Monday, Monday.....

After a jam-packed weekend, and a morning off, we started up the 2nd week of the Eisteddfod with the afternoon session, and two Quick Study classes: Instrumental Under 18, and Piano Under 18. For those who don't know, the quick study is similar to sight-reading, but the competitors have had 48hrs to look at their pieces, whereas with sight-reading you only get 30 seconds! I did find myself pretty much sight-reading the piano accompaniment for double bassist Alex Dorey though, thankfully it was not too scary! Some good preparation work on display here for these musicians, who managed to perform their pieces with lots of fine detail and carefully considered performance markings. The winner of the Instrumental class was Zaheer Anees on snare drum, and the winner of the piano class was Sicely Mountford with a Highly Commended. 

Next up, a well represented class, the Pop Song 15 & Under 18. Some great repertoire on display here, with pieces from across the decades, and indeed across styles within the pop genres, with songs from the likes of Elton John, Roxette, Mariah Carey and Harry Styles. Again, as with the younger singers, I'm hearing a lot of the forced expulsion of air coming at the end of phrases, and sometimes, not even then, just whenever there is a rest. It's got me wondering if there's a particular artist that does it that everyone is copying, or even if COVID has had something to do with it?..... But as a general note, if you're wondering if you might be forcing breath too much when you sing, here's a few things to look out for: 
    1) Do you have a fast almost 'bleat' like vibrato? This is almost always a sign of far too much             breath and pressure 
    2) Do you hear and feel a lot of air escaping in your sound, either through an overly breathy tone,         or a huge release of breath pressure at the end of phrases?
    3) Do you feel like you constantly need to be taking in more air to sing? Usually a sign that you're     breathing in way too much and creating way too much tension - we only ever really want to have         80% lung capacity maximum when we sing. Think less about taking a BIG breath, and which             about taking a DEEP or LOW breath instead
Some promising work in this class though! Particular highlights for me included Amy McColl's wonderfully warm vocal tone, Harry Northmore's bombastic rendition of 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting', and Clemmie Reid's powerful approach to Beyonce's 'Listen'. I also think Clemmie shows some great potential for the pop style in general (I've heard her sing a few times now), but I'd like to encourage her to explore more of her own voice - I could hear a lot of Beyonce in her performance, but Beyonce already exists, I want to hear more of what Clemmie can do! Some high marks in this class, with Emily Northmore in 3rd and Isabelle Lees in 2nd with Distinctions, and the winner being Amelia Garn with an Outstanding for her performance of 'Feeling Good', which Ben Costello stated as being 'truly worn on the sleeve'. Well done everyone, a cracking class! 

Winner of the Under 18 Pop Song Class, Amelia Garn

After a very brief interval to catch up time, we continued the afternoon with the Folk Song 15 & Under 18, which featured some lovely traditional pieces from the folk genre, and some good story-telling displayed within the performances, with the winner was Genevieve Evans, with a Distinction Performance of 'The Brisk Young Widow'. Following the singers, we had two cello classes, the Cello Under 14, and Under 16. Some challenging work being explored here by our young cellists, and all handled extremely well. I particularly enjoyed hearing the Bach Bourrees 1 & 2 from Suite No. 3 in C Major. I have fond memories of playing these myself when I was learning Cello, and I think they are not as well known as they should be when it comes to Bach's Cello Suites, so definitely look them up! Ben spoke to each of the performers about having promising dynamic palettes, and gave sound advice on using recordings of yourself to work on your tuning, which is good advice for all! Many people hate hearing themselves on recording, but the truth is, yes, that's what you sound like, accept it and use the recording as a tool to help yourself improve! The winners of each class were Imala Bearder in the Under 14 with Distinction, and Molly Robinson in the Under 16 with Distinction. Closing out the afternoon we had the Chamber Ensembles Secondary School Age featuring three different groups. A really diverse selection of music again, which is always a joy to hear - where else might you hear the Holst 'Brook Green Suite' programmed alongside the Dr Who Theme Tune?! Some promising ensemble work all around here, with the class winners being Quintissimo with a Distinction for their performance of 'Company' by Philip Glass. 

