Not Jazz, Closer to Barbershop, But Something to Consider

Up Above My Head

arr. Fingerprints

So I know that this isn't exactly a jazz group, but I think it is still a really good group. I am not just saying it because my brother happens to be the bass.  The material is excellent, as well as the presentation. At times, I hear some fuzziness in the soloist that makes me think they are going out of key, however, they seem to bring it right back.  (On a related note, at one point I think the soloist starts to sound like Freddie Mercury) One thing that I really like in the group is the fact that there is an equal balance of the stereotypical bright spread jazz choir, and the more traditional choir sound.  The vowels are not overly pure, nor are the suffering from excessive diphthongs.   In reflecting on the dynamics, I thought it was pretty balanced with the exception of half way through the solo. I had to turn up the volume to hear the the vamp.

All in all, a great piece, a great group.  I should probably get the notation sometime soon.

Phantom of the Music Room

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIqX4ueyAZw

Relating to the readings for class today, this is a "musical".  However, it isn't your typical musical.  

Phantom Of The Music Room

From Alfred Music Publishing

A Musical For 2-Part Voices

by Janet Gardner

Who or what is that shadowy figure playing the piano in the school music room after dark? Several students and Deputy Barney set out to solve this musical mystery with surprising results. Phantom Of The Music Room features six songs with clever texts set to musical classics by Beethoven, Haydn, Chopin, Dvorák, Sousa, Grieg, and others. (30 minutes, Grades 3 and up)  

http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.php?product_group=1349#.UWbpQb_v5LQ

I remember doing this in elementary school as an extra curricular activity.  In the youtube link, the music starts at around 2:50.  While the music itself is good, now that I look back on it with the ears of a future music educator, I realize that this may not be the best quality. In the video, the quality of singing isn't terrible, but at times, it seems that it is not in a great range for some of the guys who are singing both on and off stage.  There was obviously emphasis on the choreography, but it was not overdone to the point where it took away from the vocal line.  One thing that I am not a big fan of is the fact that much of the accompaniment was "can" music. While I understand that getting a pit orchestra or band together can be almost impossible, singing with a CD is never ideal.  Overall, if the school that did this had it as an extracurricular I think it is okay. If they did this in place of General Music, the administration/teacher should probably re-evaluate musical priorities.

Children Making Beautiful Music is not as significant as Music Making Beautiful Children

Children's Choir of Texas

A Lullaby Alleluia

So this was one of those random stumbles that in my opinion, just ended really well.  I am not actually sure what school or organization this choir is associated with, but the uniforms make me think a parochial school of some sorts.  When listening to the piece, the first thing I noticed was the pure tone they have at the beginning.  There is unification of vowels, everything seems North-South instead of East-West.  They obviously worked very hard to rid themselves of the "Al-lay-lu-ya", so much so to the point where I find the second syllable to be a bit distracting. I guess there really is such a thing as going too far when it comes to that word.  There is a bit of English text, and I had times understanding what was being said. However, the phrasing, shape, and direction of the piece kept a mood that allowed me to fill in appropriate lyrics.  Many children's choirs are just cute.  This choir was cute, and extremely musical.

Credo

Credo

CaMS 8th Grade Mixed

Song by: ???

So, first off, HOLY BLUE, BATMAN!  Okay, glad that is out of my system.

Obviously this is some sort of festival. It is in a gym, so the acoustics aren't great. For a middle school group, I thought the unison section was pretty in tune. There were some issues with posture that, if resolved, might have improved the intonation.  Some of the guys in the back look like they are in the "neck-tie tenor" phase, while others are trying to reach down for the lower notes that they don't yet have.  From what I can hear, the men's part doesn't go any higher than a D, so it makes me wonder about how the changing voice has been addressed in the classroom.

