Varsity Sing headed north for its Gauteng regional, where the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of Limpopo (UL) and the University of Pretoria (Tuks) sung of their best in a bid to be crowned the top university choir in the country.
Thursday 18 August, brought us to the fifth week of the inaugural Varsity Sing competition, one that has put university choirs on TV for the first time in a knock-out tournament.
We’ve seen a Western Cape and Eastern Cape regional, and this week took us to Joburg, to hear the sounds of some of our inland choirs.
Thursday’s premiere on kykNET, we were introduced to our guest judge: Afrikaans pop favourite of yesteryear Laurika Rauch. She told the audience that she wanted the singing to take her to another planet.
First up was UJ, my pick of the week as a choir to note as a main contender. They are a fascinating group that speak to the history of the institution: UJ is the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University and Technikon Witswatersand in 2005.
About 11 years later we see a diverse choir with two conductors and a choir that is adamant about singing in both western and African styles.
They opened with the performance of an Afrikaans composition Lofsang van Maria, so spotlessly delivered you would think the entire choir spoke Afrikaans as a first language. Their voice blending and Afrikaans diction should be applauded.
Next, we met UL, a choir that opened with a Pedi song Mohla Jesu A Tla Boa. There are high hopes, as the conductor passionately spoke about a composition that speaks to the Christian eschatological idea of the second coming of Christ: a prophesied event of much drama and movement.
What UL delivered was a piece with too much vibrato and a performance that felt unmoving. It didn’t feel like a second coming. Judge Christo Burger pointed out that it was difficult for him to judge African annotation, but that they can play more with their sounds going forward.
Loyiso Bala chimed in that they can take more risks. Last up on the episode, we heard the Tuks Camerata choir, a group of about 70 full-time students from the university. They clearly defined themselves as members of an institution, with the men formally dressed in blazers. It spoke to a choir steeped in university tradition.
They opened with the Latin-language Lux Nova, a technically-sound performance with great harmonies and blending.
Tune in next week to see which two Gauteng choirs progress through to the semi-finals.
By Wendyl Martin, Weekend Argus
