It was the clash of the inland choirs this week as the country’s new university choir competition, Varsity Sing, zipped into its first semi-final.
The Gauteng choirs Tuks Camerata (from the University of Pretoria) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) squared off with Free State counterparts from the University of the Free State (Kovsies) and the Central University of Technology (CUT) in a semi-final sing-off that plays out over two episodes.
Over the last two episodes, Kovsies and CUT automatically qualified for the semis as the Durban-based Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) pulled out of the competition due to strike action on their campus.
The two winners of this semi-final will proceed to the final in October with the winners of the coastal semi-final.
Top Afrikaans rap artist HemelBesem was an excellent choice for a guest judge, a particularly talented and underrated musician.
The magic began with Tuks Camerata, the northern-most semi-finalists who are currently placed first in the competition. They cut an intimidating picture in their blazers, booming with a confident stage presence.
Yet, they delivered a soul-touching performance in their opening number, Even When He Is Silent, an ode to memories of World War II. It is understood that the words of the song were found on the wall of a concentration camp after the war. To add to the mood of the song, the choir used a sombre pile of shoes on stage as a haunting prop.
Technically, the performance was sound, with all their voice lines in balance. They expressed volume control, adding colour, shades and depth to their performance. Guest judge Hemelbesem said he wished he could have left his shoes on the stage and stand with them on their journey.
Straight-talker Marvin Kernelle said, “That was so profound. If you can show that God is there, even when he is silent, then you have told the story.”
Their second piece, Babel, was a good display of a male solo that was clear and undisturbed. They also made good use of scatting and their diction was clear in this choreographed piece that ended with the males ripping open their shirts to reveal “Tuks Camerata” spelt out in the back row.
CUT were up next with the piece of Spirit of Mercy. There was much vibrato in their soprano line and need more blending of their voices. Kernelle thought they did a “good job”. For their own choice, I thought they did a particularly good job on with the Sotho song Diphala.
It was an expression of onomatopoeia, as they imitated the sounds of trumpets with masculine scatting. The men really seemed to enjoy the performance too. Judge Loyiso Bala felt that some of the trumpets sounded like vuvuzelas. Kernelle thought they have a lot to work on technically.
UJ and Kovsies rounded up the evening with one song each and they will both perform two pieces next week.
UJ opened with a performance of ‘n Regte ou Kaapse Reën. The blending was great in this very sound performance, and the diction was spotless as you could hear each word. Bala reckoned they are an “experience choir”, he stopped taking notes as he was so focused on their performance.
Kovsies ended the episode with the piece Indlela/Koloi. They had fun choreography but at times looked bored. Kernelle said it “didn’t work”.
Tune in to kykNET on Thursdays at 8.30pm for next week’s episode of Varsity Sing, as two choirs progress to the final.
By Wendyl Martin, Weekend Argus
