It’s the season for the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Central Judging for Choirs for secondary schools again. Just the other day, I went to support my ex-choir at Singapore of the Arts (SOTA) School where the judging was held. Actually, the support was a nice way of masking the fact that I missed their singing despite all the heartaches and stress I went through while I was their teacher in-charge.
One of their two set pieces, The Snow by Elgar, touched many hearts. There was a time not too long ago that saw youth choirs performing technically challenging pieces which were mostly not easy on the ears. One often ended up appreciating the prowess of the singers and sophistication of the choral arrangement rather than the music itself. Hence, it was a refreshing change when The Snow was sung at the SYF. The other set piece, Essassa by Ko Matsushita, was probably one of the most difficult pieces for a youth choir to master as it was rated a 5 from a difficulty scale of 1-5. This composition is in 5 parts and here’s an audio recording of the choir performing it.
I was happy for the choir when they were given the award they deserved at the end of the day. Here’s an audio recording of The Snow they sang. (The sound quality would be better with good speakers or earphones.) Lyrics of the song below. Enjoy :)
The Snow
O snow, which sinks so light,
Brown earth is hid from sight,
O soul, be thou as white as snow.
O snow, which falls so slow,
Dear earth quite warm below;
O heart, so keep thy glow,
Beneath the snow.
O snow, in thy soft grave
Sad flowers the winter brave;
O heart, so soothe and save,
As does the snow.
The snow must melt, must go,
Fast, fast as water flow.
Not thus, my soul, O sow
Thy gifts to fade like snow.
O snow, thou art white no more,
Thy sparkling too, is o’er;
O soul, be as before,
Was bright the snow.
Then as the snow all pure,
O heart be, but endure,
Through all the years full sure,
Not as the snow.
(C. Alice Elgar)
Did they do The Snow with Strings accompaniment in addition to piano? I can hear that in your audio recording. Was the Strings “live” too?
Ah, my daughter’s school choir did the Essassa piece the last SYF in 2009 and I watched them too, then at VCH – fantastic. So Ms Lim had TK do that piece this year, huh? ;D Going to watch my daughter’s choir SYF week after next. Can’t wait! Never seen her in a mixed SATB choir before!
Hi sam,
The choir had live accompaniment by a pianist and 2 violinists. The violinists were really professional in that they made the choir sound even better without being overpowering.
Yah, Ms Lim’s choice of SYF pieces do circulate amongst her choirs. :) My ex-choir almost did Essassa in 2007 but due to one reason or the other, we went for another piece instead.
My guess is that your daughter is in JC now :) Enjoy the upcoming performance!
Oh wow! I’ve never seen SYF choir with strings accompaniment! Did the rest have as well? Professional Violinists or their own students? Bc TK has their own String Orchestra, right?
Yes, my eldest is in JC, under Mr Kwei. I’m expecting something outstanding, hopefully! ;D I know him from way back from univ choir before he started working and revolutionalised the standard of school choirs.
Hi Sam,
I don’t know about the rest of the school choirs as I only watched a few performed. From what I know, strings accompaniment is uncommon for choirs due to the available choral works. Most choirs either have piano accompaniment or go a cappella.
The violinists who played for the choir are professionals. When it comes to competition, the school prefers to hire professionals for their level of reliability and maturity of playing skills. The choir had student violinists for their own concert though. :)