Have you seen any Dragon's today?.....

A later start to the music on Monday, with no morning session - and I must say, I definitely needed the lie-in, so I'm sure the adjudicator enjoyed his morning off as well! A good time to sit back and reflect on the awesome amount of quality music we've had in the past weekend, and look forward to the rest of the week ahead.

We started the afternoon with three Viola classes; Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18. In my opinion, the Viola is an under appreciated instrument, and I was pleased to hear Adrian Goss express the same thought. It is often over shadowed by it's smaller brother (the Violin), and it's bigger brother (the Cello), and is the butt of more musical jokes than I can remember off hand! However, the tone of a well-played Viola adds so much to an ensemble's colour - think of it as the Alto in an standard SATB choir - The Sopranos and Tenors often get the good melodies and the Basses are doing their thing down in the depths - but without that 'filler' harmony (and it often is 'filler') we miss out on the really beautiful harmonies. Violas also play this vital, but overlooked role. Safe to say, there was some great Viola playing in these classes, in particular George Walker. A very young performer who is already playing at a very high standard, not just in the technical work he chooses to perform, but in terms of his musical understanding and connection with his instrument. Adrian certainly recognised the potential in George, stating that he was an "exciting prospect" as a player, and awarding him the trophy for the Under 14 class (with Distinction), and the trophy for the Under 16 (with Highly Commended).
- As an interesting aside to this class, it's worth talking a bit about posture, as it's come up time and time again in the festival so far. In today's modern world, posture problems are rife, and if you're a musician these days you're going to have double the issue, because not only do you need to be aware of your posture when you play, your life outside of music (job/school/home/exercise etc) will also impact on your body, particularly areas like your back, neck and shoulders. I have some experience with The Feldenkrais Method, which is much like Alexander Technique (with which many singers and actors will be familiar), but I find it a really easy and non-invasive way of readjusting postural problems, and it's worth trying it out if you're aware of any issues, musician or not!

Continuing the afternoon we had two vocal classes: Vocal Duet 15 & Under 18, followed by the Vocal Trios/Quartets Under 18 - some lovely part singing being displayed with these young singers. I was especially impressed with Luella and Morgan Taylor's ability to sing in complete unison, not an easy feat I can tell you, although perhaps aided by the fact that they are sisters! I must also praise 'Just Good Friends' bravery for attempting 'Defying Gravity' - no easy sing, that is for sure! Perhaps a little out of reach at present for these Under 18 singers, but there was some lovely ability to harmonise being shown by the three singers in the Trio/Quarter class. A good set of classes, with both groups receiving Commended.

The next class, Versatility Under 18, is unique in this festival. Much like the Classe Superiuere, in which the pianist or singer is required to prepare two contrasting pieces, in this class the performer is still required to prepare two pieces, but playing two different instruments of their choosing. In this class, we were treated to some excellent versatility skills from Marie-Claire Benoist, playing first the Harp, followed by the Piano. In his adjudication Adrian made reference to the importance of harmony, and how paying careful attention to the dissonance and resolution of harmonic progressions will help a performer shape the music. I personally really enjoyed Marie-Claire's piano piece, 'Elegie' by Arensky - some wonderful style and colour achieved with her playing here, I thought.
- Continuing on we had two Brass solo classes: the Under 14, followed by the Under 18. Much like singing, playing a brass instrument requires excellent breath control, but also a clear sense of intention when it comes to pitching. Adrian talked about how important it is to 'blow right through the instrument' when playing brass, as this will enhance the tone as well as aid breath control. Particular highlights of these classes came from the respective class winners, Ben Tasker on Trumpet (Under 14) and Joel Tucker on Euphonium (Under 18). Both of these musicians showed real connection to their instruments, both creating a supremely warm and mellow tone. Joel's playing was, at times, quite moving, and rightly deserving of a Distinction mark.

The final class of the afternoon, the Vocal Jazz Under 18 (one of my personal favourites - hmmm.... I wonder why?...) Some great work being shown with the young singers here. I would definitely encourage these singers to listen to more Jazz - and OLDER Jazz. It's really easy to get swept away by modern Jazz singers like Michael Buble and even Lady Gaga (incidentally, her duet album with Tony Bennett is amazing), but like Adrian has stressed a few times already, "Knowing music cannot be taught, you (the performer) have to do that yourself - it's what makes you unique." If you want to understand Jazz, you need to listen to everything from it's very beginnings to the present day, and then take what you like and develop your own style. I can see glimpses of this starting to appear in the three performers in this class..... but there is SO much room for more! Overall, the class was won by Luella Taylor with a Distinction.

Helpful information and certificate of participation for all
(and perhaps a trophy if you're lucky!)

