Introduction
Music could be named one of the most exceptional performing arts. Those melodies that were considered as unacceptable in one time are successfully displayed in another. The music contains lots of different styles and techniques that are perceived by people in different ways. In this paper, I tried to critique the performance I have lately attended objectively.
The general characteristics of the performance
The performance I attended on 25 September was a choral concert of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir taken in Madison Square Garden Theater. Its director is Carol Cymbala, whose husband is a pastor. The choir consisted of 270 members all of which mutually supplement each other. The choir is rather popular among the audience and has won the list of awards. The whole concert had an impressive program and left a positive mark in my memory. I was sitting on the 6 row and was able to estimate the level of preparation perfectly.
The appearance of the performers was definitely professional. They had a dress code that was plain enough and made them look more majestically. Men in their classical suits and women in long blue dresses looked like the one whole. The visual image was strongly impressive, and this fact put some additional positive patterns. The choir was standing on the scene in the huge hall with bright and pleasurable lights. The instrumental music was used to accompany the voice of the choir and to add to the sound the more power. All these effects were able to create an incredible atmosphere for music lovers.
The audience on the concert included both young and older people that were united for one purpose: they were in love with music and with The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir particular. Some of them were full of excitement; others were watching the performance with interest, estimating the choir from the professional point of view. All of them were extremely attentive and were deeply influenced by an atmosphere.
Choral sound peculiarities
I can without any hesitation call the choral sound of this performance professional. All the voices were blended together entirely, and the combination of 270 voices was heard like a one strong and polished voice. There was no incorrect sound, and it was obvious that all the members of the choir had made lots of efforts to prepare an excellent performance for the audience. The choir showed an absolute diction. I understood every word in the songs because of the singers’ ability to press the consonants and clearly pronounced the vowels. Vowels in their singing are closed, and tight that shows the proficiency in regulating articulation while singing.
The tone of the choir’s voice was deeply rich and dark. They absolutely accurate showed the dynamics of the songs they completed. As a person, who is familiar with music I estimated the aspects of crescendos and decrescendos that the choir used. These moments, as well as accents sforzandos, were able to express the character of the song and fill the audience with the proper feelings.
The song critique
The songs I like most were my favorite from The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir repertoire. Frankly speaking, all the songs that this choir sings are powerful and pleasant for listening. According to the excellent harmonized sound, each song that was sung by the choir on the performance was full by the deep meaning. The aim of The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir signing was not to only show their professionality and deeply developed professional musical skills. Each member of this choir has the shared goal to make people think about important things in their life.
The song that impressed me most of all was “The Psalm 34”. After it’s performing, I was full of the desire to rehear this song again and again. Its power filled me with an inexpressible feeling, and this feeling did not leave me for a long time. The song “The Psalm 34” was created based on the Bible verses from the psalm with the same number and gives a picture of the Powerful Majesty that rule the world and is aware of all human’s pain. The power of sound ended more deepness to the sense of this song and did not leave anyone indifferent.
Conclusion
I was deeply impressed by The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir performance and can confidently say that it was one of the most remarkable events in my life. This concert was a great experience for me as a person who is interested in music and estimates it’s professional expressing. I have good theoretical knowledge taken from my music class, and I am always happy to use another opportunity to receive some practical support of this theory. I enjoy watching the results of hard work that the performers had done before they came onto the scene. These results are extremely powerful, and they will leave the marks in my memory until the end of my life.
