– Choral Concert Essay, Research Paper
Music Critique
ECU Choral Concert
I attended the ECU Choral Concert on Monday, November 6, 2000. In performance
was Kantorei directed by Janna Brendell, ECU Men’s Ensemble Blackbeard’s Ghost
directed by Sean Berg, ECU Concert Choir directed by Matthew Harden, and special
guests Leesville Road High School Chorus directed by Diane Covington. The whole
program was entertaining and very impressive. All the choirs were very
professional in both their physical appearance and their sound. In each group
the first impressions, which are so important to a performance, were perfect.
They were all dressed and aligned effectively. The sounds of every performer and
group performing were strong and intriguing. The atmosphere was relaxed but at
the same time very professional.
The first group that came on all wore long purple dresses and the conductor wore
an elegant black sparkly top that hit the light just right with a black skirt.
The girls were all spaced evenly and formed a pyramid type shape coming down
towards the audience. All the performers were very professional in the way they
held their music and their posture, looking at the conductor, following her
every move. Their sound was extraordinary, many of the pitches going from loud
to soft tones. This diminuendo and then a crescendo kept the viewers very
interested and involved. Their second piece, Kumbaya, was assembled in a very
soft tone. The piece created great emotions. The women harmonized beautifully,
with wonderful intonation. The third piece, Didn’t it Rain, was very upbeat and
fun. The girls were smiling and enjoying their work just as much as the
audience. One can really tell they love to be up there, which makes their
performance even more entertaining. Many of the other pieces throughout the
performance created this type of atmosphere, getting the audience involved with
laughter and cheers.
The Kantorei group created a wonderful mix of sounds. Men and women were
involved, giving their pieces depth and style. The conductor set the tone and
relaxed the performers right away by making them giggle. This not only made the
performers more comfortable, but also the audience. The piano created wonderful
sounds, as well as the background noises that the performers created in “Hey,
Babe”. The men and women sang without any music, but created their own by using
tongue clicks, tongue rolls, and more. The crowd was very entertained and showed
this through laughter and a wonderful applause at the end.
The high school chorus was just as amazing as the college chorus. They were very
well organized and their sounds were perfect, from my perspective. The conductor
used the harmonica to help get the first note, and talked with the crowd to
educate us more on their performance and what they were doing. The pieces they
performed varied in many different ways. One was very somber, when the next
would be very bouncy and upbeat. The next was very soft and beautiful. The
harmonizing was done wonderfully. The words form this piece, Prayer of the
Children, were very meaningful which made the piece even more emotional and
memorable. The different type of pieces performed by this group kept the
audience on the edge of their seats, not knowing what to expect next, and
wanting more.
The ECU Men’s Ensemble was my favorite group. They were very entertaining and
fun. They sang songs from Brown Eyed Girl and Love Potion Number 9, to a song
about grits. The crowd was amazed. Clapping, laughter, and cheers came from both
the performers and the audience. The performers were all men in black tux’s, two
men on each mike. The performers all wore smiles and really got into what they
were singing. Different sounds were created by the snapping of fingers, and
noises were made by the men’s mouths themselves. The singers would freely walk
around the stage, encouraging the crowd to get involved by clapping our hands,
snapping our fingers, and singing along. The pitches and tones created by each
performer was amazing and showed great talent. I would pay to see this group
perform again and hope that some day I will be able to.
Blackbeard’s Ghost brought the concert back to a more formal atmosphere. The
choir sang pieces from Sweden, Norway, and more. They’re elegant but strong
voices were perfect for the last few pieces of the concert. The men and women
combined made the auditorium fill up with a sound that is so thrilling and
amazing, that I wondered how any human could make such an incredible noise. It
makes me want to become a singer. I find it so respectable to have such a talent
such as the performers I saw do.
The choral concert was a wonderful experience. Because of my increased knowledge
from music class, I feel like I had a better appreciation for the music and what
the performers were doing. It is not easy to do what they are doing, but the way
it was displayed in this concert shows that the singers have been working very
hard and long to do what is obvious that they love to do, and the audience loved
it too.
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