The Choir - R3 - The Art of A Cappella

[ardcarp]

Sunday 28th April at 5pm

Swingle Singer Clare Wheeler with a pick of the best in contemporary a cappella.

Not sure what 'contemporary' means in this context. We shall find out. (Incidentally, I think our own Catherine Bott was a Swingle for a while.)

[DracoM]

And forgive me but I have this sneaking feeling that a cappella has been around for...ooh, four thousand years plus? So, when does 'contemporary' actually start, do you think? Swingle? KKC in say 1925? Or.....BBC Singers today? Or when whatever groups Clare Wheeler chooses to illustrate her hour etc published their latest recordings?

Cynical, moi?

[Gabriel Jackson]

The term "a cappella" has acquired a quite specific (additional) meaning in recent years which is music, and a performance style, as exemplified by the Swingle Singers.

[Contre Bombarde]

Sunday 28th April at 5pm



Not sure what 'contemporary' means in this context. We shall find out. (Incidentally, I think our own Catherine Bott was a Swingle for a while.)

Indeed. I still have my parents' Swingle Singers LP which includes the best ever solo (IMNVHO) in Stanford's Bluebird. Even just thinking about that fabulous voice and the almost imperceptible portamenti now sends a shiver along my back.

[jean]

The term "a cappella" has acquired a quite specific (additional) meaning in recent years which is music, and a performance style, as exemplified by the Swingle Singers.

The new meaning is well exemplified by the Liverpooll choir Sense of Sound:

From hip hop to barbershop and contemporary jazz to choral, Voices a cappella festival will showcase the full range of a cappella singing styles, giving plenty of opportunity for everyone to interact, get involved and get singing!

[DracoM]

Very revealing, jean. Many thanks for link.

[DracoM]

Well, there's something I didn't know - a cappella singing can be accompanied by a big band, can it? After a while, I began to wonder what exactly the definition of 'a cappella' was. Not sure this programme did much more than do what jean described above, and included pretty well ANYTHING written for any 'group of singers' [except a 'choir?], and was very, very close much of the time to what one can hear daily on Radio 2.

Not disputing the astonishing expertise of singers, arrangers etc. Just wasn't for me. I must be the 'wrong kind of listener'

[ardcarp]

I must admit too to being a bit puzzled by what 'a cappella' actually means, but having put that aside, I felt it refreshing to have some different genres of music brought to our notice. In the closely miked, and heavily engineered jazz category, I was deeply impressed by the group of Guildhall students' piece, conceived and performed by them.

Alexander Levine's Liturgy of St John Chrysostom was rather heavily plugged I thought...and AL's talking over some of it is not, or should not IMO, be part of R3's style. And surely the sound-alike of Russian Orthodox stuff has been done rather extensively already?

The sneak preview of the Swigles' forthcoming disc showed them in a progressive light. Quite right too. They have successfully recreated themselves over 50 years.

[Catherine Bott]

Indeed. I still have my parents' Swingle Singers LP which includes the best ever solo (IMNVHO) in Stanford's Bluebird. Even just thinking about that fabulous voice and the almost imperceptible portamenti now sends a shiver along my back.

Sorry everyone, can't resist replying to these kind words - I was the soloist in The Bluebird. Did 2 very happy years in Swingle II (as the group was then called, to distinguish it from the original French outfit) and learnt a great deal from Ward Swingle, happily still with us and enjoying retirement in his beloved France.

Incidentally, last night's excellent BBC Singers concert featured 4 ex-Swingles in various capacities: conductor (and composer) Ben Parry, composer Jonathan Rathbone, guest bass Simon Grant and me. Swingles get everywhere....

[amateur51]

Sorry everyone, can't resist replying to these kind words - I was the soloist in The Bluebird. Did 2 very happy years in Swingle II (as the group was then called, to distinguish it from the original French outfit) and learnt a great deal from Ward Swingle, happily still with us and enjoying retirement in his beloved France.

Incidentally, last night's excellent BBC Singers concert featured 4 ex-Swingles in various capacities: conductor (and composer) Ben Parry, composer Jonathan Rathbone, guest bass Simon Grant and me. Swingles get everywhere....

There was a news item this morning about a vaccine against shingles which I misheard initially

I always enjoyed the Swingle Singers as a lad

[JungleRumble]

I thought this was really dreadful self-promotion (how many mentions of the Swingles in one programme?), mixed with self-congratulation ("I was one of the judges of ..."), with really irritating sibilant 's's throughout the programme. Very irritating. I was so annoyed that it was hard to enjoy the music, which was of pretty variable quality in any event. And I say all this as a supporter and fan (in general) of the Swingle Singers. Hoping for better in the coming weeks.

Whilst I'm on a rant, it would be nice if The Choir actually got a full-time presenter, the "Have-I-Got-News-For-You-Guest-Presenter" format doesn't work particularly well in my opinion. The only question is, who could take it over?

[french frank]

The only question is, who could take it over?

The regular presenter of R3's Choirworks can be heard from time to time, reading the news headlines ...

[decantor]

I didn't hear this edition of The Choir, and haven't yet found the time or inclination to.......

.......But when The Swingles' first album came out during my Cambridge years, the story was rife in the colleges that Thurston Dart had tucked the LP under his arm, hawked it around the staff of the Music Department, and announced to each, "This is the version of Bach we've all been waiting for!"

Apocryphal? Mentioned in the programme?

[DracoM]

The regular presenter of R3's Choirworks can be heard from time to time, reading the news headlines ...

Precisely.

[ardcarp]

it would be nice if The Choir actually got a full-time presenter

I have to say I'm rather enjoying the 'guest presenter' format. Some programmes have appealed to me more than others, but then other people may have liked the one's I didn't. I think we Brits have an inherent dislike of self-promotion, but it must be difficult to discuss the stuff you really know about without talking about yourself a bit.

I think we must be careful what we wish for. Surely better to carry on this way for a while rather than get stuck with a regular presenter who gets on everyone's nerves all the time. I have in fact listened to The Choir (at its highly inconvenient time...or more usually on i-player) more often in the past few weeks than I did before.