Starting slightly earlier on the Monday evening, the first classes of the night were three composition classes: Under 18, Under 18 school entry, and the Over 18. A slightly unusual set of classes, as they involve no performance on stage whatsoever! Rather, the adjudicator has been sent the scores and recordings ahead of time, and has adjudicated the pieces before the festival starts. The audience do get a chance to hear at least part of the pieces, as before the class began recordings are played through the PA system, and Adrian requested that snippets of the pieces were played so the audience could hear what he was talking about. Composition is a very subjective thing - example: I love Chopin's 'Revolutionary' Etude - my other half detests it and thinks it's rubbish. Does that mean it's not a brilliant piece, because he doesn't like it?.... Well, no! It's his opinion and he's entitled to it! I have spent much time in the USA on composing courses and forums, and listened to the music other composers have produced, some of it really not my cup of tea at all... but I still know how to appreciate it's worth and technical prowess. Music is art, and everyone has an opinion about it, as we've seen in the live performance classes. In the case of this particular festival, Adrian discussed how he was looking for each composer's use of structure, use of instrumentation, sense of style, and harmonic texture. In the under 18 classes, my personal favourite was James Thompson's humorously named 'Writer's Block', which was a Jazz style piece. James has a really good feel for Jazz, and I could see many an audience member tapping their feet along with his recording. Some promising work coming from him (and more to come I hope). Over 18's class winner Martin Hassell submitted a 31-minute long chamber opera, which in itself deserves praise for the amount of work which must have gone in to writing a work of that scale. Martin was also praised for his fine piano writing, which is of no surprise having seen his skill and love of the keyboard instruments over the festival so far. A thoroughly interesting set of classes, and I hope the audience took away just how difficult it is to judge 'art'!

Kicking off the 'live' part of the evening, we were treated to two well attended choral classes; the Secondary School Choirs class for school Years 7-11, followed by Choir Madrigals Over 18. Starting with the schools, this was a very close-run competition, which each choir bringing their own sense of style to their program. Certainly with choirs, the key element is blending, being able to create somewhat of a unison sound despite multiple parts. The choir which seemed to achieve this best on this occasion were St Sampson's High School Chamber Choir, with their second piece 'Tears in Heaven' by Eric Clapton proving particularly effective, especially as they were able to perform this un-conducted, and with a beautiful picturesque choir formation, sitting rather than standing for this lilting and emotional ballad. St Sampson's won the class with a Highly Commended.
- In the next class, blending was also of utmost importance, but the overall style of the music took precedence here, as Madrigal singing is very particular in it's approach and delivery. Having performed Madrigals back in the day with the Guernsey Music Centre Youth Choir, I can tell you, they are not easy to pull off! The ability to blend is immediately more difficult when you consider that the parts are often moving independently, and again when you consider that the size of a traditional madrigal choir is quite small. The group which fulfilled the Madrigal brief best on this occasion was The A Team, with a Highly Commended mark of 85.

The next class, the Lieder Over 18, can be a little heavy for some audiences. In Lieder classes both the singer and pianist are marked, but the song must be in German, and this is where audiences can often be lost. German is not a particularly easy language to sing in or to listen to musically if it's not your native language, as the consonants can be quite harsh, and the vowel sounds quite dark compared to English (As a little humorous aside to brighten your day, check out this Youtube video comparing German to other languages....) - That said, when you really listen to the musicality and skill required for Lieder, and observe the partnership that is needed to be successful in performance, you can begin to appreciate the genre for what it is. Another closely contested class on this occasion, but it was Tina James (voice) and Marilyn Pugh (piano) who won the class with 84 Marks.
- Continuing on with more piano classes we had the Piano Solo: Themes from Film & TV Over 18, followed by the Piano Duet Over 18. Film music is a bit of a love of mine, and I'll admit that I am very much imagery driven when I hear music - I create imagery, little movies if you will, in my head when I hear a piece being performed, so when I know a piece is associated with a film I immediately see the films in my head! When playing a solo piano performance of a film piece, unless the piece is originally written for such, it can be quite difficult to recreate the full sound from the movie soundtrack. Adrian also reiterated his view that, if the piece is already an arrangement, you are well within your write to RE-arrange that piece to suit your performance needs. A small but perfectly formed class, with a wide variety of excellent film music, from Forrest Gump to Alice in Wonderland, but on this occasion it was John Morris who won the class with his spirited performance of 'Montagues and Capulets' by Prokofiev (which is of course now associated with the BBC program 'Dragon's Den'...... No dragon's at this Eisteddfod though, that's for sure!)

The final classes of the evening were the Recorder Solo Over 18 followed by the Senior Music Making Class. This last class in particular was a rather warm and lovely class, showing that in the festival, and in general, music really is for everyone. A wide variety of music in this class, but it was actually a 'surprise encore' which captured everyone's heart. As it transpires, it was the final competitor of the evening, Grace Ozanne's 88th Birthday, and after her performance her accompanist turned to the audience and asked them to sing her Happy Birthday. This is what I love about the Guernsey Eisteddfod. We know when to show respect and stick to more professional presentations.... but we also know how to have a jolly good laugh and join in with a bit of fun!