Gramophone "The 20 Greatest Choirs"

[Oldcrofter]

Tusen tack, Y Mab Afradlon !

They are little gems, these folk songs - strong melodies, interesting stories to tell. And very often they're associated with a season - usually spring or midsummer. And the religiously-inspired works are impressive settings, aren't they.

That must have been a fascinating and unusual assignment - a Day in the life of the Swedish choral educational system. Is/was there a video ?

The local church in Swedish towns and villages is where very many young solo singers and musicians learn to perform in front of a friendly audience, often as a sort of interlude in a Sunday evening service. It's an unofficial training ground - but for some reason, it produces young singers with a strong, confident sound. The student choirs have that same strength - very rich bass tone, for example.

I hope this choral forum will be a little more outward-looking and less insular than the old Radio 3 message board. I know that CE is the common denominator which all can listen to, but I used to find many comments about the choirs, and individual sections of the choirs, very lacking in generosity of spirit. People often seemed to be listening intently for the slightest faults.

Isn't Youtube a fantastic resource !

[pastoralguy]

[QUOTE=Y Mab Afradlon;14175]In the January 2011 edition of Gramophone the Cover Story...
For those non subscribers here they are -

Well, I AM a subscriber and the bloody thing hasn't arrived yet due to the bad weather! I keep sneaking a peek at my local newsagents and I know if I splash out a nd buy another one the post will deliver my subscribers copy the following day...

[amateur51]

Many thanks to Y Mab Afradlon and Oldcrofter for these wonderful Swedish links . They're very impressive and I confess that I didn't know much about Swedish choral work beforehand. What a treat!

Young Welsh choirs are to be found competing at Eisteddfodau and concerts in various parts orf Wales. Summer 2011 will see the National Eisteddfod coming to Wrexham in North Wales and if you're in the area, it's well-worth paying a visit on choir days.

http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/english/

There are sometimes television transmissions from 'y maes' (the field) on Channel Four. Last year Hardeep Singh Kohli went along, learned some Welsh and appeared to have a great time.

[Oldcrofter]

You're very welcome, Amateur51.

Yes, both the Eisteddfod network in Wales and the Urdd are tremendously encouraging for the performing arts. So too are the male voice choirs which abound in Wales who have a long and valuable tradition of inviting promising young singers, male and female, to join them for concerts and perform a couple of solo numbers in each half, or a solo with the choir backing them.

The chapel used to play a major role too but I'm not sure these days - anyone know ?

The pleasure the choir gets from listening to these young (and admitedly, not-so-young sometimes) performers is evident on their faces and I'm sure they follow the young singers' careers at college, university or on the stage with great interest and not a little pride.

[DracoM]

One of the reasons the old R3 mb was 'narrow' was because it tended to concentrate on what was being broadcast on R3. If the remit of this board is to discuss Choral music / practice both inside and outside that remit, then naturally there will be a broader palette with which to engage.

In that case, there is an issue with access to different and unbroadcast musics and that could be a problem for some.

Indeed, as soon as choral textures from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia are introduced and become more widely known, then performance practice / composers / kinds of voice etc become very interesting indeed, which then reflects back on what is happening in UK.

[Oldcrofter]

I'm sure you're right - as always, Draco.

[MickyD]

It must surely rate as one of the crassest things "Gramophone" has done to date - one of many reasons why I terminated my subscription.