The power of the choir

When I used to think of choirs I would think churches and hymns or being forced to sing at school, something a bit dull and drab. It has only been in the past nine months or so that I've begun to discover different uses for choirs and how they can transform a piece of music in a truly magical way. 

As I sit here listening to Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe - which has fantastic use of a wordless choir and is the inspiration for this blog - I'm going over in my mind my favourite pieces with choirs. I've come up with the following which I think would be an good introduction for anyone who, like I was, is dubious about choirs.

Holst - Neptune, the Mystic from The Planets

This was the first piece that really made me sit up and pay attention to choirs. I went to see the planets suite at the Royal Festival Hall in the first half of this year. I had not heard it prior to seeing it performed so I had no expectations. Now if you've never seen this piece performed I won't spoil the surprise for you (if you have seen it you'll know what I'm talking about) but the staging of the choir has such a fantastic impact. The choir is a female wordless choir with an eerie feel. The pieces ends with the musicians stopping, leaving just the choir singing. They fade out to end. It is incredibly beautiful and very eerie and effective.

Grieg - In The Hall Of The Mountain King from The Peer Gynt Suite

This is a well known piece used in a lot of things. If you don't know it by name you will recognise it when you hear it, it was used on the Alton Towers advert a few years back. It builds up to a powerful fff ending with an aggressive sounding choir. Its very powerful, my 18 year old sister is still scared of it!

Tippet - Ritual Dances

I saw this when I "Trogged" at Dartington Summer School this August. It was one of the pieces in a concert I was trogging (and when you're a trog you get to listen to concerts for free!). Again this was something I'd never heard before but on hearing it I forgave the choir for the annoyance of spending the day sorting out the staging problems they posed! Again it was a fantastic piece with the choir adding to it greatly.

Ravel - Daphnis et Chloe

Last but by no means least! This excellent suite was written to accompany a ballet but is now performed in full by orchestras. Like Neptune, the first time I saw it performed was the first time I heard it and it literally took my breath away. The overall piece is wonderful but the parts with the choir are just amazing. I saw it at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the proms with a choir of about 100. You can image the power! It is a wordless choir again, the best kind! Again this creates an eerie sensation. The piece begins with the choir singing very quietly, almost humming and gradually builds up from there. Ravels writing is excellent and the choir has such a powerful effect. I can't do it justice in words, you have to listen to it. Also listen out for the wind machine!

So in essence choirs are good when they're with orchestras, particularly wordless ones. If you're wanting to write an orchestral epic of some kind they are your best friend! If you've never heard the above pieces definitely listen to the Holst and Ravel, they are a must.