Festival honours top choral groups

Chitungwiza Harmony Singers performing their African piece (Pic: Joseph Maramba)

Attending the Old Mutual National Choir Festival Finals reminded me why I love classical and choral music so much. There is an almost dominant force of love that comes from hearing repertoires sung and performed by musicians from the continent of Africa. It is an overwhelming feat to follow behind the footsteps of great classical musicians in history and to be able to scale dizzy heights whilst doing so.

This year marked the 40th edition of the festival which has become a somewhat tradition to a niche society of choral lovers where the two-day event is categorised by the singing of negro spirituals and traditional hymnals from the audience while the choral performances from the choral groups represented take to the stage.

I still believe the event is the most under rated event in the Southern African region and surprises me as to why the event does not get the best marketing and slots on the national television channels across the continent.

The euphoria that has gripped every city hosting this competition for the past four decades can easily be parred to events such as when international choral choirs and classical voices have performed on world class stages such as in Sydney, Barcelona, New York, etc.

It can easily be equated, as it has attracted classical music icons such as the South African opera singer, Pretty Yende and continues to place the African continent on the great choral and classical musical landscape.

Soloist for Kopano Chorus performing at NCF 2017 (Pic: Joseph Maramba)

25 choirs were out to fight for the continent’s top honors in three categories, Standard (10), Large (10) and the Champ of Champs (5).

The large following for the choirs performing here make it hard for adjudicators and masters of ceremonies to silence the chanting and support from within the stands. It is like the Olympics of choral competitiveness in Africa and every choir that claims to be top class, is represented here.

As such in 2018, because of the love for choral music in the region, South Africa will host, for the very first time, the World Choir Games which are to be held in the Tswane region.

This year OMNCF milestone celebrations saw a composition for the standard category from a celebrated writer Qinisela Sibisi - Inqola Emasondosondo in recognition of all the players and supporters of the event for the past four decades. In ernest, the festival has cultivated a musical culture where the artists seem to reap more.

A western piece was also available for selection to sing with most in the Standard category settling for Norma by Bellini which required a powerful soprano solo that could make or break a performance. It is these western pieces that have been responsible for the great love for opera singing and performances within the region and become a source of livelihood for some.

You can view some of the prescribed music here.

Choirs here meticulously chose a befitting wardrobe for their song choices as if to assume the character in these opera pieces, which has become an almost must for every singer at this stage though there are judged purely on performance and not looks.

The inclusion of a full orchestra in the western set pieces’ performances makes it more interesting and educational to choir members participating in this festival.

I sat next to a lady who was attending the show for the very first time in her life. She marvelled at the vocal range of the performances and was adamant, choral music was heavenly. Though she preferred the more traditional sound rather than western classical opera mainly because it was her first-time experiencing repertoires performed here.

A large number of people in Africa still struggle to accept classical music as a genre for the society, they have always viewed it as an elitist, whites only music. The NCF has done much to dispel these myths around the genre.

I believe that opera needs to be nurtured within the region and has so much potential to be a way out for many singers. It is time we see more shows such as the Old Mutual National Choir Festivals across the continent and encourage many of our own compositions.

The Old Mutual is a great successful story of great classical choral sounds, intriguing costumes, pride and a bizarre character of "we'll win next time" from the losers that have them ready to do it all again.

It is impossible to predict outright winners in these finals as all choirs here are winners from their respective regions and have to leave it all on the stage to grab a chance to collect part of the R1,6 million available as prize money.

That said they will always be crowd favorites which the adjudication can never take away from the crowd.

In the end they could only be a handful of winners in the categories mentioned.

STANDARD CATEGORY

1. Prince Mshiyeni Choir - 91 2. Western Classical Voices Choir - 87 3. Chitungwiza Harmony Singers - 83

LARGE CATEGORY

1. Kopano Chorus - 93 2. His Majesty Correctional Services Choir - 90 3. Zwelitsha Adult Choir - 89

CHAMP OF CHAMP WINNER

SA Singers

The winning choral groups are a testament of hard work and necessary support from organisations such as Old Mutual, who have defied the test of time and continue to support such initiatives.

A large number of choristers have to fork out their own savings to attend practice, purchase costumes and wardrobes, attend competitions and research on prescribed material and upkeep whilst travelling.

Chitungwiza Harmony Singers which won third in the Standard Category has to fight harder than most as they are from a poorer country than most in the region. Their continued participation has to be hailed as inspiring for they continue to grow and participate in the festival and will be promoted to compete in the Large category as from 2018. They will need a recruitment drive and spend more on educational services to be at par with groups performing in this category.