Senior Semi-Final Songs of Praise

Six of the best senior school choirs in Britain are here in Birmingham.

They'll be singing to win a place in next week's final

and pulling out all the stops as they try to become

the 2014 Songs Of Praise Senior School Choir Of The Year.

APPLAUSE

Welcome to Birmingham's International Convention Centre

for the second semifinal in our quest to find

the best school choirs in the land.

Last week, the juniors wowed us with their talent.

Today, these six senior schools have travelled from across the country

to sing their choice of hymn

before the best three are chosen to go forward to the final.

Which choirs will it be? We have, from London, Highgate School!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From Lincoln, Lincoln Minster School!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From Wiltshire, Godolphin!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From Kent, Rochester Grammar School!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

From London, the Grey Coat Hospital!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And Cantabile from Hereford Cathedral School!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

As usual, there's great support for each of our senior school choirs.

Please give a warm welcome to my co-host, it's Claire McCollum.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Good to see you, Claire.

It was pretty frenzied last week with the primary school choirs.

Do you expect it to be a bit more laid back this week?

I think there's going to be just as much excitement.

The students might be a little bit older than the junior pupils

but I think there's going to be just as much leaping around

and we'll hear what they thought of the judges' comments as well.

So, lots of reaction from backstage.

Thank you, Claire, we will hear from you later.

Now, it's time to introduce our three celebrity judges

who have the incredibly tough job of deciding which three choirs

go forward to the final.

Firstly, someone who embodies the word "expert"

when it comes to judging choral competitions.

She is an internationally renowned choir founder,

teacher and conductor and Professor of Music

at the University of Southern California,

please welcome Suzi Digby!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Our next judge is from right here in Birmingham,

a graduate of Birmingham's Conservatoire of Music.

She's a singer/songwriter with a top 10 album, two Brit nominations

and two MOBO awards under her belt.

Please welcome Laura Mvula!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Next is a choral guru with the magic touch.

The Choir, The Military Wives,

Sing While You Work, just a few examples of his amazing ability

to transform everyday working people into extraordinary choirs.

It's Gareth Malone!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK, the competition starts right now.

Each of our six choirs will sing their choice of hymn.

Based on that one performance,

the judges will select three choirs to go into next week's final.

It's all to play for.

The first choir to sing are from the lovely city of Lincoln.

It's Lincoln Minster School.

BELLS RING

Lincoln is a real little gem.

Lincoln Minster School is great because it has the cathedral

and all the surrounding Roman remains.

I think that life here is a bit like Hogwarts.

All the prep pupils, when they come over, they're all saying,

"Oh, it's like Hogwarts!"

"Do you learn magic here?"

Faith and music are very, very important components

in the make-up of the Minster School.

We have daily worship and the cathedral is right at the heart

of what the school does.

I think the single biggest thing that he gives us,

it's just, if you do something wrong,

do it and look as if you are totally right!

Good, well done!

'Singing sacred music,'

for me, it's pretty much a blessing, to be honest with you.

I always felt it kept me closer to God.

The piece we're doing is Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer.

I think it's good because there's a lot of emotions in there.

It's got a big, rousing tune. You can get a bit Welsh fervour into it.

But also, there's a lovely opportunity for a big descant

and I think the sound of our sopranos is one of our secrets as a choir

so I certainly wanted to make sure that we were able to show that off.

# Guide me, O thou great Redeemer

# Pilgrim through this barren land

# I am weak but thou art mighty

# Hold me with my powerful hand

# Bread of heaven, bread of heaven

# Feed me now and evermore

# Feed me now and evermore

# Open now the crystal fountain

# Whenst the healing stream doth flow

# Let the fiery, cloudy pillar

# Lead me all my journey through

# Strong deliverer, strong deliverer

# Be thou still my strength and shield

# Be thou still my strength and shield

# When I tread the verge of Jordan

# Bid my anxious fears subside

# Death of death and hell's destruction

# Land me safe on Canaan's side

# Songs and praises, songs and praises

# I will ever give to Thee

# I will ever give to Thee. #

HYMN ENDS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Lincoln Minster School, ladies and gentlemen!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Suzi, a very well known hymn to start.

