, and I love being a part of the Italy choir. No matter what our seniors say, I feel that this Italy trip can only mark the beginning of a fantabulous choir to come!
I will never forget the times I have spent with the Italy choir and I most certainly have absolutely no regrets going to Italy, doing my best, and singing my heart out for my one and only passion: DHS choir.
