Live community musical
groups are the life-blood of music.
They provide the necessary connection
that brings so much music to the masses
and give an outlet to many fine musicians
who have decided for some reason to
remain as amateurs. They introduce many
of the young to traditional musical
forms. Without these groups, there is
little doubt that traditional and classical
musical literature would be a rapidly
dying art form.
The Betws-yn-Rhos Male
Voice Choir is a fine example of the
traditional male choir. It is a community
choir that holds a large number of concerts
for charitable causes, and performs
many of their works in Welsh, upholding
yet another tradition and keeping history
alive and vital. It is evident from
the recording that they are a hard-working
and well-meaning group of dedicated
musicians. The soloists are quite good,
the arrangements are well done, and
the selections are well suited to the
choir.
Unfortunately, this
album simply cannot bring forth the
energy and passion that a live performance
by a community group often brings. Alas,
when given repeated listening, a recording
of this kind exposes the weaknesses
in the group far more than highlighting
strengths. The use of electronic keyboards
to emulate string sections may be totally
acceptable in a live performance but
is sorely lacking in the context of
a recording. The gusto and vigor that
powers a group like this in live performance
also distracts on recording, as the
intonation suffers when the stronger
singers try to lead the weaker by simply
adding volume.
Also, unfortunately,
the room-acoustics of a recording studio
do not allow for the natural reverb
that a simple piano accompaniment needs.
The piano too frequently sounds choppy
and stylistically broken. This is the
mark of an accompanist accustomed to
performance halls where the ringing
hall or background crowd noise demands
an emphatic marcato style so that both
the choir and listeners are able to
get the beat and pitch. Additionally
the room will normally color the pianist’s
staccato styling giving it a breadth
that is lacking in this type of recording.
Additionally, it seems
that the microphones were set in the
studio without a lot of room for acoustic
blending. All the signs are that the
recording engineer opted for a large
number of microphones on very few singers
rather than a few room microphones.
While that is the preferred method for
most instrumental groups, aside from
symphonic strings, it is rarely optimal
for voices. This approach again highlights
the shortcomings of the weaker singers
rather than the strengths of the choir.
This is the type of
album that you really want to like,
as the group deserves support. Unfortunately,
it is normally a tie to an emotionally
gripping performance which the listener
must be present for if they are to overlook
the technical shortcomings of the group.
In live performance it easy to forgive
intonation problems and limited funds
for instrumentalists. On a recording,
fairly or not, the performance standards
must be higher, the equipment better.
If you have a connection to this group,
or have fond memories either of Wales
or of another similar choir of male
choristers, you should support this
group with your purchase. If you are
interested in seeing just how far an
amateur choir can go, this will give
you a solid idea. If you want to understand
or support the traditions of community
music groups, buying this album would
be a good place to start. However, if
you are looking for a truly professional
recording then this album will disappoint,
and no matter how much I want to like
this group, I don’t feel that I can
rate this recording as better than average.
I really wish that I could.
Patrick Gary
The Betws-yn-Rhos Male Choir Nerys Jones
