Tuesday 18 September, 1998 Victoria Concert Hall |
VOX ENSEMBLE
In Concert 1998 |
|
MONTEVERDI Cantate Domino BRUCKNER Ave Maria (arr.Trinkley) STANFORD Three Motets, Op.38 BARBER Agnus Dei Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (arr. Brunner)
Traditional-Arrangements: Viel Freuden mit sich Bringet Cuc, cuc Qing Jiang He Mo Li Hua Among the Leaves So Green, O! Takeda No Komoriuta Humpty Dumpty Medley MOZART Rondo from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (arr.Swingle) "Un'aura Amorosa" from Cos fan tutte DEBUSSY Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans GENE Italian Salad (arr.Rowley) WONDER Sir Duke (arr.Edenroth) REEVES Earthbound (arr.Jason Ong) FOGELBERG Longer (arr.Shaw) PIAZZOLLA Verano Porteo (arr.Escalada) EDENROTH Chili Con Carne LENNON/McCARTNEY With a Little Help from My Friends (arr.Gritton)
Koh Jo-Lin Doreen Tan Josephine Tan sopranos
Guest Singers: Mark Chan Lionel Choi tenor Chia Wei Khuan baritone |
OVERALL NOISE RATING:
4 (Despite an announcement to turn off handphones and pagers, at least one lousy individual did not heed the call [sorry about the pun!] Otherwise
supportive relatives with unsettled children contributed to the bulk of
the noise...)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
by Ng Yeuk Fan
I was quietly disgusted the other day when I was sitting in the audience
of the concert of another Singapore choir. If not for that fact that a friend of
mine had invited me, I would have walked out on them, for I had developed
a headache by the second half. This choir had the cheek to call
themselves Singapore's premier choir on the account that it had won
several awards from abroad. In its only opportunity to impress me, it
failed utterly.
Perhaps, as a result of the former, I came to listen to Vox without any
pre-conceived ideas. I had heard comments about how good Vox has been,
but I did not venture far enough to imagine what they would sound like.
Vox began as a group of youngsters who missed choral singing. The Ensemble was established in January 1995, with the mission to make good a capella
music. Towards their laudable aim, they have today achieved significant
success in terms of a second placing in the Harmony Awards 1997 (CHIJMES,
Singapore) and concerts to critical acclaim; but mark this - this choir is
underrated. If Victoria Chorale's foreign success is anything to go by,
Vox will require that same panel of judges to disqualify them for
competing in the wrong category. Vox has got a professional sound it
should be proud of - and in this vein, a comparison with international
groups will not be impossible as Vox comes breathlessly close to
international standards. To be first class however, they will need
unscrupulous musical direction, exacting precision and professional vocal
commitments.
Though not without flaws, I would compare Vox favourably with
Quink, who was last heard in Singapore at the ARTS Festival 1998 (my
review here). Hence my exasperation here - Vox does not have the means to
extend its reach to where it would benefit most. Neither does it have the
financial means to record its versatile and very exciting (and most
fearsome) repertoire on compact disc. [This is a VERY SUBTLE to SPONSORS and
record companies]. Why do we have to listen to the Cambridge Singers, or the
King Singers when we have our own Vox in the making here in Singapore?
This is serious repertory: it is no mean feat to pull off such a dazzling
array of songs from all periods. I am impressed by the performances, in particular, of
Debussy's Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans, which was an exquisite
jewel in the programme; Earthbound featuring Mark Chan would have
deserved a standing ovation if concentration hadn't been lost towards the
end of the song; the Humpty Dumpty Medley displayed great versatility while
Sir Duke was sung with much heart and communication.
The Three Motets by Charles Villiers Stanford, Cantate Domino by Claudio Monteverdi and the Agnus
Dei by Samuel Barber suffered slightly from minor pacing problems and a direction that does not sufficiently capitalize the inherent prowess
of the chosen music.
Qing Jiang He by Singapore composer Leong Yoon Pin (b.1931) deserves more attention than it receives.
It is a first-class piece of work. Vox did not do enough to transmit the
suspended magnetism of those chords. Greater imagination is required
here.
The smaller ensembles performing the Ave Maria by Anton Bruckner and
Cuc, cuc were less secure vocally. The baritone soloist in
Longer was somehow drowned by enthusiastic singing from the basses - at least from where I was sitting. Further, both the Mozarts were messy,
especially the Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which suffered from
post-intermission 'here-goes-the-second-half' syndrome. Lionel Choi's sweet tenor voice was overly sentimental and therefore not
stylish in his reading of "Un'aura amorosa" from Cos fan tutte. High
notes were pitched with an unscholarly gliss and further, his Italian
vowels needs correction. Comparatively, Chia Wei Khuan was
technically more secure, though the lack of practice and perhaps age
marred his beautiful lyric sound.
The rest of the repertoire was always interesting, in particular Piazzolla's Verano
Porteo , Edenroth's Chili Con Carne, the traditional Japanese Takeda No Komoriuta and the English Among the Leaves So
Green, O!. Vox should be commended for its intelligent programming.
The Ensemble's sopranos deserve particular mention for their beautiful tone but there
were obvious lapses in intonation (Barber) that was quite unexpected.
Basses had a nice chest resonance that was occasionally marred by a bit of
a hard edge. At times, imitation string bass sounds did not float beyond
the stage sufficiently. Altos could blend a little more while tenors must
stand their part on their own with greater confidence. Ensemble work is
generally clean while dynamics were not quite bold or varied enough to
bring down the house.
Though Vox did not realise all the artistic possibilities of the songs in
the night's offering, in those that they did not excel, they were never
less than convincing. One must admit that this is an extremely
challenging choice of repertoire and Vox was visibly tired-out by the end
of the second half. Nevertheless, they displayed great enthusiasm
throughout and there were always interesting smiling faces to look upon.
All in all, Vox should reassess its unique position in the Singapore choral music
scene. I dare suggest that Vox has more than proven its worth in its
short existence and is now matured enough to take on the choral scene
internationally. To go any further however, there are riguers which Vox
must know about and must be prepared to weather.
Having said this, I must commend Vox on the efforts (despite all its
constraints - all its members are not full-time singers; they have professional
commitments) put in to make the concert one of professional standards.
Excepting their appearance, which is a tad un-uniformed, I applaud the first
class program design and layout, the entire concert concept of a "Fat-Free
Diet" and the well-prepared programme notes and the professional
photographs. Their shoe-string budget is apparent in the speech made by
their music director Gregory Chen at the end of the concert; Mr Chen mixes
professionalism with a bit of the 'home-grown' style that is appropriate
for the largely familiar and well-wishing supporters. Foreigners who are
not accustomed to how the choral scene in Singapore has developed can
mistake this show of more-than-friendly support as less than professional.
Nevertheless, Vox's efforts have paid off and I am left without doubt that
Vox Ensemble intends to be taken seriously, and professionally.
The Vox (left) sound, which is impressive here and blending
perfectly with the invited groups In'choRale and Tone Culture, is capable of evoking a
emotionally forceful Agnus Dei which was not as apparent as I would have
liked it to be - it could have moved me to shed a tear.
Ng Yeuk Fan wishes Vox well in all its future endeavours - this group
deserves far more attention that it is getting!
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