Did Lincoln did themselves proud?

That was very, very fine singing.

What was so impressive is the way you lightened the end of each phrase.

It was so elegant.

I thought your basses were so wonderful, they did a fantastic job.

On the slightly critical side,

perhaps the descant could have been a little lighter,

so it didn't obliterate the melody.

But a wonderful performance, thank you.

Gareth, what did you make of that performance by Lincoln?

Very well done. I thought it was lovely, really charming.

A great start, a really nice, warm sound at the beginning

so I enjoyed that very much.

To be slightly critical, perhaps even more line would help.

It is very easy with these hymns to get quite dah-dee-dah.

Dah-dee-dah, that will communicate your message more clearly.

But a fascinating start the competition.

Laura?

I thought you made a very beautiful sound, really great diction.

Everybody was working really hard.

I could tell that you enjoy singing together

and I think that's important to me and I was moved by that

so thank you.

Thank you, Lincoln Minster School.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

How do you think it went out there?

I don't think I've ever performed in quite an atmosphere like that.

-It was just amazing. It went so well.

-I was buzzing onstage.

-Do you think you've got that fervour?

-I think so, yes.

I think they did rise to the occasion.

Another school entering the competition for the first time

and they're from Kent, it's Rochester Grammar School.

# Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday... #

Our choir is called NChant

and we like to think that we "enchant" our audiences in a way.

A lot of choirs will be used to performing in front of their school,

whereas we are used to performing to all kinds of people.

We visit places that you wouldn't think you would visit.

We went to California and we sang in the Vatican in Rome,

which was quite special.

I gave the girls a choice of four different songs

and I have to say I was a little surprised

when they chose The Lord's Prayer.

# Our Father... #

But they absolutely fell in love with it.

The music and the words completely fit together,

especially the line, "For thine be the glory."

It's wonderful.

# ..For ever... #

Singing Christian, sacred hymns,

I think that gives it so much more meaning,

especially when you really believe it like we do.

# Our Father

# Which art in heaven

# Hallowed be

# Thy name

# Thy Kingdom come

# Thy will be done

# On Earth

# As it is in Heaven

# Give us this day our daily bread

# And forgive us our debts

# As we forgive our debtors

# And lead us not into temptation

# But deliver us from evil

# For thine is the kingdom

# And the power and the glory

# For ever

# Amen. #

HYMN ENDS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Rochester Grammar School, ladies and gentlemen!

Gareth, an all girl choir singing The Lord's Prayer.

Was it a good choice for their range of voices?

I'm charmed, it was a perfect choice. Really lovely.

A very special sound that you created and a very special stillness

and focus that you created at the beginning, it was wonderful.

I could just have used a little more richness in the tone at times.

-Laura?

-I'm going to disagree with Gareth.

I felt your tone was so beautiful.

I was really moved.

When your unison line sounded like one voice, who needs boys?

You sound perfect!

APPLAUSE

-Suzi?

-This is an example of where perfect tuning takes a performance

to another level.

There might be a danger of developing one tone colour

in the lower voices and what I would do

is try and explore different kinds of colour.

That is very nit-picky. Actually, what really touched me was the start.

It was so beautiful.

That glossy, simple, almost child-like but not children

and by the way, I love your dresses!

Thank you, Rochester Grammar School!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The comments were so encouraging.

Fantastic feedback. I'm thrilled.

-The Lord's Prayer, was it very spiritual, singing that?

-Definitely.

A lot of us are very spiritual and we all believe everything we said

and we really hope it came across in our faces and everything.

It really means a lot to us.

Our next choir know this competition well.

Over recent years, they've made the semifinals three times

and the final itself in 2012.

It's the Godolphin School from Salisbury.

Our uniform is somewhat unusual. They wear a pinny.

Sometimes, if it's your birthday, you can go around for the whole day

wearing a pink pinny, which means everyone knows it's your birthday!

Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight. F-light.

It's quite hard to find a hymn that is suitable for just girls to sing

because most hymns are written for men and women to sing,

so I've found something that I think is suitable for the girls.

