So it was, that by an unexpected turn of events, I showed up at the “Music of the Spheres” choral concert in Jubilee Hall last night, thanks to what turned out to be a belated birthday treat from a friend.

Gotta admit, it was a treat in every sense of the word. I hadn’t realised how much I missed hearing a young, relatively inexperienced choir perform, something I haven’t done since… well, my JC days.

“Music of the Spheres”, organised by new events start-up Oh! Factor, was essentially a Nelson Kwei showcase, where three of the many, many choirs he conducts performed what was supposed to be a night of sacred music. To their credit, the NUS Choir’s repetoire consisted solely of songs inspired by the Catholic Church (though composed within this past century), but the other choirs seem to have brought in some of their competition pieces. But I get ahead of myself.

The evening started out embarrassing for the Master of Ceremony, whom I suppose is a member of Oh! Factor, because he kept mispronouncing the name of the beneficiary – the Jesuit Refugee Service, much to the chagrin of the predominantly Catholic audience. For some strange reason, he pronounced the word Jesuit as jeh-SWEE instead of jeh-SOO-it.

Time then moved into the realm of the surreal as a group of people I know relatively well began to perform songs from Taize. Now, to me there was nothing strange about having two violins and a flute be supported by two guitars and four singers – this was what made Taize well, Taize. What was surreal was the need to clap after each song! On the one hand, this was a performance, no doubt, and as a performance, it was extremely well done. On the other, these were songs of meditation – songs that I had often used myself to come before the Lord’s presence, only now I had to applaud at the end.

It was only then that I realised that this was essentially what my own experience of performing songs like the “Pater Noster” (Our Father), the “Ave Maria” (Hail Mary) and countless other sacred music must’ve been for those who knew the meaning of the words we sang – if I had only allowed myself to pray the words reverently rather than simply perform them, perhaps I could have appreciate the song better. This led me to appreciate the NUS Choir much, much more.

But before the NUS Choir came on, it was the choirs from Meridian JC and Anderson JC.

Meridian JC’s choir had the posture that belied their age. Their exposure to international competitions definitely set them in good stead as they delivered Lajos Bardos’ Cantemus with such confidence despite being their first song of the night. However, it was their last song which was the real treat of the night. Ironically, it was not a piece of sacred music, but a Javanese traditional song complete with actions – Luk Luk Lumbu, arranged by Budi Susanto Yohanes. A quick Google check reveals that this song was one of their pieces for the competition in the Czech Republic earlier this year, and their ease and familiarity with both the piece and the actions made it a real joy to watch.

If there’s something I must stress to all choristers, young and old, enjoy your music! Even when it’s the most ‘boring’ and ‘incomprehensible’ piece ever. The joy of your performance shines through and it was only during Luk Luk Lumbu that I really saw it.

Which brings me to Anderson JC’s choir. I was most impressed with the two sopranos at the end of the front row. Of all the performers I saw last night, only they seemed to have a real desire to sing. Now, don’t get me wrong, the other choirs did very well. On a technical level, breathing, posture, tonality – very well done. But in terms of performing and just letting yourself go… only these two sopranos seemed to get it. Anderson JC’s performance ended with the Spanish version of Disney’s Go the Distance from 1997’s Hercules. The soloist they picked wasn’t too bad, wonderful voice but was somehow held back by nervousness, I suppose. All in all, an enjoyable treat from this choir.

The NUS Choir had to be different, of course. As the last choir to perform, instead of coming from behind the wings, they had sat through the rest of the performances at the back of Jubilee Hall and came down via the aisles. But what a difference a few years makes! There was a huge jump in maturity when it came to performing Aurelio Porfiri’s “Ecce Vidimus Eum”, which is based on Isaiah 53:4-5, and Morten Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium”. There’s something to be said about Lauridsen’s works – despite having modern sensibilities, evidenced by the resonating harmonies, there’s a true sense of the supernatural present in his sheer understanding of the real significance of the words. So kudos to the NUS Choir for being able to do justice to that wonderful piece of music. I only wish I had the opportunity to sing it.

All in all, it was a strange experience, to be expecting a night of sacred music, be presented with a choral showcase, and then be sneakily struck by the sheer beauty of Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium”, only to be reminded that it was still a choral showcase when the multiple “Amen”’s of Park Hyo-Woo’s “Gloria” was chosen to end the night.

But I must say, kudos to all the choristers. May your time together before the year ends be memorable ones, with loads of experiences to share as a batch in the coming years. Goodness knows that’s still what keeps my batch going these past 8 years.