Veni Creator Spiritus Analysis

The first piece of the evening was “Veni Creator Spiritus” by Anthony Bernarducci. Throughout the entirety of the piece, the University Chorale: Evening choir, did a nice job at following their conductor when he gestured for various dynamics to be performed. When their conductor would motion for a diminuendo, they were quick to follow. The choir could have improved by controlling their breath, and by scattering their breathing so to not disturb the musicality of the piece itself.

The next piece performed by the University Chorale: Evening was “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace” by John Rutter. At the Beginning of this piece, the Sopranos were doing a lovely job at easily flowing up to notes that were higher in pitch, but this quickly

changed when they decreased the amount of space that they allowed into their mouths. Quickly the lovely sound they had created was changed to one that was unpleasant to listen to. During this piece, it was also hard to understand some parts of the piece because of the choir’s consonants not being fully together. Even though these mistakes occurred, the choir was still able to create an overall strong sound.
In “A Gaelic Blessing” also by John Rutter, the University Choral: Evening did a nice job at singing on vowels, and using consonants to help solidify the words that were sung.

However, there were strange vowel choices on higher notes that made it hard to understand some of the phrases that were being sung. For example, on the word “master”, the choice to use a diphthong instead of an ordinary “a” vowel, made the word take on a darker sound in a happier song.

In “Sing We Now of Christmas”, arranged by Brian Cook the Sopranos had moments throughout the entirety of the piece where they were not on the correct pitch. This interrupted the musicality of the piece as a whole. The choir as a whole however, did a nice job at creating and using consonants to help enhance the piece.

In “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”, arranged by Trevor Manor, the University Chorale: Evening did a good job at connecting with their conductor. This made it so the piece had nice crescendo and diminuendos that enhanced the piece as a whole. The choir’s connection with their conductor also helped to create nice cut offs at the end of phrases. The Sopranos in this piece however, sounded like they were in pain, which distracted the listener from the beauty that was being

created.
The first piece performed by the University Chorale: Day was “Rejoice in the Lord alway” by Anonymous. This choir has nice expressions throughout, and this really made the piece enjoyable to watch. However, they seemed to be unconfident in what they were doing. The choir also did a nice job at creating and using the space they created. This space helped to make their sound bright, which fitted the lyrics being sung.
In “Master the Tempest is Raging” by H.R.

Palmer, the choir did a wonderful job at singing freely and with resonance. This helped the emotions created by the text to easily be portrayed. They also did a wonderful job at following their conductors gestures for changes in dynamics. This helped to intensify their crescendos and diminuendos. However, their consonants would occasionally be harsh, which interrupted the beauty of the piece as a whole.

In “Grant Us Thy Peace (Verleih uns Frieden)”, it was apparent that the choir was intensely engaged in what they were doing. This was shown in their strong connection with their conductor, which was shown in their ease of crescendoing, as well as in their facial expression. This made it easy to tell how both the conductor and members of the choir felt about the piece that they were performing. However, the choir changed vowels in the middle of the word “Lord”, which made the word occasionally

indistinguishable.
The final piece of the night was “Angels From the Realms of Glory”. This piece was enhanced by the fluidity of pitch. The University Chorale: Day also did a nice job at sustaining their breath, and scattering their breath during longer phrases. They also did a nice job at using glottals and voiced consonants to distinguish words from each other. They could have improved by maintaining the space that they had already created to maintain the joyous and bright sound they started the song with. They also could have intensified the support that was granted by controlling their breath, on notes that were higher than the rest of the piece.
By attending choral concerts, one learns and identifies things that other musical groups do when performing, and is able to analyze their own singing. This creates the opportunity for one to try and improve things such as spatial awareness, tone, and diction. By using these concerts for an opportunity for improvement, it allows one to grow in their abilities, and become the absolute best that they can be.