Choral Competition [DEADLINE PASSED!] View Submissions Thread

[leightwing]

However, that does not label such baritones as "second tenors" and I despise being labeled as such. Just as Mezzo's don't typically appreciate being labeled as "second sopranos". My range doesn't dip as low as that of a well trained bass, and doesn't reach as high as a well trained tenor.

OOO - Now I know how to insult you should the need arise . - - You, you... SECOND TENOR!! :) - Just practicing. :P .

Joking aside. Because I have never participated in one of these things before, I'm curious what the process for this type of competition is, or what Nick might have had in mind. No doubt, it will be difficult to judge apples against oranges, and your concerns and ideas deserve consideration.

One of my first thoughts off the bat would be to wait to see a good portion of the submissions before jumping to a decision on the matter. I.e., the winning entries may be very obvious to the judges and there may be no need to assign specialists. Certainly, where comments are concerned, those who are most knowledgeable in those different areas should step to the plate and put in the lions share of the work if necessary. I feel that to make this an enjoyable and/or valuable learning experience for all involved, all judges should attempt to comment to the best of thier abilities on all peices. But not knowing the judging criterion or even commenting the process at this point, it's near impossible for me to make any suggestions.

So, for the time being - I'm awaiting instructions. :)

[littlechopin]

Thanks for the Info whoever that was..

[Nightingale Incorporated]

Idly twiddles thumbs alongside leightwing.

[Guest Nickthoven]

If we end up receiving 10 or more pieces, which could be considered lucky, we might want to split them up into groups...but I'm still not sure about the idea. We'll talk about it more.

[frantz]

i'd like to join! thanks!

[Maximilian Caldwell]

I offered to judge on the pinned 'Judges' thread, but thought I might apply here too.

May I judge?

Maestro Sapphire

[Mike]

Yes you may.

[Mike]

He's clued-up enough to be capable of judging, isn't he?

[Mike]

I'll take the issue up with the mods.

[leightwing]

Hey guys, here's an opportunity to judge one of the judges.

[Marius]

*cough* cheap advertising! *cough* *hack* excuse me :thumbsup:

[Maximilian Caldwell]

May I judge?

Yes you may.

yay :P

*puts on top hat and procures papers to shuffle*

Maestro Sapphire

PS. No, I'm not a composer, but I do feel qualified to judge a choral competition.

PPS. One more thing, would it be possible to require a MIDI? mp3/wav/ogg/aiff files take a LONG TIME to download for dial-up users.

[Insane]

Sign me up as a competetor. :ninja:

[Maximilian Caldwell]

I enjoy listening to and reviewing music. Also having long arguements with Schubes and/or Jeremiah. I think most librettists should be allowed to be a part of a music website.

[Nightingale Incorporated]

Seeing as how Sapphire is an accomplished Librettist, it seems only appropriate for him to judge a contest in which the main focus is setting of text. His opinions on prosidy could be helpful in a competition such as this. As long as he doesn't judge on things like orchestration and form, I think he's quite skilled in this area, and capable of judging said competition.

[leightwing]

*cough* cheap advertising! *cough* *hack* excuse me :D

Range: Generally speaking, it is a good idea to use as much range as possible. However, be aware that the voice is similar to many other instruments in that in thier extreme ranges, voices sound differently and tend to have dynamic restrictions. The divide between the sopranos and altos at measure 14 gave me some cause for concern, but I was confident that my altos could belt it out and that my sopranos were musical enough to make room for them. It sounds great in the recording, but I have to give a lot of credit to the musicians. I'm not so sure that most choirs could negotiate it so musically, so I still wonder that the writing is a tad suspect there.

BTW, I don't mean to high-jack this thread. If anyone wants to comment on my peice, please do it on the appropriate thread.

[pianoman216]

Wow, well said leight. haha, whenever I have competing texts I have my mom sing one word while I sign the other just to see how they sound together. Some word combinations actually sound really cool, but you do have to be careful.

Adding to the whole range thing: I heard someone once say, "the closer together your notes are, the better the song will sound". IMO, thats not true in the least bit. At one point in my song I split 8 ways and hit every note in the scale; it sounds like crap in one octave, but spread out accross 3 octaves and with a huge creciendo building to it, it sounds amazing. It still takes my beath away, and I wrote it (that really is one of the best parts about composing).

And one lst thing: What is a librettist?

[Maximilian Caldwell]

Someone who writes the text sung in an opera, operetta, oratorio, even a musical, i.e., the libretto...like W.S. Gilbert, or Lorenzo da Ponte, or even Wagner.

Here's the official definition:

li

[Compclar]

I have been busy moving into college and all that, so I didn't see this until today. I would like to participate in this contest since I have never written a full choral piece.

[Mike]

You've been added to the list.

[Lord Sorasen]

I must ask, does it matter what source our chosen text comes from? If anyone has already asked this, please forgive me...

[leightwing]

I must ask, does it matter what source our chosen text comes from? If anyone has already asked this, please forgive me...

From the revised rules:

"TEXT: The composer must credit their text and its author. Any text will do."

Regarding text, in my mind, the competition is based on how you set it, and not about judging its quality or content. Pretty much anything is fair game. For all I care, you could set random swear words to music, although it might not be prudent to do so as you might offend the sensibilities of some of the judges. Others may have thier opinions, but I would encourage you to choose whatever text inspires you. If you have a particular text in mind that you feel is borderline, by all means, ask us.

[Lord Sorasen]

Cool, thanks for the info. :dry:

[Guest whitekran101]

ermm, im 3 days late and its the night of september 2nd, but is there any way i can sign up? if not, i completely understand

just wondering if i can, since i was thinking of writing a vocal piece as well

[Mike]

The deadline's passed, so no, I'm afraid you can't sign up.