Tell Out My Soul has always been one of my favourites

because it just has such a beautiful message.

It's the Magnificat, when Mary finds out she's going to have God's Son

and it is the song that she sings.

It's very hard to not get carried along by the piece.

Just before we go on stage, I will say to the girls,

"Really enjoy yourselves, really give everything you've got

"and just have a ball!"

# Tell out my soul the greatness of the Lord

# Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice

# Tender to me the promise of His word

# In God my saviour

# Shall my heart rejoice

# Tell out, my soul, the greatness of His name

# Make known His might,

# The deeds His arm has done

# His mercy sure, from age to age the same

# His holy name

# The Lord, the mighty one

# Tell out, my soul, the greatness of His might!

# Powers and dominions lay their glory by

# Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight

# The hungry fed

# The humble lifted high

# Tell out, my soul, the glories of His word!

# Firm is His promise

# And His mercy sure

# Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord

# To children's children

# And forevermore! #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

The Godolphin School, ladies and gentlemen!

Laura, Godolphin have got a lot of experience singing in this

competition, did it show?

Yes, absolutely!

I thought when you broke into harmony your balance was

really good. I could hear each part and that was really great.

I wondered when some of the descant parts, though, met.

Just as a minor point, maybe we

could think about just how it balances.

We don't want to over hear those parts.

But I think your performance was really spirited and joyous.

Suzi, a beautiful hymn. Did they sing it beautifully?

What a glorious sound!

Particularly the opening, it was just,

again, it was such a fresh colour of sound...beautiful!

Erm, when you sing a series of words, so, "Tell out my soul",

four syllables.

If they are all weighted equally,

it's very hard to get the sense of where the text is going.

I just slightly felt that there were a lot of syllables that were

equally weighted, rather than seeing a phrase

and deciding which syllable should we energise towards.

That would, I think,

then take it onto another level of communication.

Thank you.

Gareth, a polished performance from Godolphin, did it shine for you?

Yeah, very slick.

Great, clear diction, good balance and I totally agree with Laura.

Erm, it was a good decision, I think, to have fewer voices on the descant.

Actually, you've got some very good soloists, potentially,

maybe one would have done it.

A small point but I felt at times, certainly at the beginning,

you made a fantastic impact with your first phrase

and perhaps releasing a bit too much breath.

You got to the end and I just felt that slight tightening of not

saving something to the end of the phrase.

I think there's some development in

the sound to go but spoke very well, that performance.

Congratulations, good.

Thank you, Godolphin School.

APPLAUSE

Well, Mrs Sparkhall, did they sparkle they sparkle for you today?

They absolutely sparkled, they were fantastic!

I was delighted, delighted with their performance.

I was quite apprehensive about going on but as

soon as you get on the atmosphere is great

and it's a really, really good experience and I enjoyed it so much!

Our next school, literally, are a school choir run by students,

for students.

It's the Grey Coat Hospital, from London.

# Lived to die... #

OK, what do we need to do differently?

The fact that they've got here really by doing everything

themselves, does make it actually a very, very special achievement.

And something that here in the school, we're incredible proud of.

Carys is the leader. I aid Carys with whatever she needs musically.

We both, together, we sit down and we pick the songs

and we choose the arrangement and how we want it to sound,

where we want harmonies to go.

So, we do do everything from scratch.

Let's go from, "Above all wisdom..."

Doing our rehearsals, she does have a funny way of telling us

be quiet, she tells us to snip.

She comes towards us and goes "snip".

She loves to do her Ts like t...t...t...

# Like a rose

# Trampled on the ground... #

Because our style is more gospel, I think that will set us

apart slightly and I think that will, hopefully, give us the edge.

# You lived to die... #

I really feel the message of the song because it's

about the crucifixion of Jesus,

which is a real important part of Christianity.

Thank you cos you're a glorious God.

Thank you so much for all you have done.

We always pray together as choir before we do any

performance, so I think that will calm people down, erm, and me down.

I think I'll be very nervous...