The Monday evening session, always a seemingly calm affair, perhaps because it always starts with a lot of listening but no one actually playing, as we had three Composition Classes; Under 18 (school entry), Under 18, and Over 18. Out adjudicator talked about how composition classes are somewhat of a rarity for festivals in general, so it was lovely to have three of them here in Guernsey, but also to have so many entries for each class. Ben talked about what he was generally looking for for compositions, including idiomatic writing, and understanding for feel, tempo and intelligent scoring, as well as melodic invention and originality. He also highlighted the importance of a clean and clear score presentation. The format of the composition classes does shift a bit from year to year depending on how the adjudicators want to handle it, but I did really enjoy the way it was handled this year, with the recordings of each entry being played at the beginning of each class (with the lights dimmed for a full concert experience I might add!), before Ben talked about each piece. I think this gave the audience a really good understanding of what Ben was talking about and listening for, as well as giving them a chance to hear brand new music! In the Under 18 school entry class, some promising work on display from three students, with each showing an understand of the chosen instrumentation and exploring thematic writing effectively. I particularly enjoyed the class winner Amelia Winsall's 'Underground', which had a great rock groove and drive about it, and for which she received a Distinction. In the Under 18 class, some more great writing on display here, in particular from Archie Purdue, who's film score titled 'Hansel and Gretel' really displayed his understanding of melodic themes and a wide variety of instruments (and included a great key change at the end of his piece!). Quite rightly he was awarded an Outstanding for his piece, Bravo!
- The Over 18s class soon followed, and I will say, I was disappointed that more of the young composers didn't stick around to hear the Over 18 works, as I really think they would have learned a lot from hearing mine and fellow composer Steve Richer's works, and the comments that Ben had to say. That said, some wonderful feedback for myself for my three entries, and the class win awarded to Steve Richer for his choral work 'Remember', a beautiful setting of the poem by Christina Rosetti, for which he received and Outstanding mark of 90. 

The next set of classes featured the Instrumental, Vocal, Ensemble Beginners Over 18 (which I believe is a new class for 2023? Correct me if I'm wrong), which encourages adult beginners to participate. Are really great idea for a class.When we think of 'beginners' we immediately default to young, but the truth is music is for everyone, and anyone can pick up and instrument at any age! Well done to everyone who took part in this class, and congratulations to the winners Yana Belogiannis & Debbie Anderson for their Saxophone duet, for which they received a Highly Commended mark of with 85. Continuing the instrumental theme, we had the Instrumental Bach Solo, which interestingly is the only class that features 'Over 16' as it's age bracket. Only one contended together, John Morris, who I do think sits really well with the Bach style of piano work. John's flair for quick runs, articulations and sharp shifts in dynamics are so prevalent in Bach's work, so it's somewhat of a match made in heaven. Some fine skills on display from John today, with his performances of Partita No. 1: Sarabande, Minuet I, Minuet II, Minuet III and Gigue, for which he received a Highly Commended mark of 86.  

Next up we had the Lieder Over 18; Voice & Piano. A little bit of a dying art form this class unfortunately, which specifically explores the voice and piano repertoire, and crucially in German! For this, both the vocalist and the pianist are being judged, and the ensemble work is incredibly important. Jane Martine (v) and Felicity Millard (p) won this class with a Distinction mark of 87 for their performance of 'Verborgenheit/Secrecy' - well done ladies! Finishing off the evening, the Folk Solo Over 18, another class which, I remember a few years ago was very well represented, singing well over 10-15 performers taking part. This was during the height of the local 'Sark Folk Festival' though, so maybe the presence of that festival had something to do with inspiring others to give folk singing a try. I would love to see this class with more performers in future years. Some wonderful performances here, in particular class winner Lindsey Veillard for her performance of 'Danny Boy'. I always find Lindsey has a natural ability to tell a story with her singing, no matter what genre she is in, and quite rightly she was awarded a Distinction mark of 87 and the trophy. 

All in all, a more slower paced day, but a lovely day of great music making all around at the Music Eisteddfod