Stellenbosch University (Maties) and the University of the Western Cape emerged victorious in Thursday night’s episode of Varsity Sing on kykNET, booking their spot in the new choir competition’s semi-finals.
The two university choirs competed with the University of Cape Town’s choir over two episodes, in the Western Cape regional leg of the competition.
UCT were eliminated and understandably so. The choir was the victim of poor song choices, in particular their song Weeping.
It showcased the vocal talent of choir director Kurt Haupt more than the choir members, who looked and sounded like back-up singers during the performance. This is an example of where a choir director should conduct, and identify talent within the group for solos. Their second performance, Rababara, was a good showcase of the choir’s ululating abilities.
Meanwhile, both Maties and UWC made better, sometimes risky, song choices.
The best performance of the night was Maties’ first song Soon I will be done. This was best described by judge Loyiso Bala, who said it was like listening to “surround sound”.
Led by choir director André van der Merwe, we see a glimpse of their tough training regimen, as the members hold in their jaws with their hands during a practice exercise.
Stepping out in full black, the choir resembled the New Zealand rugby team – don’t mess with them. This was personified when some members stalked forward as if in a haka. You can’t fault them technically: they had clear harmonies and diction, you could hear each word they sang.
Judge Marvin Kernelle, of Cape Town Opera, described their choir leader André van der Merwe as “fantastic”. “Keep following him,” he added. Van der Merwe looks like an animated character, who uses wide motions in his rehearsal conducting. It is a large choir though, and his members seem to love him.
For their second song, Sizongena, large proteas appeared on the skirts of the female members. They unexpectedly began to stomp in the song and Van der Merwe joined in. Bala said of the performance, “It looked like each of you understood what you were singing.”
UWC may be the dark horse of the competition, underestimated but talented. They are led by Sibusiso Njezi, who appropriately wore a T-shirt that said “UDub’s got talent” in an insert. The first piece was the Afrikaans song Aan die Noordwest, an ode to some of our country’s geography and botany. It was well nuanced, showing the choir’s ability to control their volume and adjust it for varying moods in the piece.
They do need to work on diction, you can’t hear every word they sing. Kernelle said, “Find one vowel or consonant.” Hopefully they listen. By the second piece, Lijulwe Lajinga, they seemed a little tired, lacking smiles. Guest judge Arno Carstens said they need “a lot more energy”.
Next Thursday’s episode is the beginning of the Eastern Cape round, featuring three choirs who will perform in PE: Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Rhodes University and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU).
By Wendyl Martin
Weekend Argus