# Above all powers

# Above all kings

# Above all nature and all created things

# Above all wisdom and all the ways of man

# You were here before the world began

# He was crucified

# Laid behind a stone

# Lived to die

# Rejected and alone

# Like a rose trampled on the ground

# You took the fall

# And thought of me

# Above all

# Above all kingdoms

# Above all thrones

# Above all wonders

# The world has ever known

# Above all wealth and treasures of the Earth

# There's no way to measure what you're worth, oooh

# He was crucified, laid behind a stone

# Lived to die

# Rejected and alone

# Like a rose trampled on the ground

# You took the fall

# And thought of me

# Above all

# All. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Grey Coat Hospital, everybody!

Suzi, we've never had a school where the choir are led,

arranged and accompanied purely by students.

Did it work for you?

What a wonderful achievement!

I really thought so, yes.

You've found an arrangement, you've worked,

you've got it so slick, you've got it so well prepared.

On the critical side, it felt a little low.

Erm, I'd love to hear you transpose that up.

You can then continue the progress of perfecting the tuning,

which is top priority.

But there was a lovely, sort of, earthy quality to your sound,

a lovely bloom at the end of the phrases and I really enjoyed it.

Gareth, judging a traditional choir alongside a gospel choir is

not going to be easy, is it?

I don't see any problem because it's music and I've got the same

criteria here, I'm looking for the same sort of things.

I mean, there are stylistic things that you've got absolutely

bang on, the rhythmic impetus was there.

The movement, the visual impression

was all totally gospel and I really appreciated that.

I think where you struggled towards the end,

you really lost your tonal centre.

I didn't quite know where we were key-wise

and that is something to work on...always listening.

So, look, so together, so beautiful, congratulations!

Laura.

Erm, I'm really excited by your group, amazing!

Yeah, these guys are right about the key.

I reckon if you guys put it up a few keys or maybe just inverted the

harmonies, it would sing just a little bit better.

But in terms of your sincerity, you know, I believed everything

you were singing, I want to sing with you guys!

SHE LAUGHS

Loved it!

Thank you, Grey Coat Hospital!

APPLAUSE

Whether the tuning or not was right, we were there, the energy was there,

we were able to convey the words, people understood.

So, that's, I think, the most important thing for us.

Did the pre-performance prayer pay-off, do you think?

Yeah, I believe that God's in control, it was amazing,

we enjoyed it, we loved it, God helped us.

I think it went really well.

We did, just before we went out, we said, to just enjoy it

and not think about the fact it was a competition.

So, I really think they did that. So, yeah, I'm really proud of them!

Our next choir are another new choir to the competition

and they're and they're also from London, it's Highgate School!

THEY VOCALISE

Keep going.

Highgate has a long choral tradition with ex-pupils such

as John Rutter and John Tavener, who used to sing in the choir here.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...

Miss Price always makes us very enthusiastic by doing all these

crazy warm-ups, which really, kind of, get us going to the day,

wake us up.

The main thing, I think,

we've been working on is performance,

especially for the girls.

There seems to be sometimes a bit more reticence to act,

which the boys are perfect at but the girls need a bit more

encouragement to come out of their shells.

The hymn we've chose to sing is, When I Survey The Wondrous Cross,

which is about Easter but also

about the execution of Christ.

Out of all the hymns, I think

it's one of the most beautifully put and it goes from celebration

to more, sort of, slightly reserved emotional state.

Hopefully, when it's done, we'll all think, that was an achievement,

we've really done this well.

I completely, 100%, believe in them.

If they do their absolute best then I think they will win.

# When I survey the wondrous cross

# On which the Prince of glory died

# My richest gain I count but loss

# And pour contempt on all my pride

# Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast

# Save in the death of Christ my God

# All the vain things

# That charm me most

# I sacrifice them to His blood

# See from His head, His hands, His feet

# Sorrow and love flow mingled down

# Did e'er such love and sorrow meet

# Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

# His dying crimson, like a robe

# Spreads o'er His body on the tree

# Then am I dead to all the globe?

# And all the globe is dead to me

# Were the whole realm of nature mine

# That were a present far too small

# Love so amazing, so divine

# Demands my soul

# My life, my all. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Highgate School, ladies and gentlemen!

Gareth.

