It has been a very busy weekend, with the Queensland Eisteddfod. This article carries on from my previous article about my competition solos, small group and choral performances. Having now completed the competition, I can now say what pieces were sung.
I have hyperlinked songs that have recordings available on YouTube. These are not of myself or of the choir. Due to copyright laws in Australia, we can not record performances at Eisteddfods. These links are to show the songs that were performed.
I was debuting as a soloist this year. Looking back I think I did rather well. I placed in two of the six soloist categories I entered in.
- Sacred Solo – “The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)” Theme from BBC series ‘The ‘Vicar of Dibley’ (by Howard Goodall). I placed first in this section. Performed this in the Church Theatre. In this theatre there is a large stain glass window that faces the stage, so only performers can see it. Halfway through the song, the sun shine through the glass, making it seem ethereal, and shone onto the stage. It’s quite a weird feeling when you’re singing a sacred piece and that happens.
- Soprano Solo – “The Lords Prayer” (by Albert Hay Malotte). I placed third in this section. By the time I got to this section I was dead tired. I’d just come off stage from singing in choirs, and it was late at night, so I think I did well all things considered. Plus side was that I was already warmed up to hit the high B flat at the climax of the song.
- Australian Composer – “Come Sleep” (by P. Glanville Hicks). I had to sing this one using ‘the book’ (with the words in front of me). This was also first up in the morning, so was still a little groggy. Was very warmed up though, due to having a quick rehearsal of choral items at 7.45am. I am definitely not a morning person.
- Art Song – “Sure on this Shining Night“ (by Samuel Barber). I may have rushed and mucked up a few of the rhythms. My accompanist did a phenomenal job keeping up with me, because I really did mess this one up. Sounded great though according to the adjudicator.
- Musical Theatre – “How Could I Ever Know” from ‘The Secret Garden’ (by Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon). This was the largest section that I competed in, but then it is the most popular solo sections. Competitions can use costume and throw abit of drama in to. Sometimes songs get repeated. My song was done three times in total, but the feedback that I got back was that my rendition was the best. So personal kudos to me.
- Folk Song – “Spanish Lady‘ (arranged by David Downes) – The last section. I didn’t place but I was only half a mark from getting High Commended, so pretty happy. This section was also another large section, with varying types of voices from strong opera, and light ballad, men and women. My song was one of the faster, more quirkier songs done. It may have been a little too fast, don’t know if it was me or the accompanist. It does go like a rocket though. Oh, well. Something to giggle about later.
Also had a few small group sections
- Trio – “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (by Don Raye and Hughie Prince). Our little trio got 2nd. We thought we completely mucked it up. But the adjudicator commented that we were well blended and loved the actions that we put in. We added a few salutes, and old school shines to go with the 1949s theme of the piece. Goes to show, you never can tell.
- Small group – “Angels Breathing Out” (By Alisa Bair). Our choral group got Highly Commended for this piece. It was very hard to hear in the stage, as we were in the large auditorium. But we survived.
- Open Hymn Singing – “Be thou My Vision” (arranged by Heather Sorenson). Performed this with 7 other people and got 1st place. We also sound this in the large auditorium but we decided to stand pretty close to each other. Was still difficult to blend but the. The usual default is to just repeat what was done in rehearsal and hope that it’s enough. In this case, it was.
And finally, a lot of choral (choir) pieces
- Open Musical Theatre – “Into the Woods (Choral Highlights) (by Stephen Sondheim, arranged by Mark Brymer). We of romped this with stage movement and basic costuming (because a lot of us were competing in other sections) we placed 2nd, after a group the did “Time Warp” and had a pianist that was dressed in black with fishnets. He looked like Frankenfurter. It was a well deserved win by that group.
- Madrigals – “Fire fire, my heart” (by Thomas Morley) and “Shoot, False Love (by Thomas Morley). This section had a set piece, which every choir has to present. Helps level the playing field a bit. Everyone in the choir has a strong dislike for madrigals. Might have something to do with all the ‘Fa la las’ and coordinating them so it doesn’t sound like a shambles. We came away with a Highly Commended
- Open Sacred – “O Nata Lux” (by Morten Lauridsen) and “When the Saints Go Marching In” (by Rutter). We did two very different pieces, one of which was entirely in Latin. What is sacred if you can’t do it Latin?
- Ladies – “The Blue Bird” (by Mary Coleridge) and “Come, Ye Makers of Song” (by Henry Purcell and Ruth Henderson). Women only section, showing their skill with two contrasting pieces. I got to sing the high part with two other ladies in ‘Blue Bird’ which mainly constituted of repeated saying ‘Blue’ and a few short pretty verses that floats over the rest of the choir. We came away with third place.
- Modern Chorus – “Hushabye Mountain” (by Sherman). Beautiful melody. I love this piece. The choir got Highly Commended.
- Chief – “Afternoon on a Hill” ( by Eric William Barnum) and “Witness” (arranged by Jack Halloran). The final section for choirs. This section felt amazing when we were all up onstage in the large auditorium. ‘Afternoon’ was the set piece that had to be performed by all choir. According to the conductor, there were choir members who were tearing up onstage. We nailed ‘Witness’. Loved it. The final note was loud and proud, and we made the whole auditorium reverb, which we all heard when the sound bounced back onto the stage. We won this section.
The feedback from this weekend has been largely positives, it has anybody moment so bout how the Toowoomba Choral Society has come back from a performance quality slump. This is largely due to the effort and talents of the conductors, accompanists and vocalists onstage. A lot of hard work and team work. To those who read this post (you know who you are), the greatest thanks to you all.
Feedback about my solo performances as been a awesome, with many commenting that I’m seem to be going from ‘strength to strength’. I pray that it keeps going.
So looking back at everything that was achieved. There is no wonder that today I am feeling quite sore in the body, and vocally tired.
The countdown has began for the next performance, and preparation for future performances, gigs, etc are now well underway. As the saying goes, there is no rest for the wicked.
Until next time.
Sarah Talbot 
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