I can tell that the "Who am I" section was focused on quite a bit. Their "I" was very in tune, and the vowel matching was spectacular.  The vowel itself however, I think was a bit too tall.  The phrase sounded like "Who am Ah".  In contrast, the "Peace" chord was on the right vowel, it came across clearly, but the intonation was slightly off.  I guess this is an example of picking your battles.

One battle that I am glad the director focused on was the use of tall vowels. Singing North-South as opposed to East-West.  80% of the singers seemed to have grasped the concept. This seemed to make the group seem more engaged. There is a girl in the second row in the middle right section who is very into the piece, so much so to the point where it is almost distracting. I honestly have no idea of how to remedy this, or if it should be remedied at all? How do we tell a student that they are being too expressive? She is obviously enjoying the piece, but I can't tell if it is affecting her singing?

No idea who this piece is by or where the choir is from, but I really enjoyed listening to them.

The Awakening

"The Awakening" by Joseph M. Martin
Performed by The Lee High School Men's Choir 



Wow. What a song.  There are some good men's pieces, there are some not so good men's pieces out there. This is something that has an incredible text, deeper meaning, and is able to give the listener chills.  This being said, I am a little put off by the lack of emotion that one can hear from the choir itself.  I am not going to try and analyze any physical emotion because the quality of the video doesn't allow for it.  Sound-wise, there doesn't seem to be much tempo or dynamic contrast as a group, or within parts.  The tempo could be the directors fault. there are some instances where it sounds like the group wants the piece to speed up (I think it should) but the conductor is just beating away. There are some chordal moments where the sound locks in, but when listened to individually, the group has a tendency to go flat and be behind the beat in many sections.  This seems to be a common trend with many of the men's choirs I have listened too. This most likely has to do with the tuning between the tenors and the basses.   There are some basses that should be singing baritone.  They seem to be just pushing for the lower notes, just as some of the tenors are reaching for some of the higher ones.  This makes me realize that especially within a men's group, the singers need to be comfortable with their voices, and singing on the correct part no matter what.

If I were to do this with a group, I would definitely play more with the tempo, omit the "silence" whispering portion, and add some word painting among other things. Despite my qualms, this is a very interesting piece that I would definitely use in the future.

African Noel - Brad Holmes

I found this particularly interesting.  A variation on the traditional Noel, this is "African Noel" by Brad Holmes performed by the 2009 Michigan State Honors Choir.  The song is from the Congo. It incorporates the "messengers" at the beginning of the piece that would shout or sing messages to the next village. The piece also involves movement with the music in a more obvious way than perhaps a traditional hymn.  The group tone is extremely full and round, without overdoing it. It stays true what I believe is stylistically appropriate.  Sometimes one can hear individual voices that have a bit of a nasal quality, but the sheer number of singers makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly where in the group they are coming from.  This also probably has to with the fact that the hall where they are performing (in Ann Arbor) is quite forgiving.  My only other qualm is the fact that there is a tenor sing "Pie Jesu!" right after the "Noel!" of the group that can't always be heard with great clarity. This is a great piece to do with a large group. If it were a smaller group, I don't quite think the amount of power would have quite been enough.  Listen until the end of the video. The director, Andre Thomas, has a great explanation of the dialect and the origin.

There Will Be Rest

-Marquette Senior High School Chamber Choir

28 Singers, Mixed Auditioned Group

I chose this because as a group, the blending and locking of chords is very good.  The phrasing is also phenomenal.  One particular spot of fluidity is at 2:03 where the women continue right into the next phrase. There are however some issues of blending within the sections, particularly in the altos and tenors.  This is particularly evident when it is either just the women, or just the men. I don't quite know how to classify the diction because I am familiar with the song, and it is not exactly the highest quality recording. In general, I think that the "st" sound was a bit much, but it may have been used for a separate reason.  It is easy to tell from the sound that most, if not all of the singers (and conductor) are emotionally invested in the piece and have reflected on the text.  I believe that this is a recording that I would play for my choir if I had the chance to perform this piece.