I thought it was a great choice, a simple choice

and within that you found great range of colours.

Lots of verses but you made each one different and I applaud you for that.

Two little points to work on, beware of swelling onto the vowels.

It's very, very dangerous.

You want to get a smooth flowing sound and then descant, it was

just riding up a little bit sharp

and that's something always to watch with the descant.

That it's nice and rooted into the floor.

Although you're singing high, think of it low.

Laura.

In the a cappella moments, I just felt moved to tears, I don't cry

a lot and I tried not to just now cos it would be very embarrassing.

But there's something about the way that you listened to each other

in those unaccompanied verses that was just so still and quiet.

You're dynamic ranges were great but in those quiet moments,

I didn't want to breathe.

It's one of my favourite hymns so maybe that helps as well.

Suzi, did Highgate impress you with their performance?

Well, I agree with Laura, it was so musically performed

and it's all interwoven with your choice of arrangement,

which was really intelligent, cos each verse was so different.

So, it brought all the different facets of the choir.

If you scrambled your singers,

so that the men were amongst the women,

you'd be able to improve your tuning overnight

but I loved the performance, it was very moving and very musical.

Thank you, Highgate School!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

How do you think it went out on stage?

Erm, I think it went quite well.

I thought they went a tiny bit sharp,

which Gareth obviously picked up on.

But I thought they really performed their hearts out on it.

It was really nice to hear the judges talk about how

they were moved by our quieter, unaccompanied verses.

We're already so proud to have made it to this point.

So, you know,

making it through would just be like a cherry on top of the cake.

Our last choir to perform tonight are another all-girl choir,

who've been at this stage before in the competition.

It's Cantabile from Hereford Cathedral School.

# And yet I want to love thee, Lord. #

Cantabile means "singing".

They're excited about exploring what they're singing about.

Because our choir director used to be a professional singer

herself, she's very, very supportive, very helpful

and knows exactly what we need to improve on.

Keeps us calm.

She's been there, she knows.

-Yes, now go "cr-r-ruel".

-CHOIR: Cr-r-ruel!

We're singing, for our hymn choice, Ex Ore Innocentium, which I have

to say is one of my absolute favourite pieces we've ever sung.

Such a beautiful piece of music and being able express one's

emotion through such beauty, I think, is really special.

I really feel the message of how he was crucified.

And how Jesus loved us all and all the children

and we're his children and that he died for us.

The meaning behind the words really gets to me when I sing it sometimes.

It's very, very intense and I'm hoping that the girls really

pull this out because it's just a stunning piece.

# It is a thing most wonderful

# Almost too wonderful to be

# That God's own Son should come from Heaven

# And die to save

# A child like me

# And yet, I know that it is true

# He chose a poor and humble lot

# And wept, and toiled and mourned and died

# For love of those who loved him not

# I sometimes think about the Cross

# And shut my eyes

# And try to see the cruel nails

# And crown of thorns

# And Jesus crucified for me

# But even could I see him die

# I should but see a little part

# Of that great love, which, like a fire

# Is always burning in his heart

# And yet I want

# To love thee, Lord

# O, light the flame within my heart

# And I will love thee more and more

# Until I see thee

# As thou art. #

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Cantabile, from Hereford Cathedral School!

Gareth, our final performance,

was it a good one for you?

I thought it was a very sophisticated performance.

Not an easy piece to choose and you pulled it off with aplomb.

I really, really enjoyed it.

I felt we were in a very different choral world from the others,

which makes it very difficult.

You know, we've had a gospel choir, we've had very young choirs and

here we have a mature sound,

in the British choral tradition of the 19th century, which is

perfect for the piece, I thought that worked really, really nicely.

For me, it's my sort of thing, it may not be everyone's

but I love that tradition and I really enjoyed it, thank you.

Laura.

I felt that was so special.

Really lyrical and there's a way that you sing that's

sort of weighty and muscular, like proper singing.

