R3 Christmas carol competition

[ardcarp]

I guess many of us have been studiously avoiding mentioning this for fear of some old topics being dragged up again.
I did listen to all six. Two in particular caught my attention as being very well wrought and effective pieces, and ones which a good amateur choir would like to have in their repertory. The winner wasn't one of them, but good luck to her all the same.

The BBCS singing Ding Dong MoH at 8.30 this morning was a bit much...probably for them too.

[jean]

Are they all available together anywhere so I don't have to listen to R3 all day in the hope of catching them?

[DracoM]

Ian Hope's setting would have been my winner. Pretty crass words to set, IMO.

[jean]

Are they all available together anywhere so I don't have to listen to R3 all day in the hope of catching them?

They are here.

[Gabriel Jackson]

Pretty crass words to set, IMO.

Certainly a very difficult text to set.

[Mary Chambers]

I didn't find the text crass exactly, but I felt that it didn't cry out for a musical setting. I've heard the carols once. At first (and only) hearing I felt the piano parts let them down - all fairly banal.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The idea of a carol competition is fine. What bothers me is the public vote - rather like the Eurovision Song Contest, when the Balkan countries vote for one another, entrants e-mail all their friends and ask them to vote partially, rather than on merit. It was the same with the National Trust photo competition and probably with the Countryfile calendar.

A panel of expert judges is a better way of doing things.

[Padraig]

I've found Jean's useful link. I've tried a couple of things to access the text without success. Can someone please tell me the obvious place to find Susan Hill's poem. Thanks.

20.00

It's all right now!
I stumbled on a spoken version. I thought of Hardy's oxen and Kenneth Grahame's fieldmice, both of which I love in the versions I have on tape though neither of which seems to be available elsewhere. This is a different kettle of fauna.

[Mary Chambers]

The idea of a carol competition is fine. What bothers me is the public vote - rather like the Eurovision Song Contest, when the Balkan countries vote for one another, entrants e-mail all their friends and ask them to vote partially, rather than on merit. It was the same with the National Trust photo competition and probably with the Countryfile calendar.

A panel of expert judges is a better way of doing things.

Yes, agreed - if they really are experts.

[decantor]

The idea of a carol competition is fine. What bothers me is the public vote - rather like the Eurovision Song Contest, when the Balkan countries vote for one another, entrants e-mail all their friends and ask them to vote partially, rather than on merit. It was the same with the National Trust photo competition and probably with the Countryfile calendar.

A panel of expert judges is a better way of doing things.

I agree entirely with EA's conclusion. His premise carries the (presumably unintended) implication that the voting was tainted, which I regard as unlikely.

I didn't vote, as I considered the whole exercise to be another example of Radio 3's wrong-headed attempts to 'engage' its audience. I did listen - only once, but carefully and with the text - to each carol, awarding marks for word-setting and intrinsic musical interest. The winning carol was comfortably bottom of the heap on my assessment - which puts me firmly in my place, and shows how out of kilter I am with wider musical tastes. Even so, I would much like to have heard the verdict of that expert panel of judges.

[ardcarp]

The panel of judges, which included David Hill and Judith Weir, picked the final six fro all the entries. Then it was over to the public. I don't suppose there was any rigging or corruption from a civilised and probably quite small Radio 3 electorate!

I think the composers were 5 men and 1 woman.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I agree entirely with EA's conclusion. His premise carries the (presumably unintended) implication that the voting was tainted, which I regard as unlikely.

My implication was based upon experience, and by the fact that one of the entrants had e-mailed friends/acquaintances to persuade people to vote, should the carol be shortlisted (which it wasn't). It isn't illegal, but it isn't good either.

[BBMmk2]

I quite liked the winning entry!

[Mary Chambers]

The winning carol was comfortably bottom of the heap on my assessment - which puts me firmly in my place, and shows how out of kilter I am with wider musical tastes. Even so,

I've just listened again, and agree with you entirely - though I don't feel 'put in my place', and I doubt if you really do either.

I didn't vote.

[meles]

I thought they were all pretty poor. Like Sondheim on a bad day.