The dying art of choral music

ROMA – THE culture of acapella communal singing is fading away in villages, churches and other settings where the harmony of voices often brought communities together. In its place, music bands such as orchestral jazz outfits associated with big cities are taking over.

Nowadays, choral music is mainly associated with primary and secondary schools and mainstream churches such as the Catholic Church, Anglican Church and Presbyterian Church.  As for many other churches, especially Pentecostal ones, orchestral jazz is the in thing.

But one man is keen to keep the fire burning for acapella. Liteboho Letsie says she is working hard to bring back village-based community singing. Letsie is a National University of Lesotho (NUL) student and the reigning president of the university’s choir, the NUL Choir.

When Liteboho began singing choral music, she was not even sure whether her voice was good enough. She was lured to join the choir in her early teen years at St Emile Catholic Church in Khubetsoana where she grew up.

The Lesotho Catholic Youth Movement (LCYM) members at the St Emile conducted mass in a presentable manner. Besides their wonderful singing, their dress code also stood out.

For the love of glitz and glamour, she found herself having to join the choir because she fancied being part of the ladies in formal dresses and high-heels at church.

“When I joined the LYCM in 2011, I was not even sure what singing entailed and which singing voice I was capable of executing, although I have always loved singing,” Letsie said.

“I just wanted to be part of the broader group of girls in high heels at church. I wasn’t even aware that there were recreational activities outside church that the LCYM was involved in,” she said.

Initially, Letsie experienced jittery moments during rehearsal sessions. While singing at church, she would clumsily move from one note to the next and at some point she would just be humming even though the song would not be requiring her to do so.

On some songs, she would only engage on the chorus.

“I would sing at the highest pitch of my voice,” she laughed, adding she was forced to come to terms with the reality that being a member of a choir had to do more with singing than the glamorous appearance.

“It was not easy at the beginning as I did not have any idea whether I could sing alto or soprano, I would just be dangling in between,” she said.

It was only until she attended back-to-back rehearsals that she learned what it entailed to be in the choir.

“We began by learning how to read the notes and everything about singing,” she said.

It did not take long for her to find the right footing as she settled and adapted in the choir. Letsie emerged as a chorister who could now perfectly and comfortably sing first soprano, one which sings the highest notes.  She can, however, still sing alto and second soprano well.

“The first competition I enrolled in as a chorister was the CMFL competition and I was very nervous on the day because of stage fright,” she recalled. “Nonetheless, I was able to give my best performance.”

Letsie began to reveal her prowess in singing in many different notes. At St Catherine High School, where she did her secondary education, Letsie said she was entrusted with “everything associated with choral music”.

She was put in charge to prepare for the masses and also guide the school choir. Since Letsie started singing in church, most of the choral music songs she is attached to are church-related.

“Choral music is not only about hymns sung at church. There are many societal songs out there but the songs I love most are the ones sung during the Liturgy of Eucharist at mass,” she said.
The hymn closest to her heart is Jesu, Jesu ea monate (sweet Jesus)!

“Coming to societal songs, choral music can be used as a tool to address contemporary issues affecting communities. We convey different messages by singing against things which bring harm to the world,” she said.

She refers to a song about slavery, which she says is an eye-opening account of slavery.

“There is also this lovely song composed by “Lehlomela Tente,” “Ke tla u rorisa,’’ the message of which slaps so hard that it can change the way we perceive the world around us,” she said.

Letsie attributes the growth and development of choral music to schools and churches in the country as this is where most choristers began their journey.

“I want to acknowledge the contribution that the churches are making in producing the talented choristers we have in the country. This is where most of us began,” she said.

Although choral music can be sung by anyone at any time, the best time to learn to sing choral music is at a young age, she said.

“In my encounter with different choristers, I have learned that those who are actually good are those who began singing choral music at adolescent stage on average,” she said. “It’s rare to find good choristers who began during their adulthood stage.”

Choral music can also be used as an instrument to instill morals and discipline among choristers, especially young ones.

“The time spent rehearsing songs spare youths from engaging in bad practices such as drugs and alcohol abuse,” she opined.

Letsie says discipline is a fundamental character for choristers.

“Firstly, it begins with obeying the conductor, respect for fellow choir members and one has to honour and treasure the audience.”

“In choral music everything is done in collaboration and unison with other choristers, this in essence bridges differences in characters and personalities of the singers as they have to produce one solid product, which is a melodious song,” said Letsie.

“We have different characters and personalities among choristers. Some are clowns and some are shy but when they have to focus on a song, all personalities become one and the objective takes centre stage.

If, for instance, one is a shy person and they are meant to sing solo, the shyness has to go to the background at the time of the task as all eyes will be on them. Choral music teaches us to conquer our negative personalities,” she said.

Patience, she said, is another key element.

“Sometimes we have to repeat a song over and over again during rehearsals until it is perfect. It is a draining experience, it needs endurance. Being in a choir takes a lot of courage and understanding,” she said.

Research led by psychologist Nick Stewart of Bath University indicates that people who participate in a choir enjoy a greater feeling of togetherness and being part of a collective endeavour than others involved in different social activities.

The study says communal singing builds feelings of social cohesion and closeness, and has been shown to bond people faster than other activities.

“This sense of connection isn’t just emotional, but physiological too: the hearts of people who sing together beat in unison,” according to the research.

There has been a shift in the choral music presentation over the years, with the art evolving from just singing to including other elements.

“Choral music is drifting slowly from traditional acapella premise, at the moment we have like a pianist, flautist and actors who make the songs even more authentic. There are categories in which a person can feature as part of the choir without singing,” she said.

Again with notes, gender does not matter for one to sing a particular note, she says. What matters the most is an individual’s range of voice whether they can suitably sing in a certain note.

“It is now not surprising for a male to sing alto or a female to sing tenor,” she said.

Letsie has grown in the profession since becoming part of the NUL Choir and serving in different portfolios

“A lot of people out there are making a living through choral music in different ways. Some are ordinary choristers, conductors, composers and a lot more,” she said.

A choral music group, Serumula Performing Arts Academy, is one such choir that has participated in competitions outside the country, impressively winning several accolades and cash prizes.

Letsie said choral music is a musical genre in its own right that also influences other genres in terms of music composition. In the music fraternity, choral music is seen as a feeder to other genres, sometimes as innovative remixes.

For example, they can be applied to house music or adopted into football anthems. Letsie is at the moment concerned with the success of the NUL Choir and wants to see it achieve great things under her tutelage. Recently, the NUL Choir successfully hosted the Roma Music Festival.

“People came in large numbers for this event and were served with good music, which soothed their souls. They went back home appeased. We intend to make it an annual event,” gushed Letsie.

Letsie says the NUL Choir is also looking forward to music competitions that involve tertiary education institutions in the country. Lerotholi Polytechnic, Botho University, Limkokwing University and Agric College are set to feature in such competitions.

“We want to dish out an excellent performance,” she said.

Calvin Motekase