Erm, you really engaged me, loads of shapes and colours.

They way you do that thing, I wish I could do them in my voice,

when you start phrases so delicately and so, sort of, like a lady,

it's really special.

LAUGHTER

Suzi.

Well, from the very first note chord, you can

tell that every one of those girls has individual singing lessons.

And that is what opens up a canvas for you.

And, as a sort of expression of faith, I thought you also

managed to bring some dimension to it that was very special.

If I had to be super, super picky, when you're in two parts,

I would give a little bit more...how shall I say,

meatiness in the sound, that's what I would develop.

But that's a very personal thing. Thank you.

Thank you, Cantabile, from Hereford Cathedral School.

-How proud are you of them and their performance?

-Extremely proud them!

I do of give them grief

but they do pull the stops out for me, I'm very pleased with them.

You're happy now but how happy would you be to get to the final?

Ecstatic, honestly, ecstatic!

We've got a really good piece in store.

If we do get a chance to perform, it would be amazing!

So, our judges have left the hall to decide which three

choirs will be going through to next week's final.

That's not going to be easy.

You've probably got a favourite but if not,

here's a look back at all six senior choir performances.

# Guide me, O, though great redeemer... #

It was a good performance, it set a really good standard, didn't it?

My misgivings were there wasn't always a beautiful line.

This was a little bouncy, a little bit by numbers.

# Hold me with thy powerful hand... #

I felt that it was really strong but I wasn't moved

but then I kept thinking, are they first, and that's hard.

# And lead us not into temptation... #

It was a sound, it was almost like a recording sound.

I thought I was listening to a CD.

-Everything was so immaculate.

-Yes.

# Divine is the kingdom... #

The problem is there is, does it get through to the emotive?

Yeah, that's right.

I felt that I was wanting just for a little more

when we got to three quarters of the way through.

# Tell out my soul

# The greatness of the Lord... #

Really good, I just felt like the tuning issues took over, for me.

-Having said that, it was solid.

-Yeah.

The other thing is, # Tell out my soul... #

There's four syllables there, they really need to direct.

TOGETHER: # Tell out my soul! #

Exactly!

-Also a fine choir.

-A very fine choir.

# Above all powers

# Above all kings... #

I think the choir as a group, to me, they represent something

really phenomenal because they're doing it all on their own.

I felt that energy, that's really fresh, for me.

# Laid behind the stone

# Live to die... #

There is lots that they can learn that they can learn.

The potential is really limitless, isn't it?

There was a moment when they did reject, the word "rejected".

# Rejected and alone. #

That was ensemble singing of the first order,

it really came together, I thought.

But, yeah, I wish they had done it in a higher key.

# When I survey the wondrous cross... #

The took a very simple thing and made something really,

really special out of it.

This was the choir where they seemed to sing for ever

and ever without taking a breath.

I thought there were support problems

because I couldn't quite tell what the words were all the time.

-This is the most moved I've been in the competition.

-Yes.

# It is a thing most wonderful... #

The epitome of beautiful, for me.

It wasn't girlish singing, it was womanly.

It wasn't girly, it was proper grown-up, woman singing.

# That God's own son should come from heaven. #

We've seen performances that felt like they were by young people,

loving the sort of repertoire that they were doing and this was

the one, perhaps, I felt like it was more the choice of the conductor.

So, there wasn't that immediacy of engagement.

Right, this is it, our judges are back and our choirs

are waiting patiently and nervously for their decisions.

Laura, can you can you please tell us

the first choir going through to the final.

SHE SIGHS

The first choir going through to the

final of Songs Of Praise Senior Choir Of The Year is...

..Rochester Grammar School.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Suzi.

The second choir going through to the final of the competition is...

Highgate.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

And, Gareth, can you tell us

the last choir going through to the final, please?

The last choir going through to the final is...

Hereford Cathedral Choir.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

So, our senior finalists will be back next week when

one of them will be taking home the famous trophy and the title,

2014 Song Of Praise Senior School Choir Of The Year.

It's going to be exciting, it's going to be nerve-racking.

You'd be mad to miss it! Bye for now.